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Business & Finance

Girls getting ahead

Review by bookpagedev

Today’s modern woman has come a long way she no longer has to sound or act like a man to get ahead in the workplace but females still occupy only eight percent of the top-level jobs in major companies, according to Fortune magazine. Unconscious behaviors are keeping women from breaking the glass ceiling, says Lois Frankel, a corporate coach for hundreds of women and men. Her new book, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office (Warner, $19.95, 288 pages, ISBN 0446531324), is a must-have for all women with CEO aspirations. Frankel shows women how to "quit bein’ a girl" by exposing 101 mistakes that sabotage their careers. She breaks down the behaviors into seven categories, including How You Sound, How You Look and How You Play the Game. Some of the mistakes are not revolutionary (speaking softly, needing to be liked, having the wrong hairstyle, etc.) but each one is illustrated with real-world examples and coaching tips that have worked for Frankel’s clients. Women are urged to start with a quick self-assessment test, then focus on the two areas that need the most improvement. Frankel is direct and honest yet supportive as she zeroes in on the unconscious girl behaviors that keep women from reaching the top.

Girls just starting out on their quest for success should pick up Wildly Sophisticated (Perigee, $15.95, 272 pages, ISBN 0399529470), by Nicole Williams. The hip author who created the "Drinks After Work" networking phenomenon recommends that gals pinpoint their passion, choose a great boss and learn to deal with relationships of all kinds (she even covers how to date at work). The funny "Career Confessions" from real women are a special treat in a book best enjoyed while wearing Manolos and sipping a Cosmo.

Being your own boss Entrepreneurs Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio have written the insightful book they wished they could have read when starting their own PR agency in 2000. The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business (HarperResource, $21.95, 256 pages, ISBN 0060521570) will hold your hand through every stage of starting a successful business.

The authors address the unique challenges that women face (finding female role models, balancing family and work, being a boss without being a bitch), and the "scary stuff" like insurance, incorporation and technology. Fortunately these savvy business owners don’t advise doing it all on your own, and their tips on hiring a lawyer, accountant and bookkeeper are essential.

The authors’ enthusiasm is infectious and they give a list of chick flicks (Baby Boom, Sliding Doors) and CDs (Aretha Franklin, Madonna) to provide more inspiration. The Q&As with other female entrepreneurs offer another been-there-learn-from-me perspective.

For more seasoned advice, turn to four business pros who founded Eight Wings Enterprises LLC, an angel investment company. After watching ambitious women suffer start-up pitfalls time and again, they decided to put their knowledge on paper. The result is The Old Girls’ Network (Basic, $24.95, 224 pages, ISBN 073820806X), a wise book that shows women how to create an elevator pitch and warns against the five things never to say to an investor. The real gold mine is the appendix "tool kit" which is full of detailed templates, quizzes and references.

Good Business Eschewing rambling preliminaries, Roger Lowenstein jumps right into the spellbinding story of the bubble that burst in Origins of the Crash. The author of Buffett and When Genius Failed vividly explains the rise and fall of the 1990s stock market in plain, easy to understand language (finally, someone explains why stock options are evil!). But Lowenstein delivers more than just a history recitation. He delves into the culture that helped shape these events to explain how the myriad attempts at corporate governance failed so spectacularly. Looking ahead, Lowenstein predicts more bubbles and crashes, saying that "Wall Street may be incapable of reform." This fascinating analysis may reveal more about the future than Wall Street would like to admit.

 

Today’s modern woman has come a long way she no longer has to sound or act like a man to get ahead in the workplace but females still occupy only eight percent of the top-level jobs in major companies, according to Fortune magazine. Unconscious behaviors are keeping women from breaking the glass ceiling, says Lois […]
Memoir

Surviving the crash

Review by bookpagedev

The pace of Down Around Midnight builds quickly, as author Robert Sabbag describes being a passenger on a small commercial airliner that crashes in the woods on Cape Cod. He writes of the incredible force he experiences as the plane hits the trees, ripping his seat from the fuselage and propelling him forward onto the deck of the cabin. He shares his view of remote darkness, the strong smell of leaking jet fuel and the eerie silence after the plane skids to a halt in the foggy woods. He relates the stinging physical pain and the heart-pounding fear as he and the other survivors struggle to escape, alarmed that they might catch fire along with the fuel-soaked aircraft. The sights, sounds, smells and other sensations of the crash are the hook of Down Around Midnight. What follows is Sabbag’s personal journey of recovery—both physical and emotional—and his quest, 28 years after the crash, to talk to fellow survivors.

