Alumni Book Roundup: Winter 2020

The Coldest Warrior

Paul Vidich WG81
Pegasus Crime

After more than two decades as an entertainment industry executive, Paul Vidich is enjoying a second career as an acclaimed fiction writer. Vidich presents his third novel, The Coldest Warrior, a thrilling mystery set in Cold War-era Washington. The novel follows CIA agent Jack Gabriel’s pursuit of truth in the death of Dr. Charles Wilson, a government scientist who plummeted from the ninth floor of a D.C. hotel in 1953. Loosely based on a true story, Vidich’s tale of espionage and paranoia earned a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and earned the author comparisons to Joseph Kanon, Alan Furst, and Graham Greene.

The Lemonade Life: How To Fuel Success, Create Happiness, And Conquer Anything

Zack Friedman WG08
HarperCollins Leadership

Motivational speaker and CEO of Make Lemonade Zack Friedman presents a guide that boils success into one simple question: are you living a Lemon Life or a Lemonade Life? (Translation: Are you settling for something less than your full potential or living proactively?) Friedman argues that the difference between these two paths lies in learning how to flip five internal switches: perspective, risk, independence, self-awareness, and motion. With practical advice, this book aims to teach important lessons for personal reinvention.

WTF Is Happening? Women Tech Founders On The Rise

Nisa Amoils L95
Lioncrest Publishing

Studies show that female-led companies often outperform all-male teams, and companies with strong female leadership presence often have better return on sales and assets. Yet, when venture capitalist and Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship advisory board member Nisa Amoils asked a rep from one of the largest blockchain/cryptocurrency VC firms whether he had any female-founded companies in his portfolio, he replied that he didn’t know of any in that sector. Noting the gender discrepancy for VC funding, Amoils wrote WTF is Happening. In this collection of Q&As, Amoils talks shop with inspiring female entrepreneurs working in virtual and augmented reality, drones and robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Four Days With Kenny Tedford: Life Through the Eyes of a Child Trapped in a Partially Blind & Deaf Man’s Body

Paul Smith WG93 and Kenneth Lee Tedford
Behler Publications, LLC

Paul Smith is a former executive who left his 20-year career to pursue his passions: writing and public speaking. After writing The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell, an Amazon bestseller that explores the use of storytelling as a tool of leadership, Smith’s latest book is a collaboration with a man living with the results of a brain injury at birth. Described by Smith as “the most important book I’ve ever written, or ever will,” Four Days With Kenny Tedford aims to inspire with lessons on courage, persistence, humility, and kindness as seen through the eyes of a man who’s risen above the challenges in his life.

Flip-Flops & Microwaved Fish: Navigating the Dos and Don’ts of Workplace Culture

By Peter Yawitz WG86
Greenleaf Book Group

What happens when you blend comedy, communications consulting, and workplace advice? This book by Peter Yawitz, who admits he wished he had guidance for fitting into his company’s organizational culture when he was a young, eager employee. Today, he hopes to mentor soon-to-be college graduates and young professionals looking for help in navigating office environments. His guide walks readers through the formal and informal cultural norms in American companies and offers practical advice on how to thrive in the corporate world.

New Castle’s Kadunce Murders: Mystery and the Devil in  Northwest Pennsylvania

Dale Richard Perelman WG65
The History Press

The latest from prolific Pennsylvania history author Dale Richard Perelman examines a grim, mysterious slaying from his hometown. The New Castle, PA native brings us back to the summer of 1978 with the true story of the stabbing death of a mother and her four-year-old daughter that captured headlines. The investigation and trial that follows raises troubling questions about a missing murder weapon, the deceased woman’s husband, and a convicted serial killer.

Measuring Society

Chaitra H. Nagaraja GRW06 GRW08
CRC Press

Just in time for this election year in the U.S., Chaitra H. Nagaraja examines how to analyze the data quoted by our government and politicians. Her new book turns facts and figures into an accessible guide to jobs, house prices, inequality, prices for goods and services, poverty, and deprivation. Nagaraja, an assistant professor of strategy and statistics at Fordham University, gives a non-technical explanation of how government published statistics work and what they mean by bringing historical and political context to answer three key questions: why, how, and for whom have these statistics been constructed.

The Brief: Following the 6Ps For Early Career Success

Richard Leo WAM06

After 37 years of executive experience, Richard Leo coached recent college graduates transitioning into the workforce. Now, he pours a curated version of his teachings into a new book. In this guide to better accelerate your executive career, Leo explains the meaning and pursuit of the six Ps: purpose, planning, preparation, priorities, persistence and patience. Each lesson offers clear advice on how to market oneself, with brief stories and thought exercises—often inspired by Leo’s experience at Wharton and as a VP and CFO at Northrop Grumman—aimed at everyone from the soon-to-be graduate to seasoned executives.

Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas, and Deserts

By Louis Boisgibault and Fahad Al Kabbani
Wiley

Wharton alumnus Louis Boisgibault, and Fahad Al Kabbani met in Paris in 2010 as they were conducting their doctoral research on energy transition. A few years later, they decided to complement their work and write Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas, and Deserts. Using field studies of energy transition in France, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and the Saharan and Arabian Deserts, the authors present the challenges, plans and good practices of successful transformation. This book serves as a pedagogical tool for those seeking to learn from past examples and create innovative solutions for energy transformation issues around the world.