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The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman
Brief Summary
The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters
Everyone knew it was crazy to try to extract oil and natural gas buried in shale rock deep below the ground. Everyone, that is, except a few reckless wildcatters - who risked their careers to prove the world wrong.
Things looked grim for American energy in 2006. Oil production was in steep decline and natural gas was hard to find. The Iraq War threatened the nation’s already tenuous relations with the Middle East. China was rapidly industrializing and competing for resources. Major oil companies had just about given up on new discoveries on U.S. soil, and a new energy crisis seemed likely.
But a handful of men believed everything was about to change.
Far from the limelight, Aubrey McClendon, Harold Hamm, Mark Papa, and other wildcatters were determined to tap massive deposits of oil and gas that Exxon, Chevron, and other giants had dismissed as a waste of time. By experimenting with hydraulic fracturing through extremely dense shale—a process now known as fracking—the wildcatters started a revolution. In just a few years, they solved America’s dependence on imported energy, triggered a global environmental controversy—and made and lost astonishing fortunes.
No one understands these men—their ambitions, personalities, methods, and foibles—better than the award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. His exclusive access enabled him to get close to the frackers and chronicle the untold story of how they transformed the nation and the world. The result is a dramatic narrative tracking a brutal competition among headstrong drillers. It stretches from the barren fields of North Dakota and the rolling hills of northeastern Pennsylvania to cluttered pickup trucks in Texas and tense Wall Street boardrooms.
Activists argue that the same methods that are creating so much new energy are also harming our water supply and threatening environmental chaos. The Frackers tells the story of the angry opposition unleashed by this revolution and explores just how dangerous fracking really is.
The frackers have already transformed the economic, environmental, and geopolitical course of history. Now, like the Rockefellers and the Gettys before them, they’re using their wealth and power to influence politics, education, entertainment, sports, and many other fields. Their story is one of the most important of our time.
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ISBN:9781591846451
Author:Gregory Zuckerman
Plan B by David Kord Murray
Brief Summary
Plan B: How to Hatch a Second Plan That's Always Better Than Your First
Why has Facebook been so limber, evolving so successfully even after a number of stumbles, while Myspace stalled and lost ground? Why was Wal-Mart able to expand so successfully into new offerings, such as groceries, while H&R Block dramatically failed to expand into offering financial services? The answer, David Murray reveals, is that Facebook and Wal-Mart both started with business models that empowered them to effectively adapt their plans as they executed them.
The failure of detailed strategic plans that have taken a great deal of time and money to develop is one of the worst problems in business, and it’s ever more urgent as the pace of change in business continues to accelerate. Murray, author of the acclaimed Wall Street Journal bestseller Borrowing Brilliance, argues that valiantly sticking to even a well-thought-out Plan A is the road to disaster. The greatest success comes to those who know how to construct and implement an adaptive Plan A that has within it the means of evolving into a superior Plan B by responding to problems confronted, discoveries made, changing market conditions, and the competition.
Writing in a lively, engaging voice and using a series of specific examples drawn from companies including IBM, Intel, Facebook, American Express, and Kaiser Permanente, as well as from the art of war, including the Battle of Gettysburg and the D-Day invasion, and even from the space program, Murray presents powerful methods for constructing a plan that has the mechanisms for adaptation built in.
Drawing on a wealth of research, he explains why we are fairly good at short-term predictions but why, in our ever more rapidly changing business world, even the best laid plans will eventually go astray. He then introduces the best techniques for creating an optimal original plan that takes into account our limited ability to predict, showing that vital to this process is that it be constructed so that we are alerted in time to make the right changes. In a brilliant discussion of strategy and tactics, he shows that the core of this adaptability is making sure that your strategy and tactics are well aligned with one another and that you have established the right metrics for measuring results. He then details precisely how to adapt throughout the execution process by constantly monitoring and assessing results, developing worst-case scenarios, and recognizing unanticipated opportunities.
Plan B is an essential guide to harnessing the forces of change to achieve long-lasting success despite the most vexing challenges.
ISBN:B004INH9TA
Author:David Kord Murray
The 11 Laws of Likability by Michelle...
