Category: Books

Margaret Littman (MSJ94)

For more than 200 years Memphis has captured America’s imagination. It is the home to the Blues and the center of the civil rights movement. It is called the Bluff City thanks to its location along the mighty Mississippi River, and today the river banks provide recreation, opportunity, and a connection to history, not to mention great views. This guidebook, authored by Tennessean Margaret Littman, delves into all Memphis has to offer, including, the best barbeque and hot wings, immersive museums, late-night dance spots, and, of course, all things Elvis. This inclusive, yet selective, guide features itineraries with side trips to Little Rock and Hot Springs, Ark., plus the Mississippi Blues Trail.

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. 

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.