800-CEO-READ New Releases

The Wal-Mart Effect

by Charles Fishman

(Penguin, 336 Pages)

Wal-Mart isn’t just the world’s biggest company, it is probably the world’s most written-about. But no book until this one has managed to penetrate its wall of silence or go beyond the usual polemics to analyze its actual effects on its customers, workers, and suppliers. Drawing on unprecedented interviews with former Wal-Mart executives and a wealth of staggering data (e.g., Americans spend $36 million an hour at Wal-Mart stores, and in 2004 its growth alone was bigger than the total revenue of 469 of the Fortune 500), The Wal-Mart Effect is an intimate look at a business that is dramatically reshaping our lives.

The Hippie Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder & Other Mountains

by Skip Yowell

(Naked Ink, 244 Pages)

At the cusp of JanSport's 40th anniversary, The Hippie Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder & Other Mountains chronicles the dramatic adventures and accomplishments of the man behind one of the world's most recognized brands. From small-town Kansas boy to adventure-junkie extraordinaire, this book traces Skip Yowell's journey to the top of the outdoor industry. Full of insightful details and photos from around the world, this books offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Skip and his team built a successful company--and changed an entire industry--by breaking the rules and taking good care of their customers.

Paths to Power

by Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria, Laura G. Singleton

(Harvard Business School Press, 320 Pages)

Who made it to the top of Corporate America in the twentieth century? And what do their experiences mean for the next generation of business leaders? In Paths to Power, Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria, and Laura G. Singleton answer these questions.

The authors explore access to business leadership opportunities—showing how a small group of "insiders" possesses advantages that facilitate a smooth journey to the top while a larger group of "outsiders" faces disadvantages that make their path to leadership positions more difficult. Yet throughout the history of American business, the composition of insiders and outsiders has shifted. Examining data on leader birthplaces, religious affiliation, education, socioeconomic status, race, and gender, Paths to Power explains how the demographics of leadership have changed over the 20th century and how they’re changing now. Further, they discuss the mechanisms of advancement for insiders and outsiders, and show how these mechanisms have also evolved.

Though white men still hold most power positions in business, the authors assert that the gates of access aren’t as static as they seem.

Boeing Versus Airbus

by John Newhouse

(Random House Inc, 256 Pages)

From the author of the classic study of the aviation industry, The Sporty Game, a new book that chronicles the high-stakes rivalry between the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers—companies that will bet the house on a single airplane.

Long one of America’s most successful and admired corporations—and its biggest exporter—Boeing struggled to maintain 50 percent of the market share for commercial aircraft after being overtaken by the European upstart Airbus in the late 1990s. But Airbus did not remain on top for long. By 2006, the company suffered from mismanagement and had adopted the kind of complacent, risk-averse culture that had once characterized its competitor.

Incorporating interviews he conducted throughout the industry—with everyone from company leaders, past and present, and Wall Street analysts to design engineers and factory workers—John Newhouse takes us inside these two firms to help us understand their struggle for supremacy in a business based as much on instinct as on economics. He examines the critical issues that Boeing has faced in recent years, including its difficult merger with McDonnell Douglas, its controversial move from Seattle to Chicago, and a series of corporate scandals that made front-page news. And he analyzes the troubles that have beset a once ascendant Airbus, notably an institutional structure aimed at satisfying the narrowly focused interests of its European stakeholders. Newhouse also explores the problems that now face Boeing and Airbus alike: potential competition from China and Japan, the challenge of serving burgeoning Asian markets, and the need to undo years of mismanagement.

Boeing Versus Airbus is a fascinating, informed, and insightful tale of success, and failure, in the turbulent, do-or-die world of the aircraft industry.

The Definitive Drucker

by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim

(McGraw-Hill, 256 Pages)

With commentary from industry icons including Jack Welch, A. G. Lafley, John Bachmann, and Bill Donaldson

For Elizabeth Edersheim, a former senior consultant and partner for McKinsey & Co., a request directly from Peter Drucker to write about his life's work and his latest insights was a dream come true. For 16 months, Edersheim had extraordinary, unprecedented access to Drucker, talking with the father of modern management about business practices, economic changes, and contemporary trends-many of which he had predicted decades ago.

During this period, she also interviewed top executives at P&G, Medtronics, General Electric, and Toyota about Drucker's influence. These individuals in turn gave their expert points of view on his management wisdom. With thorough analysis and intriguing insight, The Definitive Drucker delivers the business biography of Drucker's most influential concepts, demonstrating how they are shaping every major organization and business trend of our time.