Brief Summary
The 11 Laws of Likability: Relationship Networking . . . Because People Do Business with People They Like
As the founder and CEO of the management training organization Executive Essentials, Michelle Tillis coaches and trains leaders to experience continual growth and achieve results through the power of collaboration, communication, and relationships. In 11 Laws of Likability, she presents activities, self-assessment quizzes, and real-life anecdotes from professional and social settings to show readers how to identify what's likable in themselves and use those characteristics to build connections with other professionals.
The worst thing anyone can do when trying to establish a personal bond with someone is to come across as manipulative or self-serving. That’s why Michelle focuses on the power of authentic connections, which go much deeper and feel much easier than trying to hit self-imposed business card collection quotas. This book presents a new paradigm that shows even the most networking-averse how to network well--and maybe even enjoy the process.
You’ll discover how to start conversations and keep them going with ease; convert acquaintances into friends; uncover people's preferences; tweak your personal style to enable engaging, reciprocal interactions; and leave a lasting impression on others after your initial meeting.
We all know that networking is important, and that forming relationships with others is a vital part of success. But traditional forms of networking often remove emotions from the equation--focusing only on immediate goals. This book teaches readers how to build the kind of deep relationships that have true staying power, bring genuine joy, and provide long-term support.
ISBN:9780814416372
Author:Michelle Tillis Lederman
Being Strategic by Erika Andersen
Brief Summary
Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change
STRATEGY? TACTICS? CONFUSED?
How many times have you sat in a meeting and heard someone use the word "strategic?"
As in: "We're not being very strategic about X." or "We need a strategic plan for project Y." And, if your organization is like most, everyone in the meeting nods wisely, the meeting drones on, people endlessly debate how to approach the situation at hand, with – generally – no one the wiser as to what "strategic" really means.
Next time, respond: "Being strategic means consistently making those core directional choices that will best move us toward our hoped-for future. Is this what we're doing?"
Everybody talks about strategy, but there is a big gap between discussing strategy, defining strategy and actually being strategic -- so you can accomplish something.
This book helps you approach business—and life—strategically, explaining what strategy is, why it's important, and how to do it. Being Strategic offers you a step-by-step model and skills for strategic thought and action that are broadly applicable and thoroughly practical:
• First, get clear about the problem you're trying to solve
• Then, figure out where you're starting from
• Now, imagine your "castle on the hill," the future you want to create.
• Identify the "trolls under the bridge"; the obstacles in your path
• Next, outline the path to the castle: your core strategies and the tactics for implementing them.
• Re-evaluate your strategy and your tactics as conditions change
Framed around the story of 13th-century Welsh nobles building an actual castle, and weaving in dozens of real-life examples from her practice, which has helped restaurateur Danny Meyer and many others, noted consultant Erika Andersen offers a complete course in turning around a business, or a life.
ISBN:9781429985574
Author:Erika Andersen
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
From bestselling writer David Graeber, a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs, and their consequences.
Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After a million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.
There are millions of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs.
Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.
Talking to strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know.
Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers--and why they often go wrong.
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true?.
Talking to Strangers is a classically Gladwellian intellectual adventure, a challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news. He revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland---throwing our understanding of these and other stories into doubt.
Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. In his first book since his #1 bestseller, David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell has written a gripping guidebook for troubled times.
The Billionaire Within by Wale Akinyemi
Brief Summary
There is a billionaire within every pauper, a leader within every follower, a king within every subject and a master within every servant. The greatest day in the life of a person is the day that they discover the path that will lead them to their true selves.
No one was put on the earth to struggle. Everyone was born to win at something. This thriller is the story of a young man who made the discovery of the treasure within and how he developed it against all odds.
You will be provoked, you will be inspired, you will see all the excuses of the past melt away like snow in the sun. You will find yourself dreaming differently, speaking different and heading to a good new direction in your life.
"
ISBN:9789966167903
Author:Wale Akinyemi
Gung Ho by Ken Blanchard
Brief Summary
Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, co-authors of the New York Times business bestseller Raving Fans, are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today's ultra-competitive business world.
Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of business leaders Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, Blanchard and Bowles reveal the secret of Gung Ho--a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. The three principles of Gung Ho are:
The Spirit of the Squirrel
The Way of the Beaver
The Gift of the Goose
These three cornerstones of Gung Ho are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success.
Gung Ho! also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas. Destined to become a classic, Gung Ho! is a rare and wonderful business book that is packed with invaluable information as well as a compelling, page-turning story.
