CK’s book, “Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics,” was a New York Times bestseller, remaining in the number one slot for 10 weeks. In an interview regarding his book, Charles, who suffered a spinal injury in his early 20s, was asked what readers would learn about him
How improbable my life story is. I still wake up simply amazed how I’ve ended up where I am, mostly by serendipity and sheer blind luck. I started out as a doctor. I ended as a writer. And that’s the least of the stunning twists and turns that have defined my life—which I write about, for the first time, in the introductory essay to Things That Matter.
The things that really matter, as I try to explain in the introductory essay—the cosmic questions of origins and meaning, the great achievements of science and art, the great mysteries of creation and consciousness—shall always be with us. Thirty years from now, 300 years from now. I hope that one contribution of this book will be to provide some illumination on these wondrous mysteries and achievements.
From Fred Hiatt, the Washington Post’s editorial page editor:
This is a hugely sad day for me, and I know in that I’m no different than so many Post readers. For decades, Charles has written a column of unparalleled principle and integrity, not to mention humor and intellectual virtuosity. There will be no replacing him.