Remarkably, the June 17, 1979, crash of Air New England Flight 248 claimed only one life: the pilot’s. Nine passengers and the co-pilot lived, and Sabbag uses his training as a journalist to track down some of them almost three decades later. He finds the young woman who braved the dark woods to find help, the medical student who pulled passengers from the wreckage and the Harvard quarterback who tended to the severely injured co-pilot. Their memories of the crash and their reflections on their psychological recovery make for a fascinating examination of how people cope with the aftermath of a traumatic experience.

The only disappointment is that Sabbag, by choice, doesn’t pursue interviews with some survivors, including the co-pilot and three sisters seriously injured in the crash. He also passes on an interview with the pilot’s wife. One can sympathize with Sabbag’s decision based on his sensitivities as a fellow survivor. But as a journalist, he fails to seek all sides of the story; as a result, Down Around Midnight doesn’t close with the same flourish as its energetic beginning. Still, this survivor’s tale should hold the attention of both the seasoned air traveler and the reluctant voyager who has a fear of flying.

John T. Slania is a journalism professor at Loyola University in Chicago.

The pace of Down Around Midnight builds quickly, as author Robert Sabbag describes being a passenger on a small commercial airliner that crashes in the woods on Cape Cod. He writes of the incredible force he experiences as the plane hits the trees, ripping his seat from the fuselage and propelling him forward onto the […]
History

The shrinking of the world

Review by Roger Bishop

Globalization, according to Charles C. Mann, began in December of 1492, when Christopher Columbus established what he hoped would be a permanent settlement in what is now the Dominican Republic. (It lasted for five years.) Thus began what historian Alfred W. Crosby called the Columbian Exchange. Following Crosby’s lead, noted scientific journalist Mann, using the latest scholarship and his own trips to sites around the world, demonstrates the crucial importance of that exchange in 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, a follow-up to his critically acclaimed 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

Mann shows that globalization was not just economic and cultural, but was also, maybe even primarily, a biological phenomenon. Some biologists say it was the beginning of a new biological era: the Homogenocene, a mixing of new substances to create a uniform blend. Organisms from the separate hemispheres could now travel to, and prosper in, locations halfway around the world. Many historians consider the introduction of the hardy potato (native to the Americas) to Europe as a watershed historical moment. But these exchanges were not always beneficent. Among other things, Columbus brought viruses that caused epidemic diseases such as cholera, typhus and smallpox to the Americas, where they were previously unknown—with catastrophic results. During the 16th and 17th centuries, such diseases were responsible for the deaths of at least three-fourths of the native population of the Americas.

Globalization extended beyond the interchange between Europe and the Americas. In 1570, two Spanish explorers, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Andres Ochoa de Urdaneta y Cerain, did what Columbus was unable to do: initiate trade with wealthy China by sailing west. They did for economics what Columbus did for ecology. For 2,000 years the population of China had grown slowly. That changed when American crops were introduced there and the population soared. What became known as the “galleon trade” brought together Asia, Europe, the Americas and, less directly, Africa, in a network of exchange for the first time in history.

Mann’s sweeping overview invites us to interpret history a bit differently than more conventional approaches. One of the most compelling subjects is the crucial role played by the slave trade and the Indians in developing what became the United States. Although textbooks indicate that the Europeans moved into a sparsely populated hemisphere, in fact the hemisphere was already home to millions of inhabitants. And most of the movement into the Americas was by Africans, who easily became the majority population in places not controlled by native tribes. One recent study has calculated that in the period between 1500 and 1840, three Africans were brought to the Americas for every European.

In one fascinating discussion, Mann relates how malaria, to which many in West and Central Africa are largely immune, assisted in slavery’s development. Although it is unlikely that they were conscious of it at first, planters with slaves had an economic advantage over planters who used indentured servants, who were more likely to come down with the disease. As that became apparent, the most successful planters imported additional slaves, and other planters who wished to prosper did the same thing.

There is so much more in Mann’s engaging and well-written book. Information and insight abound on every page. This dazzling display of erudition, theory and insight will help readers to view history in a fresh way.