Management legend Ken Blanchard and master entrepreneur Sheldon Bowles are back with Gung Ho!, revealing a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity, and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization.Raving Fans brilliantly schooled managers on how to turn customers into raving fans. Gung Ho! now brings the same magic to employees. Here is the story of how two managers saved a failing company and turned in record profits with record productivity.
The three core ideas of Gung Ho! are surprisingly simple: worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. Their principles are so powerful that business leaders, reviewing the manuscript for Ken and Sheldon, have written to say, "Sorry. Ignored instructions. Have photocopied for everyone. I promise to buy books, but can't wait. We need now!" Like Raving Fans, Gung Ho! delivers.
ISBN:9780688154288
Author:Ken Blanchard
Global trade by Greg Buckman
Brief Summary
Global Trade: Past Mistakes, Future Choices
This details what is happening in global trade politics and how development NGOs, think-tanks and others critical of globalization are responding to it. The author argues that trade is the main policy area where there is least agreement among the critics of the WTO and the Western interests it protects. Yet by not articulating consistent or credible alternatives to that dominant agenda, they are missing a great opportunity.
Buckman argues for three broad campaigning demands that can be agreed on: fairer trade policies and practices; more trade cooperation among poor countries; and greater localization of production in all countries.
ISBN:9781842775783
Author:Greg Buckman
Land and Sustainable Development in A...
Brief Summary
This book links contemporary debates on land reform with wider discourses on sustainable development within Africa, including chapters and in-depth case studies on South Africa and Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Botswana and West Africa.
The book traces the development of ideas about sustainable development and addresses a new agenda based on social justice.
ISBN:9781842779125
Author:Kojo Amanor and Sam Moyo
Hot Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
Brief Summary
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America
In this brilliant, essential book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas L. Friedman speaks to America's urgent need for national renewal and explains how a green revolution can bring about both a sustainable environment and a sustainable America.
Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a dangerously unstable planet--one that is "hot, flat, and crowded." In this Release 2.0 edition, he also shows how the very habits that led us to ravage the natural world led to the meltdown of the financial markets and the Great Recession.
The challenge of a sustainable way of life presents the United States with an opportunity not only to rebuild its economy, but to lead the world in radically innovating toward cleaner energy. And it could inspire Americans to something we haven't seen in a long time--nation-building in America--by summoning the intelligence, creativity, and concern for the common good that are our greatest national resources.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman: fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge--and the promise--of the future.
ISBN:9780374166854
Author:Thomas Friedman
Insights of An X Chromosomed Idealist...
Brief Summary
Insights of an X Chromosomed Idealist is a 300 paged metaphysical PowerBook that pronounces the coherent notion that is envisioned to remodel and upsurge the frame of mind and standard of living for every single person existing in the digital age, including the subsequent and preceding generations of all X chromosomed folks.
The whole conception is mirrored in relation to technology encroachments, societal calligraphies, edification, engagement in leadership, the natural sense of Influence bestowed in women, fiscal vision, the serenity women have and their wide-ranging perspicacity.
At the same time, it’s essentially proposed to be an antidote for any trends, patterns, disorders and judgments or philosophies that keep women neglectful of the power they incorporate. As a result the restorative effect within this book to all people will allow them to advance in every important zone of their lives without afflictions and constraints. At the end of the day women will faithfully play a part in world exchange and productivity.
ISBN:9789996807268
Author:Lesego Montsho
Leadership at Scale by Claudio Feser,...
Brief Summary
Leadership At Scale: Better leadership, better results
Leadership effectiveness drives organizational performance, yet almost half of all organizations face some kind of leadership gap that they are not able to fill. In Leadership at Scale, McKinsey experts C laudio Feser, Michael Rennie and Nicolai Nielsen share their secrets on how to increase leadership effectiveness across an organization.
Using extensive research, distilled insights from McKinsey's leadership development work in practice, and lessons from a highly successful leadership development program, this book will focus on the leadership behaviors that matter most.
ISBN:9781473684188
Author:Claudio Feser, Michael Rennie and Nicolai Chen Nielsen
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James ...
Brief Summary
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
For readers of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit and Unbroken, the dramatic story of the American rowing team that stunned the world at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Daniel James Brown's robust book tells the story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Drawing on the boys' own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant. It will appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Timothy Egan, James Bradley, and David Halberstam's The Amateurs.
