"Of all human talents, among the most precious ones is this ability to discern opportunities around oneself, when others do not." ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, Hungarian psychologist
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| How to Retire with Enough Money: And How to Know What Enough Is by Teresa GhilarducciOne of the scariest aspects of retiring is figuring out if you'll have enough money to support yourself through retirement. No matter your age, it is wise to ensure that you're saving enough to cover any expenses you may incur later. In this direct, concise book, retirement-security expert Teresa Ghilarducci makes suggestions (and offers explanations) for relatively simple but necessary goals: controlling pre-retirement spending, taking advantage of work retirement plans, and maximizing Social Security. |
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| Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers... by Adam LevinEver have your email or Facebook account hacked? That's a minor problem compared to all the other ways your identity could be compromised, according to consumer advocate Adam Levin. In Swiped, Levin reveals the common business practices that expose personal information, and shares strategies for minimizing your risks -- and for handling identity theft, should you be unlucky enough to become a victim. |
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Originals : How Non-conformists Move the World
by Adam M Grant
The New York Times best-selling author of Give and Take examines how provocative thought leaders can champion originality in their organizations, drawing on illustrative studies and stories spanning a range of disciplines to explain how to recognize a good idea, speak up, build allies, choose a time to act and manage doubts.
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| The Optimistic Workplace: Creating an Environment that Energizes Everyone by Shawn MurphyAnd now for something completely different, at least when it comes to the office workplace: instead of relying on financial rewards to motivate employees, author Shawn Murphy argues that leaders should focus on fostering an energizing climate that allows personal growth and professional development to thrive. Backed with research and real-world examples, Murphy emphasizes that targeting the human side of an organization can lead to a healthy bottom line. |
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| How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide by Jane Bryant QuinnVeteran financial advisor Jane Bryant Quinn targets retirement planning in this comprehensive guide to both the financial and the psychological sides of retirement. In addition to plenty of useful information for maximizing savings (including "rightsizing" your spending), Quinn also addresses mentally preparing to leave the structure of a work-focused life for one you get to create yourself. If you've got lots of questions about how best to handle retirement, this will be an invaluable resource. |
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Retire Inspired : It's Not an Age, It's a Financial Number
by Chris Hogan
A forefront member of the Dave Ramsey speaker team counsels readers on how to plan sensibly and avoid common mistakes to enable an ideal retirement, outlining clear and empowering investment strategies based on reasonable family expectations.
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Second Chance : For Your Money, Your Life and Our World
by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The international best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, shows readers how to understand the past so that they can shape their financial future and use the Information Age tools and insights to their financial advantage and to create fresh start. Original. 80,000 first printing.
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The Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of The Year
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You've seen some of the nominees for this award already appear in this newsletter; here are some you may have missed (including the winner!).
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| Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin FordJudges selected this thought-provoking (some might say "alarming") book on the impact of automation on society as the 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year. Written by a tech expert and entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence, it offers stark reasons for fearing for our jobs -- and our futures. Relayed in a straight-forward manner, and with a few suggestions for policy changes, Rise of the Robots "makes clear the need to come to grips with ever more rapidly advancing technology" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). |
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| The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World by Steve LeVineDespite the promise that lithium-ion batteries could reduce our dependence on oil, battery-powered cars remain a small market, mostly because the technology just isn't good enough...yet. Tracking the race to the next big breakthrough, author Steve LeVine focuses his research on a federal facility, the Argonne National Laboratory just outside Chicago, but expands to address the industry as a whole. From patents and corporate espionage to geopolitics and IPOs, this riveting book examines both the challenges and the advances in the industry thus far. |
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Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires...
by Nathaniel Popper
Whether you've only heard of Bitcoin or know enough to have opinions on it (It's illegal! It's free market enterprise! It's convenient!), this informative explanation will keep you engaged. Charting the rise of the Bitcoin technology, profiling the characters behind it, and analyzing some of the repercussions it's already provoked, this "oddly entertaining if eminently geeky narrative" (Kirkus Reviews) provides a thorough education of the anonymously traded electronic currency.
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| Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time by Jeffrey PfefferIn Leadership BS, management expert Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that the leadership industry has been motivated -- to its detriment -- by money rather than by any real desire to achieve positive change. He also compares commonly promoted leadership qualities (like modesty) with their commonly rewarded opposites (self-promotion), encouraging rethinking accepted wisdom on some subjects. The book provides a contentious stance, and reviews are mixed, with some hailing it as revolutionary, and others as disappointing; either way, it's sure to shake things up. |
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Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family
by Anne-Marie Slaughter
Prompted by the reaction to her 2012 Atlantic article "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," author and CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter expands her thoughts on women, the work/life balance, and gender equality. Containing practical advice and including same-sex relationships and single mothers in the discussion, this is a must-read for anyone (male or female) interested in understanding these issues or figuring out how to navigate family life and the workplace.
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| Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan GardnerThere's an entire industry centered on predicting the future, and these forecasters work with data on everything from the weather to politics to big business. Though Superforecasting isn't the only book on this topic, it does offer an interesting perspective: author Philip Tetlock's highly competitive team of "superforecasters" are all volunteers with ordinary jobs. If you're interested in the science of decision-making, or in improving your own ability to predict the future based on the information you have (and gain), this is the book for you. |
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| Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard H. ThalerAuthor Richard Thaler has been studying behavioral economics for forty years (and has been called "a founding father" of this branch of economic theory); this book recalls the struggle to be recognized during the early days of the field, provides an excellent explanation of the research, and throws in plenty of stories, creative analogies, and humor to boot. Readers familiar with the field will appreciate this history; those who have not read up on behavioral economics may want to start with Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational. |
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| How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient... by Stephen WittBetween 1997 and 2005, author Stephen Witt admits to downloading (for free) nearly 15,000 albums, which prompted him to look into exactly how he was able to do this. The result is a fascinating exploration of digital technology and music piracy, beginning with the invention of the MP3 format in the 1980s. Also featured: the North Carolina man who smuggled thousands of new releases to a prolific file-sharing ring, the rise and fall of Napster, and the music industry's (mostly failed) attempts to stanch the bleeding. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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