Globalization, according to Charles C. Mann, began in December of 1492, when Christopher Columbus established what he hoped would be a permanent settlement in what is now the Dominican Republic. (It lasted for five years.) Thus began what historian Alfred W. Crosby called the Columbian Exchange. Following Crosby’s lead, noted scientific journalist Mann, using the […]
Business & Finance

Girls getting ahead

Review by bookpagedev

Today’s modern woman has come a long way she no longer has to sound or act like a man to get ahead in the workplace but females still occupy only eight percent of the top-level jobs in major companies, according to Fortune magazine. Unconscious behaviors are keeping women from breaking the glass ceiling, says Lois Frankel, a corporate coach for hundreds of women and men. Her new book, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, is a must-have for all women with CEO aspirations. Frankel shows women how to "quit bein’ a girl" by exposing 101 mistakes that sabotage their careers. She breaks down the behaviors into seven categories, including How You Sound, How You Look and How You Play the Game. Some of the mistakes are not revolutionary (speaking softly, needing to be liked, having the wrong hairstyle, etc.) but each one is illustrated with real-world examples and coaching tips that have worked for Frankel’s clients. Women are urged to start with a quick self-assessment test, then focus on the two areas that need the most improvement. Frankel is direct and honest yet supportive as she zeroes in on the unconscious girl behaviors that keep women from reaching the top.

Girls just starting out on their quest for success should pick up Wildly Sophisticated (Perigee, $15.95, 272 pages, ISBN 0399529470), by Nicole Williams. The hip author who created the "Drinks After Work" networking phenomenon recommends that gals pinpoint their passion, choose a great boss and learn to deal with relationships of all kinds (she even covers how to date at work). The funny "Career Confessions" from real women are a special treat in a book best enjoyed while wearing Manolos and sipping a Cosmo.

Being your own boss Entrepreneurs Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio have written the insightful book they wished they could have read when starting their own PR agency in 2000. The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business (HarperResource, $21.95, 256 pages, ISBN 0060521570) will hold your hand through every stage of starting a successful business.

The authors address the unique challenges that women face (finding female role models, balancing family and work, being a boss without being a bitch), and the "scary stuff" like insurance, incorporation and technology. Fortunately these savvy business owners don’t advise doing it all on your own, and their tips on hiring a lawyer, accountant and bookkeeper are essential.

The authors’ enthusiasm is infectious and they give a list of chick flicks (Baby Boom, Sliding Doors) and CDs (Aretha Franklin, Madonna) to provide more inspiration. The Q&andAs with other female entrepreneurs offer another been-there-learn-from-me perspective.

For more seasoned advice, turn to four business pros who founded Eight Wings Enterprises LLC, an angel investment company. After watching ambitious women suffer start-up pitfalls time and again, they decided to put their knowledge on paper. The result is The Old Girls’ Network (Basic, $24.95, 224 pages, ISBN 073820806X), a wise book that shows women how to create an elevator pitch and warns against the five things never to say to an investor. The real gold mine is the appendix "tool kit" which is full of detailed templates, quizzes and references.

Good Business Eschewing rambling preliminaries, Roger Lowenstein jumps right into the spellbinding story of the bubble that burst in Origins of the Crash (The Penguin Press, $24.95, 259 pages, ISBN 1594200033). The author of Buffett and When Genius Failed vividly explains the rise and fall of the 1990s stock market in plain, easy to understand language (finally, someone explains why stock options are evil!). But Lowenstein delivers more than just a history recitation. He delves into the culture that helped shape these events to explain how the myriad attempts at corporate governance failed so spectacularly. Looking ahead, Lowenstein predicts more bubbles and crashes, saying that "Wall Street may be incapable of reform." This fascinating analysis may reveal more about the future than Wall Street would like to admit.

Today’s modern woman has come a long way she no longer has to sound or act like a man to get ahead in the workplace but females still occupy only eight percent of the top-level jobs in major companies, according to Fortune magazine. Unconscious behaviors are keeping women from breaking the glass ceiling, says Lois […]
NonfictionBiography

The life of Yossarian’s creator

Review by Edward Morris

In Just One Catch, his reconstruction of the life of novelist, playwright and screenwriter Joseph Heller, Tracy Daugherty has also illuminated the post-World War II culture of American fiction—from the emergence of Jewish sensibilities as a key narrative element to the influence of mass advertising and television to the corporatization of book publishing. It’s about time for such a comprehensive biography, given the fact that Heller died nearly 12 years ago.

Born to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents in 1923 in the grimy but colorful Coney Island section of Brooklyn, Heller would go to war at 19 (assimilating all its horrors and hilarities as an aerial bombardier); attend college under the G.I. Bill; become an English teacher and advertising copywriter; and finally surface as one of the freshest, most distinctive voices among a cadre of gifted peers that included Norman Mailer, James Jones, J.D. Salinger, Saul Bellow and Kurt Vonnegut.

