Staff Picks Book Reviews
Porchlight is a company filled with voracious readers—talented, creative individuals who know books, and who excel at moving them. Whenever we can, we like to do that by telling you about the books we’re reading.
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Blog / Staff Picks
Friedman v. Bhid - refereed by Heskett
Book Review by Porchlight
Jim Heskett, Harvard Professor and coauthor of the recently released (and heftily titled) Ownership Quotient: Putting the Service Profit Chain to Work for Unbeatable Competitive Advantage , posted a brief review of Amar Bhidé's Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World at Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge site yesterday. Bhidé takes a contrarian view to Thomas Friedman's World is Flat pronouncement. Summing up the book and its argument, Heskett asks: If one agrees with these hypotheses, what does this mean for investments in basic science on the part of any government?
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / Staff Picks
Two "How" career/life books that deserve a shout out
Book Review by Porchlight
There are two career/life-related books on my desk this morning: How to Be Useful: A Beginner's Guide to Not Hating Work by Megan Hustad and The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want (now out in paperback) by Sonja Lyubomirsky. How to Be Useful is an antidote to the cynicism and naivete that Hustad believes have seeped into the veins of younger generations of workers, who have developed an attitude of fundamental resistance to all things "corporate" and "ambitious. " She explains that the book "aims to be a corrective to this strange, counterproductive loop of naivete and cynicism.
Categories: staff-picks, the-company
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Blog / Staff Picks
Jack and Todd in Inc.
Book Review by Porchlight
Check out Jack and Todd's recommendations for 2008's "Best Books for Business Owners": (Links to a slideshow on www. inc. com.
Categories: staff-picks, the-company
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Blog / Staff Picks
Todd's Favorite Business Books of 2008
Book Review by Porchlight
I get paid to read business books. Some would consider this a tortured existence, but I can't think of a better job in the world. The job does have certain requirements.
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Blog / Staff Picks
Reuters to the Rescue
Book Review by Porchlight
Reuters reporter Lisa Von Ahn has some recommended "reading to brighten the holidays. " She starts with three classics being released the day after Christmas by Penguin imprint, Jeremy P. Tarcher.
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Blog / Staff Picks
Holiday Book Recommendations From Our Staff
Book Review by Porchlight
Still doing some last minute shopping, scrambling to find the right gift for that special (or even not-so-special) someone? The staff of 8cr has your back. Here are some recommendations, without the usual business book filter, from the brilliant minds sitting around me here in the nerve center of 800-CEO-READ.
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / Staff Picks
The Best Business Books 0f 2008 - BusinessWeek Edition
Book Review by Porchlight
While we're in the midst of announcing the shortlists for our annual awards, I think it behooves us to look at what others found worthy of the "best" title. Last week, BusinessWeek gave their blessing to what they see as The Best Business Books of 2008 in an article by Hardy Green. The following books made the article: The Trillion Dollar Meltdown by Charles R.
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Blog / Staff Picks
The Oxford Project
Book Review by Porchlight
Every holiday season there's at least one big, beautiful book that has everyone buzzing. Two years ago it was the Annie Leibovitz book. Last year it was 100 Young Americans and the illustrated Life of Pi.
Categories: staff-picks, the-company
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Blog / Staff Picks
Business Book Reviews in 140 Characters or Less
Book Review by Porchlight
Mitch Joel of Six Pixels of Seperation is posting to a twitter account called bizbookreview. He is two days into it and he has 17 updates. I am following to see how it evolves.
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / Staff Picks
5 Books That Changed My Perspective
Book Review by Porchlight
We've been talking about how to help people, how to focus on what's positive and helpful in the current state of our world, rather than grumbling over the things that are both out of our control and truly uncertain. One of the ways we can do that is by starting a conversation that starts at a personal level. .
Categories: staff-picks, the-company