Book Reviews
The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition Grgegory Hickok W.W. Norton & Company (2014) How the latest research in neuroscience can help almost anyone think and communicate much more effectively I begin with an unconventional…
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Classics for Pleasure Michael Dirda A Harvest Book/Hartcourt, Inc. (2007) “Michael Dirda is the best-read person in America. But he doesn’t rub it in.” Michael Kinsley I agree with Kinsley, presuming to suggest that the same can be said of…
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Essays in Biography Joseph Epstein Axios Press (2012) The more we learn about others, it seems, the better we understand ourselves…at least sometimes I have read most of Joseph Epstein’s 13 collections of essays dating back to Divorced in America:…
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Seeking the North Star: Selected Speeches John R. Silber David R. Godine, Publisher (2014) “Discontent combined with youthful idealism and energy for action ensures a brighter future.” John Silber This volume consists of 30 of John Silber’s speeches that he…
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Never Be Closing: How to Sell Better Without Screwing Your Clients, Your Colleagues, or Yourself Tim Hurson and Tim Dunne Portfolio/The Penguin Group (2014) How and why “Productive Thinking” can accelerate personal growth and professional development In the film version…
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The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers Bill Conaty and Ram Charan Crown Business (2010) How to develop “robust talent pipelines and same-day succession plans” I agree with Bill Conaty and Ram Charan that Steve Jobs is…
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Independence: The Tangled Roots of the American Revolution Thomas P. Slaughter Hill & Wang/A Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2014) A comprehensive response to John Adams’ question, “What do we mean by revolution?” The question posed by Adams in…
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A Literary Education and Other Essays Joseph Epstein Axios Press (2014) Compelling, eloquent evidence of one writer’s education: “First reality, then ideas” I have read most of Joseph Epstein’s collections of essays dating back to Divorced in America: Marriage in…
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Using Experience to Develop Leadership Talent: How Organizations Leverage On-the-Job Development Cynthia McCauley and Morgan McCall, Co-Editors Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Brand (2014) How and why knowledge shared with others can have almost incalculable value to everyone involved This is a substantial…
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A Little History of Literature John Sutherland Yale University Press (2013) Brilliant perspectives on a wealth of (mostly British) authors and their works Since childhood, I have cherished books as “magic carpets” by which to visit human experiences that would…
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