I'm Not the BOSS, I Just Work Here

A candid and compelling new memoir by Howard Jonas, chairman and founder of IDT Corporation. This work is a miniature masterpiece, a must-read for anyone interested in cultivating and refining an inner life.

Coming at a time when Scripture is being used as a divisive and destructive tool, this is a Bible-based work with universal appeal. Drawing on his personal experiences, divulging his struggle against depression and detailing the close-knit family bonds that have sustained him his entire life, Jonas, the founder of IDT Corp., one of America’s top telecommunication companies and father of nine, returns time and again to the teachings of the Torah, the Jewish Bible, which are at the core of his belief system.

Regardless of one’s religion, lifestyle or upbringing, I’M NOT THE BOSS, I JUST WORK HERE is that rare book with the power to touch – and transform – the lives of readers around the world.

In many ways, Howard Jonas, a baby boomer and Bronx native, is a man for our times. Coming of age in the confusing era of the Kennedy assassination, Jonas wrestles with conflicting social and economic ideologies, ultimately finding his spiritual and intellectual haven within Judaism. Addressing such timeless issues as how evil can co-exist in a universe created by – and ruled by – God, Jonas speaks not a rabbi, preacher or philosopher, but as a contemporary Everyman.

His personal quest informs and enriches our own.

Founder and Chairman of IDT Corporation, Howard Jonas has been an entrepreneur since the age of 14, when he staked out a corner near a local hospital for his hot dog stand. From selling hot dogs, he moved on to travel brochure distribution, business-to-business directories and mail-order bonsai trees. By the time he was in college, he was running one of the country’s largest direct mail businesses from his dormitory room.

Jonas graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University. In 1979, he founded Jonas Publishing Corporation, which publishes trade directories. In addition to this company, Jonas founded IDT Corporation in August 1990 and has served as Chairman since its inception. At age thirty-three, he shook the foundations of international telecommunications by positioning IDT to supply the world with extremely low international long-distance rates through the use of "callback" telephone service. At present, IDT is a public corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange with more than 4,000 employees and a market capitalization in excess of $2 billion.

Jonas actively supports several charities nationally and in his community, and serves as a trustee on numerous university, hospital, Jewish and social service organization boards. He lives in New York City with his wife and nine children. In 1998 his book On a Roll was published by Viking.