COMING MAY 14, 2024
Pre-order here
"When two young doctors came across a family riddled with cancer for generations, they
wondered why and began a decades long search for the answer. In A Fatal Inheritance, a riveting
narrative of their quest, Lawrence Ingrassia intertwines a deeply personal and tearful story of
unbearable family loss with an inspiring story of scientific discovery."
—Walter Isaacson, author of Elon Musk, The Code Breaker and Steve Jobs
“A Fatal Inheritance...captures both the ineffable pain of families riddled with cancers and the
remarkable research over the past half century by scientists determined to help them.”
--Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
"This is the story of a family tragedy, a medical mystery, and the painstaking work of insightful
scientists. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, A Fatal Inheritance is a story of mortal loss and
human resilience."
—Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse and March
"Lawrence Ingrassia reports compassionately and comprehensively on the breakthroughs of
genetic research...Through his eye-opening journalism, we learn how scientific progress really
happens—in fits and starts and endless reversals, and with an endless capacity for hope."
—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road
"An extraordinary, empathic, medical detective story and emotional roller-coast. This is a
beautiful book that will break hearts and then heal them. A treasure."
--Ron Suskind, author of Life, Animated
"A masterful work of reporting and writing, filled with unflinching honesty, empathy, and
wisdom. A Fatal Inheritance is a brilliant, unforgettable book that I recommend highly."
—Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate
Pre-order here
"When two young doctors came across a family riddled with cancer for generations, they
wondered why and began a decades long search for the answer. In A Fatal Inheritance, a riveting
narrative of their quest, Lawrence Ingrassia intertwines a deeply personal and tearful story of
unbearable family loss with an inspiring story of scientific discovery."
—Walter Isaacson, author of Elon Musk, The Code Breaker and Steve Jobs
“A Fatal Inheritance...captures both the ineffable pain of families riddled with cancers and the
remarkable research over the past half century by scientists determined to help them.”
--Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
"This is the story of a family tragedy, a medical mystery, and the painstaking work of insightful
scientists. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, A Fatal Inheritance is a story of mortal loss and
human resilience."
—Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse and March
"Lawrence Ingrassia reports compassionately and comprehensively on the breakthroughs of
genetic research...Through his eye-opening journalism, we learn how scientific progress really
happens—in fits and starts and endless reversals, and with an endless capacity for hope."
—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road
"An extraordinary, empathic, medical detective story and emotional roller-coast. This is a
beautiful book that will break hearts and then heal them. A treasure."
--Ron Suskind, author of Life, Animated
"A masterful work of reporting and writing, filled with unflinching honesty, empathy, and
wisdom. A Fatal Inheritance is a brilliant, unforgettable book that I recommend highly."
—Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate
Lawrence Ingrassia
I got hooked on journalism as student at the University of Illinois in the early 1970s, and stayed hooked for more than four decades. As an editor and a reporter, I've worked with the best in the business at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.
Why journalism? I love the energy, the passion, the dedication, the people. My latest book, A Fatal Inheritance, will be published May 14, 2024. My first book - Billion Dollar Brand Club, about upstart brands taking on corporate giants that long dominated the trillion-dollar consumer economy - was published Jan. 28, 2020.
During my career, I have interviewed prime ministers (of Iceland) and future prime ministers (of Britain). I have been deposed by lawyers for Donald Trump (before he became president). I have covered tense international trade negotiations, foretold why the euro currency would face many challenges, written about the legalization of gay marriage in Europe (many years earlier than in the U.S.) and profiled the last manned fire watchtower in the woods of northern Maine. I witnessed the collapse of the Twin Towers across the street from the WSJ offices on 9/11.