• Includes Drucker's perspective on modern business in his own words as told to the author in a series of interviews conducted in the months prior to his death
• Edersheim blends her own analysis with the experiences and thinking of current business leaders underscoring Drucker's vast influence, including A. G. Lafley, Jack Welch, and Michael Hammer
• Delivers the most updated and comprehensive view of Drucker's contribution to the discipline of management over the past 75 years, updated for the modern business approach with new applications of his timeless principles

Flower Confidential

by Amy Stewart

(Workman Pub Co, 306 Pages)

We buy more flowers a year than we do Big Macs, spending $6.2 billion annually. We use them to mark our most important events, to express sentiments that might otherwise go unsaid. And we demand perfection. So it’s no surprise that there is a $40 billion global industry devoted to making flowers flawless.

Amy Stewart takes us inside the flower trade—from the hybridizers, who create new varieties in the laboratory, to the growers, who produce flowers by the millions (often in a factory-like setting), to the Dutch auctioneers, who set the bar (and the price), and ultimately to the neighborhood florists orchestrating the mind-boggling demands of Valentine’s and Mother’s Day. There’s the breeder intent on developing the first blue rose; an eccentric horticultural legend who created the world’s most popular lily; a grower of gerberas of every color imaginable; and the equivalent of a Tiffany diamond: the “ Forever Young” rose.

Stewart explores the relevance of flowers in our lives and in our history, and in the process she reveals all that has been gained—and lost—by tinkering with nature.

Miracle Medicines

by Robert Shook

(Penguin USA, 256 Pages)

It’s the business of saving lives.

Miracle Medicines goes behind the scenes of the pharmaceutical industry and into the high-security laboratories to tell the stories of the men and women---chemists, physiologists, medical and clinical researchers, engineers---who have chosen to toil for years in the lab in order to transform scientific theories into new lifesaving medicines.

You’ll witness the day-to-day labors, victories and defeats of the dedicated professionals who are waging a war against the diseases that still plague mankind. From the confines of their laboratories, these pharmaceutical adventurers explore unknown territories in health and science.

Miracle Medicines reveals what really happens during the long and uncertain journey that each new drug and its creators must endure from theory, to research, to testing and, finally, FDA approval and delivery to the public. It’s a very human story within the context of fascinating scientific innovation.

Through first hand interviews you’ll also meet the patients who benefit from these manmade miracles and learn how, within their bloodstreams, an ongoing battle is raging.

The drugs profiled are:

• Advair: GlaxoSmithKline’s revolutionary asthma medication, the first packaged as both a control and emergency drug.
• Gleevec: The Novartis’ chronic myeloid leukemia treatment born from decades of medical research in a field of study that was once considered hopeless.
• Humalog: Eli Lilly’s reinvention of insulin to control diabetes has been described as being better than nature
• Lipitor: Pfizer’s miracle antidote for high cholesterol that was nearly lost to the pharmaceutical vaults and has since become the world’s top-selling medicine.
• Norvir: Abbott’s contribution to the fight against HIV that nearly erases all traces of the disease from the bloodstream and prolongs the life of patients.
• Remicade: Created for the treatment of Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other Immune Mediated Inflammatory Diseases, Johnson & Johnson’s revolutionary biomedicine was developed from technology that once was only found in science fiction.
• Seroquel: AstraZeneca’s treatment for both schizophrenia and bipolar mania that has given millions of psychiatrics a new lease on life.

This compelling and truth-revealing book will forever change the way you view the medicines in your medicine cabinet, and the people who create them.

The Sushi Economy

by Sasha Issenberg

(Gotham, 352 Pages)

From the sea to your plate, the first international tour of sushi’s journey in the global marketplace

One generation ago, sushi’s narrow reach ensured that sports fishermen who caught tuna in most of the world sold the meat for pennies as cat food. Today, the fatty cuts of tuna known as toro are among the planet’s most coveted luxury foods, worth hundreds of dollars a pound and capable of losing value more quickly than any other product on earth. So how has one of the world’s most popular foods gone from being practically unknown in the U.S. to being served in towns all across America, and in such a short span of time? Sushi aficionados and newcomers alike will be surprised to learn the true history, intricate business, and international allure behind this fascinating food.

A riveting combination of culinary biography, behind-the-scenes restaurant detail, and a unique exploration of globalization’s dynamics, journalist Sasha Issenberg traces sushi’s journey from Japanese street snack to global delicacy. THE SUSHI ECONOMY takes you through the stalls of Tokyo’s massive Tsukiji market, where the auctioneers sell millions of dollars of fish each day, and to the birthplace of modern sushi--in Canada. He then follows sushi’s evolution in America, exploring how it became LA’s favorite food. You’re taken behind the sushi bar with the chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose distinctive travels helped to define the flavors of global sushi cuisine, and with a unique sushi chef blazing a path in Texas. Issenberg also delves into the complex economics of the fish trade, following the ups and downs of the hunt for bluefin off New England, the tuna cowboys on the southern coast of Australia who invented the art of tuna ranching, and uncovering the mysterious underworld of pirates, smugglers, and the tuna black market.

