Ian Zack (BSJ93, MSJ93)
The first full-length biography of Odetta Holmes, “Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest” (Beacon Press, April 14, 2020) narrates the life of the legendary singer and “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” who combatted racism and prejudice through her music. Starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist.
Cynthia Beebe (MSJ83)
“Boots in the Ashes” is a riveting memoir from one of the country’s first female ATF special agents. Cynthia Beebe writes of her fascinating journey as she grows up from a polite suburban girl into an expert criminal investigator. She became the first woman to earn the coveted “Top Gun” award at the ATF Academy, and learns to thrive in the ultramasculine world of guns, bombs and violent crime.
Beebe provides firsthand knowledge of life inside ATF and shows us how she made her most important cases, including murders, bombings and investigations into outlaw motorcycle gangs. She includes gripping trial testimony from victims, witnesses, judges and outlaws. Her cases were chronicled in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Ladies Home Journal, and were covered by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and 48 Hours.
Dawn Church (MSJ78)
Heiress Calypso Swale was about to join the U.S. Olympic Equestrian team when a car crash involving drunken Grieg Washburn, heir to the Washburn Exploration (WashEx) empire, killed her parents. At the time, Larch Swale, Calypso’s father, was COO of WashEx. Her father’s last word to her was “Run,” and Calypso obligingly disappeared with a chunk of his money and a precious patent for a new kind of engine. Five years later, Grieg’s father is dead and it looks like someone’s trying to kill Grieg too. WashEx’s board is offering a reward for Calypso’s return, and no one wants her found more than Grieg.
Jack Modzelewski (MSJ80)
The stakes for today’s leaders are high. Leadership communication practices can be a differentiator, bringing new meaning to Winston Churchill’s statement: “The difference between mere management and leadership is communication.”
Leaders today spend up to 90 percent of each day communicating to make good things happen in their organizations. With compelling stories and strategies, “Talk Is Chief — Leadership, Communication & Credibility in a High-Stakes World” will inspire leaders to treat their communication practices as seriously as all of their other executive responsibilities.
Modzelewski has more than 35 years of experience working with many Fortune 500 companies as a communications consultant. “Talk is Chief” suggests that too many leaders undervalue and underperform their vital communication responsibilities. They do so at their own disadvantage in this age of heightened activism, transparency, disruption, disinformation, and crisis.
Leon Panetta, former congressman and US Secretary of Defense, recommends “Talk is Chief,” calling it “a guide to leadership at a challenging time of tweets, fake news and growing divisions within our democracy. The simple fact is that words matter – and that simple words matter the most when they speak to our values.”
Dean Charles Whitaker spoke to Jack about “Talk is Chief” – watch the interview on YouTube.
Shadan Kapri (MSJ13)
THE RED MOVEMENT provides a new perspective on how to combat modern-day slavery while protecting the environment.
The reality is impossible to deny any longer. Modern-day slavery is more widespread now than during the transatlantic slave trade with more people living in slave-like conditions than ever before in history. At the same time, the environment is being harmed at an unprecedented pace. These harsh realities have led to igniting THE RED MOVEMENT around the world.
The RED MOVEMENT is a global call to action of focused and deliberate change to end all forms of modern-day slavery and stop the destruction of the environment. The stunning truth is that slavery never really ended; it just changed form. People are still bought and sold in public auctions, forced to sell their bodies to survive, or work in hidden factories under unbearable conditions. Some toil away on farms and even on construction sites of some of the world’s most famous sporting events.
The forced labor of slaves can be linked back to certain toys we buy, clothes we wear, and even foods we eat. Slave labor is used in mining, and too often those basic raw materials find their way into electronics, computers, smartphones, cars, cosmetics, and even jewelry.
Slavery never stopped. It just expanded to include innocent men, women, and children from every nationality and race. Modern-day slavery, in all its various forms, is more profitable now than ever before, and its connection to the environment has remained a mystery for far too long.
We are in the midst of the greatest human rights and environmental crisis in history, and most people are completely unaware until now. Until THE RED MOVEMENT.
