Draft:Charles Fishman

• Comment: Do you have a conflict of interest regarding Fishman? GoldRomean (talk) 00:19, 1 June 2025 (UTC)

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Charles Fishman (born April 5, 1961) is an American journalist and non-fiction author. Fishman, an explanatory and investigative journalist and historian, covered the space shuttle Challenger disaster as a Washington Post reporter, worked on the staff of the Orlando Sentinel, the Raleigh News & Observer, and Fast Company magazine, and is the author of four non-fiction books.

EARLY LIFE and EDUCATION

Fishman grew up in Miami, FL. He is a graduate of Miami Palmetto Senior High School and Harvard College, where he was an editor for the alternative weekly, The Harvard Independent.

NEWSPAPER & MAGAZINE WRITING

After college, Fishman was hired as a reporter at the Washington Post, assigned to the Metro staff. He then joined the National staff, where for most of 1986 he was on the reporting team investigating the aftermath of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

In 1986, Fishman joined the staff of Florida magazine, the Sunday magazine of the Orlando Sentinel. He was editor-in-chief of Florida magazine from 1988 to 1991. Fishman joined the Raleigh News & Observer in 1993 as assistant managing editor in charge of features, business and sports coverage.

In 1996, Fishman joined the new economy business magazine Fast Company as a founding staff member, and remained on staff through 2012. He has been a contributing editor since then. Fishman has also written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and National Geographic.

BOOKS

Fishman’s first book is The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works, and How It’s Transforming the American Economy (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect grew out of a Fast Company story, “The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know,” The Wal-Mart Effect made the bestseller lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek. It was a finalist for the Financial Times / Goldman Sachs business book of the year in 2006, and was chosen as a best book of 2006 by The Economist.

Fishman’s second book is The Big Thirst: The Secret Life & Turbulent Future of Water (2011), which became the bestselling nonfiction book about water in the U.S. since Cadillac Desert (1986). The Big Thirst grew out of a story Fishman did for Fast Company magazine, “Message in a Bottle,” about the impact of the bottled water business in the U.S.

Fishman’s third book is A Curious Mind: The Secret To a Bigger Life (2015), which he co-wrote with the Hollywood producer Brian Grazer. A Curious Mind uses the story of Grazer’s life to illustrate the nature of curiosity and its power in your daily life. A Curious Mind was a New York Times bestseller.

In June 2019, Fishman published One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew Us to the Moon, his fourth book, an account of the race to the Moon in the 1960s that focused not on the astronauts’ experience going to the Moon, but on the work of the scientists, engineers and factory workers that was necessary to get to the Moon. One Giant Leap was published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first Moon landing. One Giant Leap made the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in the first week it was published. As part of the reporting for One Giant Leap, Fishman flew in zero gravity and wrote about the experience.

PERSONAL LIFE

Fishman lives in Washington, DC, and is married to journalist Trish Wilson. They have two adult children.

AWARDS and HONORS

Fishman has been a finalist for UCLA’s Gerald Loeb Award six times, and has won three times.

Winner, 2008, Feature Writing, “Message in a Bottle,” Fast Company Winner, 2007, Magazines, “How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change the World? One,” Fast Company Winner, 2005, Magazines, “The Toll of a New Machine,” Fast Company

In 2008, Fishman won the Deadline Club Award for Feature Reporting from the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.