Accolades for Billion Dollar Brand Club
"In Billion Dollar Brand Club, the veteran business journalist Lawrence Ingrassia (a former editor at The New York Times) ferrets out the most compelling, consequential stories and people behind the direct-to-consumer revolution. He weaves riveting tales of legacy brands caught resting on their laurels, the hungry newcomers who outsmarted them and a network of prescient investors working behind the scenes." The New York Times
"Far more than a journalistic take on unorthodox online retailers . . . [Ingrassia] offers an insightful description of how entrepreneurs armed with little more than an idea have undermined powerful incumbents in industries that once enjoyed tantalizing profit margins." Wall Street Journal
- No. 2 on Inc. magazine's list of "10 Best New Business Books of 2020"
- Selected for "Best in Business Book Awards" shortlist for 2020. SABEW Best in Business
- "Editors' Choice: New Books We Recommend," The New York Times
- Chosen as one of "The 20 Best Business Books of 2020" by Entrepreneur's Handbook
"In Billion Dollar Brand Club, the veteran business journalist Lawrence Ingrassia (a former editor at The New York Times) ferrets out the most compelling, consequential stories and people behind the direct-to-consumer revolution. He weaves riveting tales of legacy brands caught resting on their laurels, the hungry newcomers who outsmarted them and a network of prescient investors working behind the scenes." The New York Times
"Far more than a journalistic take on unorthodox online retailers . . . [Ingrassia] offers an insightful description of how entrepreneurs armed with little more than an idea have undermined powerful incumbents in industries that once enjoyed tantalizing profit margins." Wall Street Journal
- No. 2 on Inc. magazine's list of "10 Best New Business Books of 2020"
- Selected for "Best in Business Book Awards" shortlist for 2020. SABEW Best in Business
- "Editors' Choice: New Books We Recommend," The New York Times
- Chosen as one of "The 20 Best Business Books of 2020" by Entrepreneur's Handbook
A leading financial journalist takes us inside a business revolution: the upstart brands taking on the empires that long dominated the trillion-dollar consumer economy.
“Billion Dollar Brand Club is a fascinating, eye-opening adventure tour through the companies remaking our economy and lives. Lawrence Ingrassia’s stories of how start-ups have transformed nearly everything—from how we buy and sell to how we work and live—are critical reading. If you want to understand why you’re buying razors, or mattresses, or nearly everything else in a totally new way, then BUY THIS BOOK.”
--Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“In Silicon Valley, billion dollar companies were once called ‘unicorns’ because they were so rare. These businesses have disrupted the entire retail sector, but until now no one has really understood how they did it. Lawrence Ingrassia’s fascinating, fast-paced, and truly elucidating book details how a herd of unicorns changed the way we live, and will continue to disrupt the business world for decades to come.”
--Nick Bilton, special correspondent, Vanity Fair, and author of Hatching Twitter
“Billion Dollar Brand Club chronicles the seismic changes rocking retail. Lawrence Ingrassia does a masterful job illuminating the new breed of internet-forged brands and the savvy entrepreneurs who have overthrown decades of thinking about what it means to sell.”
--Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store
“Lawrence Ingrassia has given us an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the personalities and processes shaping what we buy and how. Every page is full of insight and real-world stories about what it takes to create a product and brand that will be around for the long term in a world where things move faster than ever.”
--Eric Ries, author of The Startup Way and The Lean Startup, and founder and CEO of LTSE
“In the last few years, upstart brands have come out of nowhere to take over huge businesses. Think Warby Parker, Casper, and Dollar Shave Club. How did they do it? That’s the question everyone, from consumers to the big brands who previously owned these categories, wants to know. Lawrence Ingrassia’s engaging, must-read new book, Billion Dollar Brand Club, has the answers.”
--Bethany McLean, coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here
“Billion Dollar Brand Club is a fascinating, eye-opening adventure tour through the companies remaking our economy and lives. Lawrence Ingrassia’s stories of how start-ups have transformed nearly everything—from how we buy and sell to how we work and live—are critical reading. If you want to understand why you’re buying razors, or mattresses, or nearly everything else in a totally new way, then BUY THIS BOOK.”
--Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“In Silicon Valley, billion dollar companies were once called ‘unicorns’ because they were so rare. These businesses have disrupted the entire retail sector, but until now no one has really understood how they did it. Lawrence Ingrassia’s fascinating, fast-paced, and truly elucidating book details how a herd of unicorns changed the way we live, and will continue to disrupt the business world for decades to come.”
--Nick Bilton, special correspondent, Vanity Fair, and author of Hatching Twitter
“Billion Dollar Brand Club chronicles the seismic changes rocking retail. Lawrence Ingrassia does a masterful job illuminating the new breed of internet-forged brands and the savvy entrepreneurs who have overthrown decades of thinking about what it means to sell.”
--Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store
“Lawrence Ingrassia has given us an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the personalities and processes shaping what we buy and how. Every page is full of insight and real-world stories about what it takes to create a product and brand that will be around for the long term in a world where things move faster than ever.”
--Eric Ries, author of The Startup Way and The Lean Startup, and founder and CEO of LTSE
“In the last few years, upstart brands have come out of nowhere to take over huge businesses. Think Warby Parker, Casper, and Dollar Shave Club. How did they do it? That’s the question everyone, from consumers to the big brands who previously owned these categories, wants to know. Lawrence Ingrassia’s engaging, must-read new book, Billion Dollar Brand Club, has the answers.”
--Bethany McLean, coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here