Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2018 -

Brace yourself for a gripping account of the rise and fall of the Theranos biotech company. This tale should interest any business, biomedical, law, or ethics student or faculty, but Amazon sales indicate much broader appeal. Carreyrou is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal, earning awards for his coverage of Medicare fraud and corporate scandals. Bad Blood earned him the George Polk, Gerald Loeb, and Barlett & Steele awards. Bad Blood demonstrates not only Carreyrou's investigative expertise but also his gift for storytelling with mystery and intrigue. Carreyrou skillfully assembles the elusive truth from a vast assortment of facts, testimonies, and lies, under intense legal pressure from Theranos attorneys. He turns a complicated biotech topic into a comprehensible story. The author portrays founder Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford dropout, as a calculating, manipulative young woman yet someone who possesses remarkable magnetism and powers of persuasion. Enabled by a well-connected family, the alluring Holmes ensnares the likes of Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Mattis, and Rupert Murdoch. Carreyrou's book holds a number of lessons for entrepreneurs, and readers are left with a reverence for this level of investigative reporting.Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels.

This book is an update of the 2007 edition. It synthesizes the field of analytics, or the convergence of databases, statistics, and decision-making, to show what an important new skill for students and managers it has become to business leaders. Managers across the function areas of a business (marketing, human resources, accounting, operations, mergers and acquisitions, finance, and R&D) rely on analytics to turn data into actionable information. And managers must master three areas of competition: effective execution, smart decision-making, and efficiency. This book starts with a nice overview of the history and future direction of analytics. Then it introduces many practical examples of how the field of analytics is being used inside and outside of firms and organizations. The final section provides a road map for building analytic capabilities. As it was a decade ago, this is a must-read for business students and practitioners.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Upon completing Praszkier's presentation, this reviewer can have but one reaction--WOW! We have just been presented with a text that sets forth both the depth and breadth of the subject, empowering leadership. The reader is given a conceptually insightful, theoretical framework that includes classical and contemporary thought. When studying in depth the substance of chapter 2 on the kinds of leadership, chapter 5 on complexity, or chapter 7 on creativity, the reader comes to appreciate the contribution of this text. Following this theoretical logic, the reader is presented with great case-study material. This reviewer, who appreciates and understands the theory and the case study perspectives, is pleased to award Dr. Praszkier high marks on a job well. This is truly an exceptional book and is recommended for inclusion in most graduate library collections.Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students through faculty.

This very important book by three auto industry experts describes how shifts the digital revolution caused in people`s values and lifestyles lead them to expect very different mobility solutions than car dependency. The constant personalization of information from smart phones, etc., connecting individuals, is happening as technology enables vehicles to connect to each other and to the infrastructure, enabling vehicle automation. These developments will shift the focus from cars and transit vehicles to mobility as a system. In the short term, the book describes personalized, multimodal trip planning apps incorporating autos, rail, bus, walking, biking, etc. (enhanced GPS). In the slightly longer term, vehicle automation can make personal car ownership an anachronism to digital natives who can rent or share anything, reducing automobile sales and enabling flexible use of any size vehicle to enhance personal mobility. Another strength of the book is its excellent industry-focused chapters on automobile technology developments, the personalization of industry products to improve performance and user experience, current and future business models for mobility (e.g., Uber, etc.), and work to achieve energy consumption and environmental goals with these new technologies. The references and index are excellent.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Shane (Case Western Reserve Univ.) takes on a fascinating investigation about entrepreneurship in the US. The goal is to draw from various data sources to paint a picture about the nuances of entrepreneurial activity, which, counter to popular opinion, is doing pretty well. He asserts that what has changed is the nature of entrepreneurial activity: established companies are doing better than before while many newly formed companies do not employ as much. Each chapter thoroughly examines a popular opinion through the lens of various credible data sources. For instance, Shane illustrates that the American entrepreneurial landscape does not lack capital and that regulators, taxes, or lack of immigration are not limiting factors, as well as a host of other issues. Together, these chapters make up a wonderful mosaic of entrepreneurial activity in the US and give readers an informed opinion that is scientifically backed and thoroughly explained. The book is a must read for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, economics, economic policy, and politics.Summing Up: Essential. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

This book is an essential primer on the current state of the marijuana industry. It goes through the complicated history and legal and political framework within which the industry sits. There is huge potential in investing in cannabis as well as massive risk and uncertainty, and this book is an excellent aid in understanding the full picture that surrounds cannabis. With the legalization of cannabis for recreational use in Colorado, Washington, and other states, cannabis is a hot topic. The Business of Cannabis goes into some depth to explain the legal, political, social, and medical environment that governs this industry and related industries. There is real opportunity to enter a relatively untapped market, but some of the regulatory framework that exists mitigates much of this opportunity. This book is an essential work for the present moment that gives insight into the possibilities and pitfalls of entering the marijuana business and the forces at work in the US that constrain the potential of cannabis as a product. It is a great book for any library but especially those in states that have legalized or are considering legalizing marijuana.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals.