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Kirkus Reviews | Kirkus Discoveries | Kirkus Fresh Ink |
| February 10, 2005 Vol 2 / Issue 1 | |
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The
Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke By: Suze Orman Publisher: Riverhead Pub Date: March 2005 Suze is back, this time with a message for a younger crowd—a wise move for a for a personal-finance whiz who knows the ins and outs of money management. People in their 20s, though they certainly can rack up just as much debt as anyone, have not been Suze’s traditional targets with her other recent works, The Laws of Money, The Road to Wealth, The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom. Here, the intended audience is clear: twentysomethings who need sage financial advice. Regarding housing, the author suggests considering a roommate; when it comes to employment, she directs the discussion at those still floating in the career choice ether. When she arrives at her discussion of savings accounts, she declares the book “a spread-sheet free zone.” Although the tone is not a bit patronizing, she offers plenty of basic instruction—she negotiates the tricky terrain of financing a mortgage, but also provides the handy reminder to flush the toilets when doing a walk-through of a possible new home. As usual with Suze, the material is highly accessible and practically arranged. The section on combining financial lives with a new long-term partner should be required reading at the marriage license counter. Good stuff for a new audience from the name-brand in personal finance. (Stephanie Sorensen; 212-366-2576; stephanie.sorensen@us.penguingroup.com) | |
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Live Well on Less Than You Think: The New York Times
Guide to Achieving Your Financial Freedom By: Fred Brock Publisher: Times Books/Henry Holt Pub Date: January 2005 Former New York Times columnist Brock uses “financial freedom” to full effect, creating a mini-franchise out of his popular instruction. Live Well on Less Than You Think is the latest salvo in his anti-hysteria campaign against Americans’ misuse of money. (see Retire on Less than You Think, 2004). With his methods, common sense reigns: Plan grocery shopping strategically in order to avoid sending out for a mediocre $20 pizza. Don’t sign up for department store credit cards, with their ruinously high rates of interest. Recognize that state-school graduates have the same shot as Ivy Leaguers, without the massive student loans that are often the price of pedigree. And come what may, don’t buy a new car: Buying one just off lease can save thousands of dollars, which can then be invested. Brock also offers helpful examples of those who have made wise money choices. Not everyone will have the fortitude of the young, cooperative community in Albany, NY, that pools its money and lends to members, but there’s plenty to consider, based on their financial planning. (Abigail Cleaves; 212-886-1009; abigail.cleaves@hholt.com) | |
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Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap—and
What Women Can Do About It By: Warren Farrell, Ph.D. Publisher: Amacom Books Pub Date: January 2005 Now that Farrell has educated readers as to Why Men Are the Way They Are (1986) and The Myth of Male Power (1993), he’s moving on to the most practical of matters: the paycheck. According to Farrell, inequity is largely due to the choices women make. Women often choose jobs that are “fulfilling, flexible, and safe,” all of which frequently pay less than jobs that are demanding, unfulfilling and high-risk. But fear not, ladies. For women who want to buck the trend, he offers a series of fields that are high-paying; fields that pay women higher starting salaries than men; and college degrees that lead women to those higher salaries. There are numerous specific suggestions about what jobs to seek: options include taking a hazardous job without the hazards—an administrator in the air force, rather than a combat soldier—and choosing hard sciences over social sciences. It’s not all warm-and-fuzzy empathy, though; Farrell also surmises that many women are discriminated in their favor, and devotes a chapter to what he calls a “genetic celebrity,” a woman so beautiful that she has distinct advantages in life. Celebrity status notwithstanding, women who seek greater earning power and ways to subvert the continuing gender-pay disparity would do well to check this one out. (Irene Majuk; 212-903-8087; imajuk@amanet.org) | |
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50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit: Everything You
Need to Know About Identity Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit
Reports By: Steve Weisman Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub Date: January 2005 Identity theft and bad credit—two of the most feared byproducts of the information age, and subjects about which few really understand. Weisman offers reassurance in the form of 50 steps that will guard against both of these modern perils. The points of vulnerability are familiar by now: social-security number, credit cards, computer spyware. Weisman addresses each of these weak spots in turn, and lays out the measures required for effective defense. Even if the suggestions arrive too late to prevent identity theft, he still offers advice on what to do next—get an ID Theft Affidavit from the FTC, file a report with the police, and so on. For those more interested in protecting financial status, Weisman describes techniques for using credit cards wisely, as well as researching all the inherent fine print. He goes on to explain credit counseling and credit repair, rendered fully in clear terminology. Clever headlines and highlighted tips will keep you moving through each one of Weisman’s helpful hints. (Linda Bennani; 201-236-7118; linda.bennani@pearsoned.com) | |
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Spam Wars: Our Last Best Chance to Defeat Spammers, Scammers,
and Hackers By: Danny Goodman Publisher: Select Books Pub Date: November 2004 At best, spam is irritating; at worst, it’s downright disgusting. And it’s growing by leaps and bounds, despite new laws designed to control it. Danny Goodman, know as an author of computer manuals (the Javascript Bible and the Javascript and DHTML Cookbook, among dozens of others), takes a step back to examine spam as a phenomenon. First, he introduces the many types of spammers, a long list indeed, ranging from the annoying-but-legit marketers to the scammers who solicit your assistance in getting two million dollars out of their accounts in Nigeria. He examines the history of spam and how spammers get your address. He also highlights the tricks that spammers use, as well as the mistakes they make (in a section called “Spammers Are Stupid”). Finally, he offers an e-mail manifesto and an action list: update your operating system, disable your email preview window, and buy an antivirus software program and subscription. And that’s just what’s under “To Do—Right Now”; “To Do Very Soon” has its own list of suggestions. Goodman knows the facts, and he writes for the layman—should be a hit with anyone plagued by spam. So, basically, anyone with an e-mail address. (Maryglenn McCombs; 615-297-9875; maryglenn@maryglenn.com) | |
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How Hard Are You Knocking? The Job Seekers Guide to Opening
Career Doors By: Timothy Augustine with Rana Curcio Publisher: OakHill Press Pub Date: April 2005 The title may sound familiar to those who remember Augustine’s 1996 edition; the subtitle, however, specified that the work was for college students. Now that globalization and downsizing are permanent fixtures on the employment scene, Augustine has retooled to address everyone searching for work. Quite the practical guide, he begins with a chapter on self-assessment, complete with blank spaces for the reader to fill in responses to questions concerning “entrepreneurial inspiration” and “long-term goals.” Resources come next, in which the author outlines the many destinations for job seekers: career centers, personal network, professional organizations, recruiting firms, etc. Sections on dressing up the resume, improving the work wardrobe and shining in the interview offer more practical tips. Augustine closes on a sweetly optimistic note: “How to Succeed in Your New Job.” While this would be best-suited for those new to job hunting—who could use such interview advice as “personal hygiene is a necessity”—it could also serve as a quick brush-up seminar for those back on the market and in need of reminders of the very best way to present oneself to a prospective employer. (Maryglenn McCombs; 615-297-9875; maryglenn@maryglenn.com) | |
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The Quick Resume and Cover Letter Book, 3rd Edition: Write and
Use an Effective Resume in Only One Day By: J. Michael Farr Publisher: JIST Publishing Pub Date: April 2005 Job search expert Farr, well-versed in the arena of professional correspondence, offers the third edition of his empirical guide, originally published in October 2000. With constructive explanation, he takes the anxiety out of writing a resume, surely the worst part of producing the all-important document. With abundant resume samples and a myriad of terms for skills that should interest the people doing the hiring, the author provides the job seeker with all the tools necessary to make someone look good on paper. Covering all the possible pitfalls, the update also includes tips on sending a resume electronically and creating documents that can be scanned easily. A section of annotated resumes (nearly 100 of them) offers abundant inspiration to the prospective candidate, regardless of job sector. Farr also offers advice on how to identify “your perfect job and industry,” and references other documents that may be helpful—in particular, the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor. Following a section that covers other types of business correspondence, he concludes with suggestions that should be particularly appealing: “Getting a Good Job in Less Time.” (Acacia Martinez; 317-613-4200; amartinez@jist.com) | |
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The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving
Workers What They Want By: David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer Publisher: Wharton School Publishing Pub Date: January 2005 Employee enthusiasm can be an invaluable asset to a business, but 90% percent of employees become indifferent to their workplace over time, says this trio of management experts. How do they know? They’ve surveyed over four million workers in 89 countries over the past 30 years to find out (although conclusions in the book are drawn from research conducted between 1993 and 2003). So, what are the lucky ten percent of companies doing right? They’re meeting the three goals that the vast majority of employees desire at work: equity, achievement and camaraderie. And those goals go for all workers, whether they’re baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, or Gen D (digital). While explaining just what those terms mean, the authors provide plenty of examples of management doing things right: Former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill (later became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) met with hourly workers in the plant and gave them his home number so that they could call him if there were safety problems. Nordstrom’s employee handbook has one rule: “Use your good judgment in all situations.” Now there’s an organization that respects its workers. Numerous quotations from employees surveyed keep things brisk and absorbing. Bottom line: pure good sense on how to keep employees happy and productive. (Linda Bennani; 201-236-7118; linda.bennani@pearsoned.com) | |
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Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate
America and Where They Came From By: David Skeel Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub Date: January 2005 When it comes to hubris, the Greeks really knew what they were talking about. Here, David Skeel uses the hubris poster child, Icarus, as the focal point of an argument about the dangers of overweening arrogance. (Remember Icarus? The son of Daedalus who flew to close to the sun and ended up paying the price?) There are plenty of these types in modern America—it’s almost impossible not to think of Ken Lay and Bernie Ebbers—but Skeel is interested in more than just the train wrecks of the moment. The author traces the manifestation of “Icaran” tendencies through American history, from the rise of the railroads (some of the first U.S. corporations), through the Gilded Age and the New Deal. Things were quiet for a few decades, but then Michael Milken and deregulation appeared in the 1980s, and a whole new crop of Icaruses arrived on the corporate scene. Skeel concludes with a not-very-reassuring chapter about how bold (read “unreflective”) risk-takers are still the darlings of corporations, and U.S. regulators still lag behind corporations when it comes to figuring out how money circulates in the marketplace. Add to that the fact that around 50% of Americans have stock holdings—much of it in retirement funds—and Skeel’s Icarus becomes a cautionary tale too unnerving to read at bedtime. But it should be read nonetheless. (Rudy Faust; 212-726-6007; rudy.faust@oup.com) | |
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Brand Hijack: Marketing Without
Marketing By: Alex Wipperfurth Publisher: Portfolio Pub Date: February 2005 Successful brands that eschew traditional marketing often befuddle even the savviest corporate marketing executives. But with minimal traditional advertising, many companies have done just that, becoming household names in the process: eBay, Starbucks, Red Bull, The Blair Witch Project. Wipperfurth examines their practices to understand just how they succeeded, and then distills the lessons taught by these geniuses of anti-marketing down to his “Brand Hijack Manifesto.” The author instructs his disciples to “Be Patient,” “Be Flexible” and “Lose Control.” One can imagine how easily this will go down with a time-strapped promotions team, but Wipperfurth backs up these directives with rock-solid examples of properties with enviable track records in the branding arena. Granted, when promoting a life-changing product such as TiVo, Hotmail (free web-based email) or Viagra, the marketing becomes a lot easier. But he also points out the vital role that extensive planning plays in any successful anti-marketing campaign—Saturn planned for five years before launching. He spends much of the book convincing the reader that the consumer is a partner, rather than a target—after all, devoted consumers who have been “brandwashed” are walking billboards, and they work for free. (Allison Sweet; 212-366-2762; allison.sweet@us.penguingroup.com) | |
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Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and
Change By: Lawrence G. Hrebiniak Publisher: Wharton School Publishing Pub Date: January 2005 In what could be an excellent companion piece to either branding book mentioned this month, Wharton professor Hrebiniak deconstructs the grand theories and explores what it takes to work in the real world. He starts by discussing what doesn’t work—when managers dream up ambitious scenarios but leave the execution to their underlings, things are bound to go wrong. In other words: formula is easy; execution is hard. Ownership, according to Hrebiniak, is the key to success, and he moves clearly through the many steps of taking strategy from the theoretical to the concrete. There are sections devoted to all the common pitfalls: information sharing, providing appropriate incentives, and managing culture change. Case studies of big corporations and the challenges they met or flubbed provide a real-world look at the stakes involved. The author also provides an examination of power and influence as they relate to execution, and a section that demonstrates how his theories could be applied to recent M&As. In all, a mercifully cut-and-dry, clear-eyed view of one way in which businesses can succeed or fail. (Linda Bennani; 201-236-7118; linda.bennani@pearsoned.com) | |
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Built for Growth: Expanding Your Business Around the Corner or
Across the Globe By: Arthur Rubinfeld and Collins Hemingway Publisher: Wharton School Publishing Pub Date: March 2005 With a first section titled “Make No Little Plans,” Rubinfeld makes clear his philosophy of viable business expansion. As the man instrumental in taking Starbucks to the nearest corner, he knows from expansion. He also knows about the mainstays of any successful business: functional design, staying on budget, maximizing profits, and customized customer service (each of which is treated in its own section). From this strong foundation, the business person can begin to think big, or “Go Long,” in Rubinfeld’s parlance. The first step is to create a business plan, which the author explicates in detail. After assuring that the economic plan is rock-solid, then make sure that employees will remain motivated. Rubinfeld also has plenty of ideas on how to maximize revenue with a minimum investment: a pizza chain can market its sauce, a crafts store can offer lessons to shoppers for a premium, and so on. Although the sections on real estate and “locationing” are particularly valuable given the author’s experience, nearly every page has a concrete idea, suggestion, or caution. Rubinfeld delivers serious value for money here, and small business owners and managers would do well to take advantage of it. (Linda Bennani; 201-236-7118; linda.bennani@pearsoned.com) | |
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