The Business of Happiness – Ted Leonsis (Regnery)

Ted Leonsis is one happy guy. Perhaps you would be too if you had sold your first company for a cool $60 million before you even turned thirty.

Leonsis, a former internet kingpin (AOL) and a sports team owner in Washington D.C. has good reason to be happy with his success in business, but to hear Leonsis tell it, happiness is no accident. According to his book, “The Business of Happiness,” you too can achieve an increased level of happiness just by applying several of the principals outlined in the book. To achieve improved happiness, Leonsis recommends things like keeping a list of life-long goals (a list he made after a life-changing near fatal airplane incident), give back to those more needy and activate the communities that you are a natural constituent for.

The book is divided into two halves; the first is a sort of mini-biography of Ted’s years as a tech entrepreneur leading into combining his fledgling company with Steve Case’s early AOL, the famed (and some say ill-fated) merger between AOL and TimeWarner, and finally life after the internet with the purchase of a series of sports teams that again emphasize the principals of teamwork, pride and community.

The second half of the book is where Leonsis outlines his six principles of happiness and how each one has pushed him further up the happiness chain. While Leonsis’ recantation is filled with an upbeat attitude, it’s hard not to imagine some obstacles along the way. But for all his optimism, Leonsis recommendations are concrete examples of just what can be achieved with a change in attitude as well as keeping a steady eye on the goal tiller. “The Business of Happiness” is filled with ideas for improving both one’s outlook and results. Leonsis’ own story is the prove of the pudding.

Read more about Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Blog here.

Coming Back: New Orleans Resurgent – Photographs by Mario Tama (Umbrage Books)

WIth the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we are seeing numerous media reports re-capping the events of August 2005 alongside reports of how the Louisiana delta has, in some ways, only begun to recover from one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history. (Thank you, BP!) Everything from a Brian Williams NBC Special, to a new Spike Lee joint, to CNN have all covered the rebirth extensively in filmed reports and documentaries. It is, in fact, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, perhaps the reporter single most associated with the Katrina disaster, who lends his words to the introduction of a new book on the city’s recovery from award-winning photo-journalist, Mario Tama.

In this, his first book, Tama, who as a news photographer for Getty Images has photographed hundreds of events from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 9/11, the earthquake in Haiti, etc., captures both the wide-spread destruction of the New Orleans area in the wake of the flooding as well as the rebuilding of many areas over the course of the five-year time span. Areas of devastation were revisited to see how they look today; to see what improvements have (and in some cases have not) been achieved. What comes through is the powerful message of a unique society; people who did not run and hide, but a people that were tremendously resilient; people who somehow where able to bounce back, retain a shaky optimism through it all, and rebuild their city often with only limited outside assistance. With their vitality amid tragedy, Tama’s colorful pictures tell the story of a people whose spirit will not be denied.

Photographs from the book are featured at an exhibition at the Umbrage Gallery in New York through September 14th and will be part of additional events in New York and New Orleans this year. To keep up with the story, you can check the website at www.umbragegallery.com.

Author to Publish Direct to Fans

In what some view as a breakthrough while others see as inevitable, one prominent author has announced plans to bypass his publisher and go straight to his audience directly via ebooks, print on demand and the web. And just who would this forward-thinking author actually be?

Well, Seth Godin, of course.

Mr. Godin, the author of dozens of turn-on-your-ear marketing books (from “the Purple Cow” to his most recent, “Linchpin”) announced via his blog, that he now has acquired enough direct fans – over 400,000 via the web – that it makes more sense to publish direct.

“My audience does things like buy five or ten copies at a time and distribute them to friends and co-workers. They (you) forward blog posts and PDFs. They join online discussion forums. None of these things are supported by the core of the current corporate publishing model,” says Godin. “I honestly can’t think of a single traditional book publisher who has led the development of a successful marketplace/marketing innovation in the last decade.”

So while Seth admits he does not have a new work ready to go just yet (but you know he will), do not expect to find his next work on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. PDFs, eBooks, downloads, yes. Physical product – not so much. Sea change.

Who’s next?

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World- Liaquat Ahamed (Penguin)

Very few authors can truly claim to have foreseen a global financial disaster before it happened. Liaquat Ahamed is one of the few who can take credit for such foresight. As a successful hedge fund manager and Brookings Institution trustee, he is more qualified than most to write about sweeping economic issues.

A Timeless Problem

“Lords of Finance” is a journey through time. We find ourselves immersed in the financial crisis of another era, The Great Depression. Quotes from famous economists and Depression-era businessmen and excerpts from their writings serve to highlight eerie similarities between the past crisis and our own.

The Lords of Finance

The ‘Lords of Finance’ referred to by Ahamed are Benjamin Strong (USA), Montagnu Norman (UK), Emile Moreau (France), and Hjamlar Schacht (Germany). These four represented the key central banks of their time. They oversaw the first truly global economic collapse in human history.

Ahamed brings his central characters to life with sophisticated style. Although most of today’s modern readers are likely to be unfamiliar with these former financial giants, Ahamed effortlessly re-creates their individual personalities, allegiances, quirks, and exploits.

The Cause of The Depression

Contrary to the title, Ahamed does not place blame for the Great Depression squarely on the bankers themselves. Instead, he blames the excessive collection of reparations from post World War I Germany. Clearly, the bankers would not have been able to exert any control over the collection or institution of the reparations even if they had been so inclined.

“Lords of Finance” is an invaluable read for a country on the brink. Once before, our nation stared down a global financial disaster. As we hear rumblings of a potential a double-dip recession, we should remember that we’ve been here once before.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She spends much of her days blogging about Education and CollegeScholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Coming Soon: Ads In Books?

This week, the blogosphere went crazy with the notion that advertising may be coming to the world of books. With the declining sales of physical titles combined with the growth of electronic publishing – often at reduced rates to publishers – the notion of placing ads in books may finally be gaining traction in the publishing world.

The Wall Street Journal (itself experimenting with paid subscription models) first broke the story yesterday, comparing ads in books to the concept of product placement in movies, videos and video games. The question is: will readers rebel from a concept like this or can ads be tastefully placed along side editorial content much like a traditional magazine model?

So what does everybody think? Tolerable or bad at any price?

Link to story.

Power Friending – Amber Mac (Portfolio)

The last three years have seen an explosion of books trying to cash in on the phenomenon of social media (and we have certainly covered many of the major ones). Most works approach the subject from a technical POV, describing feature sets of various services and how to take full advantage of their systems.

Now comes a fresh take on the subject from writer, consultant and TWiT.TV hostess, Amber Mac. Unlike most of the technical leaning volumes published to date, Mac examines the attitude and, dare we say, the psychology, of social networking.

In “Power Friending,” Mac emphasizes the human aspect of social networking. How to add to your circle of influence – as either a sole persona or as a business agenda – by, surprise, acting as a friend to the people you approach online. While this approach may seem painfully obvious to some, to others it is important to realize the difference between broadcasting messages to one’s audience verses engaging your audience as though they are actually fans or friends.

Like most social media books, “Power Friending” covers the bases of all the services available, including some you may not yet know about (Want to see your social media opportunity? Try Namechk to see where your name is being used.) Because of her background in web video, Mac spends an extra amount of time covering social video and podcasting by illustrating effective filming techniques to use online. Unlike many books, Mac covers not only success stories (Zappos, Threadless, Starbucks) in social marketing as well as shedding light on companies whose efforts may have fallen short of the goal. (Skittles backlash campaign being one of many well-known examples.)

In a cluttered field of social media books, “Power Friending” stands out by focusing on gaining followers with attitude over merely being conversant in the technology. Lean on it.