Heller’s earliest success was as a short-story writer. It wasn’t until 1953 that he began penning a novel whose working title for years would be Catch-18. After many starts and stops—and some Herculean editing by the soon-to-be legendary Robert Gottlieb—Heller’s absurdist rendition of war and bureaucracy was finally published in 1961 as Catch-22. Just as From Here to Eternity did for Jones, Catch-22 became the standard by which all Heller’s subsequent novels were judged—and would always fall short.

The Heller portrayed in these pages is surprisingly free of major psychological quirks, considering he lost his father when he was four, suffered the terrors of war and became a celebrity while still a relatively young man. In addition to Catch-22, Daugherty traces the evolution and critical reception of many of Heller’s novels (including Good As Gold, for which he was paid an advance of nearly two million dollars) as well as the play We Bombed in New Haven. Daugherty also provides a lively account of the clashes between the liberal Heller and the increasingly conservative Norman Podhoretz. To examine Heller’s less public side, Daugherty interviewed dozens of sources close to the author, among them Gottlieb, Heller’s two children, his second wife and such close friends as comedian-producer Mel Brooks and author Christopher Buckley.

Heller gave the world more than just his stories; he endowed the English language with a term that has become the indispensable cry of despair for the thwarted and frustrated. Blame it on Catch-22.

In Just One Catch, his reconstruction of the life of novelist, playwright and screenwriter Joseph Heller, Tracy Daugherty has also illuminated the post-World War II culture of American fiction—from the emergence of Jewish sensibilities as a key narrative element to the influence of mass advertising and television to the corporatization of book publishing. It’s about […]
HistoryAmerican History

A new perspective on Ellis Island

Review by bookpagedev

Journalist and historian Vincent J. Cannato’s American Passage: The History of Ellis Island is about an uncertain chapter in America’s past, one most people might automatically deem unfair or at least depressing. But, as the saying goes: it is what it is. When put into its proper context, as Cannato sure-handedly does, Ellis Island’s desultory existence emerges as a functional, if flawed, reality of its time, when millions of immigrants sought wholesale entry into the U.S.

The huddled masses yearning to be free certainly figure into Cannato’s narrative, but they’re only the pawns in the game. We don’t get to them for a while anyway, as the author first offers an overview of New York Harbor’s island system, plus background on what was formerly known as Gibbet Island, used as a place for hanging pirates in the early 19th century and later as a munitions depot. Immigration was handled loosely back then, but as the influx of Europeans to the Land of Liberty increased heading toward the 20th century, so did point-of-entry corruption and exploitation, not to mention Anglo-Saxon xenophobia and nativist fears about diseased, lunatic, criminal and poverty-stricken aliens infiltrating the shores. (On the other hand, big business was licking its chops at the prospect of cheap labor. Sound familiar?)

Indeed, 12 million immigrants washed through Ellis Island’s portals from 1892 to 1924, and Cannato trenchantly outlines the political, administrative and public policy ideas behind its operation, while also introducing readers to a host of government officials heretofore little-known, such as longtime Ellis Island commissioner William Williams, who was a stickler when it came to “tightening the sieve that would strain out larger numbers of undesirable immigrants.” There are sad stories about Ellis Island, some recounted here. Some folks were sent back from whence they came, some died in detention, sometimes families were split up. But much of the anecdotal reportage only seems to reinforce with some logic the notion that, faced with an onslaught of potential new citizens, any government might want to rightfully process them systematically. (And by the way, Cannato says Ellis Island officials did not change people’s names; they hardly had time enough to deal with all the human bodies and the appropriate settlement issues. Most immigrants who changed their names did so later on of their own accord or at the urging of relatives or friends.)

After World War I, and with immigration on the decline, the U.S. turned to the so-called consulate system for screening newcomers, which rendered Ellis Island generally irrelevant, though it continued to function through the years as a detention center, including during World War II and the Cold War. In the 1950s, it went up for sale. Finding no takers at the government’s asking price, and after a few more decades of federal indecision, it finally was remade into a museum in 1990, now attracting two million visitors a year.

Rather than tug at heartstrings about the great melting pot experience, American Passage focuses instead on delivering a well-written and thoroughly researched text about the workings of a uniquely historical bureaucracy, the development and reform of early immigration law, the sociopolitical impulses that fueled a teeming era—and a strange little island whose place in our history is now only a faraway memory.

Martin Brady writes from Nashville.

Journalist and historian Vincent J. Cannato’s American Passage: The History of Ellis Island is about an uncertain chapter in America’s past, one most people might automatically deem unfair or at least depressing. But, as the saying goes: it is what it is. When put into its proper context, as Cannato sure-handedly does, Ellis Island’s desultory […]

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