Few businesses reveal the complex dynamics of globalization as acutely as the tuna’s journey from the sea to the sushi bar. After traversing the pages of THE SUSHI ECONOMY, you’ll never see the food on your plate — or the world around you — quite the same way again.

One Perfect Day

by Rebecca Mead

(Penguin USA, 288 Pages)

The 160-billion dollar behemoth that is the American wedding industry and the psychology behind the expense, stress, and folly associated with the typical American wedding.

Using the American wedding as a rosetta stone, in One Perfect Day writer Rebecca Mead poses a series of questions that cut to the heart of our national identity. Why, she asks, has the American wedding become an outlandishly extravagant, egregiously expensive, and overwhelmingly demanding production? What is the derivation of the nuptial imperative upon brides and grooms to observe tradition while at the same time using the wedding as a vehicle for expressing their personal style? What does an American wedding tell us about how Americans consume, relate, and live today? One Perfect Day masterfully mixes investigative journalism and social commentary to explore the workings of the wedding industry-an industry that claims to be worth $160 billion to the U.S. economy and which has every interest in ensuring that the American wedding business becomes ever more lavish and complex. Taking us inside the workings of the wedding industry-from the swelling ranks of professional wedding planners to department stores with their online wedding registries to the retailers and manufacturers of wedding gowns to the Walt Disney Company and its Fairytale Weddings program-Rebecca Mead skillfully holds the mirror up to the bride's deepest hopes and fears about her wedding day and dissects the myriad goods and services that will be required for her role within it.

Weddings are no longer a rite of passage, no longer a transition from childhood to adulthood, or an initiation into a sexual or domestic intimacy, nor necessarily a religious ritual. The result of this cultural shift is that the event itself has taken on an ever-increasing momentousness shaped as much by commerce and marketing as by religious observance or familial expectation. The American wedding gives expression to the values and preoccupations of our culture. For better or worse, the way we marry is who we are.

What Really Matters

by

(Yale University Press, 320 Pages)

The fundamental question in business and in personal life is the same: What really matters? In this book one of America’s most widely admired business leaders distills a lifetime of experience, including failures as well as successes, to reveal his answers. John Pepper, president, CEO, and chairman of Procter & Gamble for a combined 16 years, underscores the importance of continuous change, innovation, and renewal as prerequisites for growth and sound leadership. In What Really Matters he suggests that a preparedness to alter perspective, rethink assumptions, or change course is central not only to understanding customer needs and keeping costs under control but also to developing talent, organizing global businesses, and supporting communities. While he discusses specific business tactics, he notes that they all center on fundamental tenets: listen to and respect the customer, engender personal accountability and passionate ownership, encourage diversity, and create a vibrant, trusting institution that incorporates employees and their families. In his own years as an executive, Pepper has demonstrated that a profitable business can create and sustain a culture that shapes—and is shaped by—ethical behavior. His profoundly important advice and counsel belong in the lexicon and practice of every leader.

Guinness

by Bill Yenne

(Wiley, 250 Pages)

For millions of beer lovers the world over, a properly poured pint of Guinness Stout is as close to perfection as beer gets. Each year, fans of the legendary black liquidation enjoy two billion pints of the beer known for its distinctive creamy head and rich drinkability. Ireland's most famous export, Guinness Stout--and the people who have brewed it--hold a unique place in the history of beer, business, and Ireland itself.

They say that good things come to those who wait. When you wait on a perfectly poured pint of Guinness Stout, you know you're getting something good. It's more than just a pint of beer; it's a mouthwatering visual presentation of the quality and taste you're about to enjoy. And millions wait patiently for their pint every day. To find out why, famed beer and beverage writer Bill Yenne talks to everyone from Guinness's master brewer to typical pubgoers about the beer they hold dear. Whatever magic makes it so delicious, it's powerful enough to soothe the souls of beer lovers from Dublin to Boston to Buenos Aires to Lagos, and everywhere in between.

But Guinness is more than a delicious beverage, it's also the name of the remarkable family of brewers and entrepreneurs whose story is worthy of legend, and who occupy a prominent place in Irish history. In Guinness, Yenne traces the 250-year tale of the family and its namesake beer. Beginning with Arthur Guinness, the entrepreneur patriarch who first began brewing at St. James's Gate, Dublin, in 1759, the story follows succeeding generations of the Guinness family through the years. Yenne follows not just the fortunes of the family Guinness, but also the development of the brand and the beer--from Arthur's earliest porter to the beer that is enjoyed in 150 countries today.

For Guinness aficionados, this tale offers an inside look at a legendary brewing company and the craftsmanship and pride that go into every keg. For anyone who hopes to keep their business vibrant and dynamic for the next few centuries, the book offers important lessons on continuity, quality, and innovation. For everyone who loves a good beer story, Guinness offers a perfect pint more than two centuries in the pouring.

Guinness

by Bill Yenne

(Wiley, 250 Pages)

For millions of beer lovers the world over, a properly poured pint of Guinness Stout is as close to perfection as beer gets. Each year, fans of the legendary black liquidation enjoy two billion pints of the beer known for its distinctive creamy head and rich drinkability. Ireland's most famous export, Guinness Stout--and the people who have brewed it--hold a unique place in the history of beer, business, and Ireland itself.

They say that good things come to those who wait. When you wait on a perfectly poured pint of Guinness Stout, you know you're getting something good. It's more than just a pint of beer; it's a mouthwatering visual presentation of the quality and taste you're about to enjoy. And millions wait patiently for their pint every day. To find out why, famed beer and beverage writer Bill Yenne talks to everyone from Guinness's master brewer to typical pubgoers about the beer they hold dear. Whatever magic makes it so delicious, it's powerful enough to soothe the souls of beer lovers from Dublin to Boston to Buenos Aires to Lagos, and everywhere in between.

But Guinness is more than a delicious beverage, it's also the name of the remarkable family of brewers and entrepreneurs whose story is worthy of legend, and who occupy a prominent place in Irish history. In Guinness, Yenne traces the 250-year tale of the family and its namesake beer. Beginning with Arthur Guinness, the entrepreneur patriarch who first began brewing at St. James's Gate, Dublin, in 1759, the story follows succeeding generations of the Guinness family through the years. Yenne follows not just the fortunes of the family Guinness, but also the development of the brand and the beer--from Arthur's earliest porter to the beer that is enjoyed in 150 countries today.

For Guinness aficionados, this tale offers an inside look at a legendary brewing company and the craftsmanship and pride that go into every keg. For anyone who hopes to keep their business vibrant and dynamic for the next few centuries, the book offers important lessons on continuity, quality, and innovation. For everyone who loves a good beer story, Guinness offers a perfect pint more than two centuries in the pouring.

Creative Capital

by Spencer E. Ante

(Harvard Business School Press, 320 Pages)

Venture capitalists are the handmaidens of innovation. Operating in the background, they provide the fuel needed to get fledgling companies off the ground--and the advice and guidance that helps growing companies survive their adolescence.

In Creative Capital, Spencer Ante tells the compelling story of the enigmatic and quirky man--Georges Doriot--who created the venture capital industry. The author traces the pivotal events in Doriot's life, including his experience as a decorated brigadier general during World War II; as a maverick professor at Harvard Business School; and as the architect and founder of the first venture capital firm, American Research and Development. It artfully chronicles Doriot's business philosophy and his stewardship in startups, such as the important role he played in the formation of Digital Equipment Corporation and many other new companies that later grew to be influential and successful.

An award-winning Business Week journalist, Ante gives us a rare look at a man who overturned conventional wisdom by proving that there is big money to be made by investing in small and risky businesses. This vivid portrait of Georges Doriot reveals the rewards that come from relentlessly pursuing what-if possibilities--and offers valuable lessons for business managers and investors alike.

How Tiger Does It

by Brad Kearns

(McGraw-Hill, 208 Pages)

Book Description

Insight for living life like a champ, based on what drives the most dominant athlete of the modern era--Tiger Woods

How Tiger Does It gives you the secrets to living life to the fullest—the Tiger way. Using intimate interviews with Tiger’s contemporaries and examples from his professional and personal life, Brad Kearns analyzes the mental drive behind Tiger’s success to reveal the heart and mind of a great champion. With emphasis on the three Tiger Woods’ Success Factors, the book shows you how to apply Tiger traits to your everyday challenges, from building a career to raising a family and much more.

Splendid Exchange

by William J. Bernstein

(Atlantic Monthly Pr, 384 Pages)

Even Buffett Isn't Perfect

by Vahan Janjigian

(Portfolio, 256 Pages)

Wall Street Stories

by Edwin Lefevre

(McGraw-Hill, 224 Pages)

John Maynard Keynes

by Hyman P. Minsky, Curvebreakers

(McGraw-Hill, 181 Pages)

Good Guys and Bad Guys

by Joe Nocera

(Portfolio, 288 Pages)

The Getting of Money

by Felix Dennis

(Portfolio, 288 Pages)

Ahead of the Curve

by Philip Delves Broughton

(Penguin Pr, 256 Pages)