Lisa Braxton-Reid (MSJ94)
Lisa Braxton’s debut novel has been published by Inanna Publications. The story is about three young couples and how they’re affected when an urban redevelopment project comes to their city and takes over an immigrant neighborhood in the process. The story takes place in the fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, on the eastern seaboard about 20 minutes north of Boston. The Talking Drum explores intra-racial, class, and cross-cultural tensions, along with the meaning of community and belonging. Examining the profound impact gentrification has on people in many neighborhoods, and the way in which being uprooted affects the fabric of their families, friendships, and emotional well-being, the novel not only focuses on the immigrant experience, but the way in which the immigrant/African American neighborhood interface leads to friction and tension.
Andrea Bartz (BSJ08, MSJ08)
The name of the elite women-only coworking space stretches across the wall behind the check-in desk: THE HERD, the H-E-R always purple. In-the-know New Yorkers crawl over one another to apply for membership to this community that prides itself on mentorship and empowerment. Among the hopefuls is Katie Bradley, who’s just returned from the Midwest after a stint of book research blew up in her face. Luckily, Katie has an in, thanks to her sister, Hana, an original Herder and the best friend of Eleanor Walsh, the Herd’s charismatic founder.
Eleanor is a queen among the Herd’s sun-filled rooms, admired and feared even as she strives to be warm and approachable. But on the night of a glitzy Herd news conference, she vanishes. When the police suggest foul play, everyone is a suspect: Eleanor’s husband, other Herders, the men’s rights groups that loathe the Herd—even Eleanor’s closest friends. As Hana struggles to figure out what her friend was hiding and Katie chases the story of her life, the sisters must face the secrets they’re keeping from each other—and confront just how dangerous it can be when women’s perfect veneers start to crack.
Anya Cheng (IMC08)
Opportunities are there for taking for those who are ready. However, when there is no opportunity in sight, instead of waiting, you must create opportunity on your own.
Waiting for someone to open a door for you is fine, but sometimes you have to kick the door open yourself.
How did a reporter from Taiwan become the Head of Product for eCommerce apps in Silicon Valley?
How did a young, immigrant business woman, who came from a humble home, lead engineers and data scientists at Facebook, eBay and Target?
Cheng’s story tells us that if she can do it, you can do, too, as long as you learn the how-to’s and are courageous enough to fight in unconventional ways.
Listen to your heart, be open-minded about new things, grab opportunities, and know when you don’t know something. We are living in a new era that no one has ever experienced. You aren’t happy with your career? You feel lost about the future? You’re not sure how to make decisions? Don’t be afraid! We are all pioneers now, and just like the pioneers of the old days, today’s pioneers hold the future in their hands. You can build your future from scratch! If you aren’t creative and don’t define the new rules yourself, how will you overcome these new challenges?
Currently based in Silicon Valley, Cheng uses her 15 years of experience in multiple countries and of finding her first job in the U.S. during the Great Recession to advise you on how to be a maverick and pioneer, and to turn crisis into opportunity. Sometimes when you think you have no opportunities, it’s actually that you are afraid and don’t know you have options. This book reveals how Cheng built her own opportunities and career. Reading it will inspire you and help you gain the confidence and power to push through difficult times!
Pushpendra Mehta (IMC05)
In 2019, Pushpendra answered a question-“What small thing can tell you a lot about a person?”-that was posted on Quora, a popular question-and-answer website. His answer received over 1 million views. This unexpected response led him to write “OBSERVE to UNMASK: 100 Small Things to Know People Better” that will help you know people instantly and accurately based on their conversations, social media posts, interests, behavior, emotions, thoughts, and more.
OBSERVE TO UNMASK will help you develop positive relationships or harmonious associations that work for you and make you happier; assist you in comprehending an individual’s backstory; prevent you from being exploited, abused, manipulated, or lied to; aid you in distancing yourself from negative or toxic people, or avoiding them as much as possible.
Suzanne Boothby (BSJ00)
A modern-day Silent Spring, from environmental activist, consumer advocate, and renowned crusader Erin Brockovich and journalist Suzanne Boothby looking at the present situation with water and the imminent threats to our most precious, essential element.
The movie (Erin Brockovich) came out 20 years ago and this book details her life since then as thousands of people from all over the world email her every month about cancer cases, toxic water, and other environmental issues. This book details the top toxins in our water today, highlights many of the communities fighting for clean water, uncovers EPA issues, exposes contaminated military sites, reckons with water and climate change, and shows how everyday people can get involved.
The Atlantic called it, “a master class on water for the layperson and an exhortation to work for improvements in our own communities—taking readers on a tour of struggling locales around the country.”