The Sugar King of Havana – The Rise And Fall of Julio Lobo (Penguin Press)

“The Sugar King of Havana – The Rise And Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Last Tycoon” is an atmospheric exploration of Cuban politics and society in the turbulent years from 1898, when the island gained independence from Spain, through the early days of the Castro revolution and on to the current twilight of that fading system. Author John Paul Rathbone, whose mother was a friend of Lobo’s daughters, interweaves family memories of a privileged life in Old Havana with the dramatic biography of his larger-than-life subject to create a story that is both sweeping and intimately personal.

Julio Lobo’s father was a self-made millionaire who re-located his family to Cuba in 1900 after being forced to leave Venezuela by a revolutionary leader named Cipriano Castro (no relation to Fidel). Sugar trading was rapidly becoming the cornerstone of Cuba’s economy. Young Julio determined to master every aspect of it and master it he did. After managing to survive “The Dance of the Millions”, a bubble market that will have the ring of familiarity for many readers, Lobo began building his empire. In 1934, in a masterpiece of market manipulation, he cornered the New York sugar market, a stunning feat that vaulted him into a position of dominance he held until his assets, along with those of his competitors, were nationalized after the revolution.

It’s a credit to Rathbone’s skill that he’s able to recount Lobo’s business dealings in a way that’s not only lucid but exciting. Nevertheless, he also makes clear that Lobo was complex and cultured, with interests ranging far beyond the mere accumulation of wealth. At one point he owned the largest collection of Napoleonica outside France. He also courted numerous women, including Bette Davis and Joan Fontaine. He was said to have filled one of his swimming pools with perfume when Esther Williams came to visit. At one point, sentenced to death by a pre-Castro government, he was pardoned minutes before facing the firing squad. Later, he survived multiple gunshot wounds from a gangland assassination attempt. Colorful as his life was, Lobo is also portrayed as a modest man, a devoted father, and a generous, progressive-thinking employer. In fact, Che Guevara had such respect for Lobo’s methods that he asked him to serve as the Minister of Sugar in the Castro government. Instead Lobo went into exile, first in New York then in Spain, where he died in 1983.

His biographer suggests that Cuba’s ultimate salvation may life in the emergence of new, modern-day Lobos. But readers of this vivid, evocative history may come away convinced that there will never again be a true Sugar King Of Havana. – David Nichols

The Band Book App Video

Two New Sony eReaders to Hit Market for Holiday Season

It’s that time of year when new product launches are being leaked to the public and Sony appears to have two new products for eBook readers. According to the website SonyInsider, the company is coming out with two new products to keep pace with competition from Amazon’s new edition Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

“The two new Sony Reader devices will be very attractively priced, and are definitely much more compact and lighter than previous models with a possible width under 10mm (extremely thin). From what we’re hearing the new models will also have improved contrast and faster page turns. The PRS-650 will have a six inch screen while the PRS-350 will have a five inch screen. There will also be a bump in capacity from the usual 512MB or less found in currently Sony Reader models to 2GB of internal storage. We are not sure if that capacity bump extends to both devices, but will most certainly be true for the PRS-650. We also know that the PRS-650 will have Wi-Fi (and possibly free 3G), while the PRS-350 will not have any wireless connectivity (like the PRS-300).”

More here.

Video: Publish Your Nonfiction Book

Here at Blog on Books we experience a steady stream of first time, independent authors that ask for assistance on how to best get their book ideas in front of those who can get their books published. In order to demystify the process, Seattle based literary agent Sharlene Martin and non-fiction writer Anthony Flacco have assembled a primer for newbie writers looking to find an audience. Topics like writing the standout query letter, assembling the elements of a book proposal, building a credible background as an ‘authority,’ obtaining the necessary rights as well as examples of pitches that worked and, well, those that didn’t.

Given Martin’s position on the receiving end along with Flacco’s experience with the process from the writer’s side, “Publish Your Non-Fiction Book” (F&W Media) is not only an informed and useful guide, but one that shines a light into a process that can easily elude those who have not yet approached the often mystical process.

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