ISBN:9780670025817
Author:Daniel James Brown
Bearing the Cross by David Garrow
Brief Summary
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, this is the most comprehensive book ever written about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Based on more than seven hundred interviews with all of King's surviving associates, as well as with those who opposed him, and enhanced by the author's access to King's personal papers and tens of thousands of pages of FBI documents, this is a towering portrait of a man's metamorphosis into a legend.
ISBN:9780060566920
Author:David Garrow
The Threat by Andrew McCabe
Brief Summary
The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump
On March 16, 2018, just twenty-six hours before his scheduled retirement from the organization he had served with distinction for more than two decades, Andrew G. McCabe was fired from his position as deputy director of the FBI. President Donald Trump celebrated on Twitter: "Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy."
In The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, Andrew G. McCabe offers a dramatic and candid account of his career, and an impassioned defense of the FBI's agents, and of the institution's integrity and independence in protecting America and upholding our Constitution.
McCabe started as a street agent in the FBI's New York field office, serving under director Louis Freeh. He became an expert in two kinds of investigations that are critical to American national security: Russian organized crime—which is inextricably linked to the Russian state—and terrorism. Under Director Robert Mueller, McCabe led the investigations of major attacks on American soil, including the Boston Marathon bombing, a plot to bomb the New York subways, and several narrowly averted bombings of aircraft. And under James Comey, McCabe was deeply involved in the controversial investigations of the Benghazi attack, the Clinton Foundation's activities, and Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
The Threat recounts in compelling detail the time between Donald Trump's November 2016 election and McCabe's firing, set against a page-turning narrative spanning two decades when the FBI's mission shifted to a new goal: preventing terrorist attacks on Americans. But as McCabe shows, right now the greatest threat to the United States comes from within, as President Trump and his administration ignore the law, attack democratic institutions, degrade human rights, and undermine the U.S. Constitution that protects every citizen.
Important, revealing, and powerfully argued, The Threat tells the true story of what the FBI is, how it works, and why it will endure as an institution of integrity that protects America.
ISBN:B07HFMYQPG
Author:Andrew McCabe
Salmans Legacy by Madawi Al Rasheed
Brief Summary
Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia
King Salman of Saudi Arabia began his rule in 2015 confronted with a series of unprecedented challenges. The dilemmas he has faced are new and significant, from leadership shuffles and falling oil prices to regional and international upheaval. Salman's Legacy interrogates this era and assesses its multiple social, political, regional and international challenges. Whether Salman's policies have saved the kingdom from serious upheaval is yet to be seen, but no doubt a new kingdom is emerging.
This book offers historical and contemporary insights into the various problems that persist in haunting the Saudi state. Madawi Al-Rasheed brings together well-established historians and social scientists with deep knowledge of Saudi Arabia--its history, culture and contemporary politics--to reflect on Salman's kingdom. They trace both policy continuities and recent ruptures that have perplexed observers of Saudi Arabia. This lucid and nuanced analysis invites serious reflection on the Saudi leadership's capacity to withstand the recent challenges, especially those that came with the Arab uprisings. At stake is the future of a country that remains vital to regional stability, international security, and the global economy.
ISBN:9780190901745
Author:Madawi Al Rasheed
The New Girl by Daniel Silva
Brief Summary
At an exclusive private school in Switzerland, mystery surrounds the identity of the beautiful girl who arrives each morning and leaves each afternoon in a heavily protected motorcade fit for a head of state. She is said to be the daughter of a wealthy international businessman.
She is not. And when she is brutally kidnapped across the border in the Haute-Savoie region of France, Gabriel Allon, the legendary chief of Israeli intelligence, is thrust into a deadly secret war with an old enemy that will determine the future of the Middle East—and perhaps the world.
ISBN:B07F18LND4
Author:Daniel Silva
Kushner Inc by Vicky Ward
Brief Summary
Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. the Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
The first explosive book about Javanka and their infamous rise to power.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are the self-styled Prince and Princess of America. Their swift, gilded rise to extraordinary power in Donald Trump's White House is unprecedented and dangerous. In Kushner, Inc., investigative journalist Vicky Ward digs beneath the myth the couple has created, depicting themselves as the voices of reason in an otherwise crazy presidency, and reveals that Jared and Ivanka are not just the President's chief enablers: they, like him, appear disdainful of rules, of laws, and of ethics. They are entitled inheritors of the worst kind; their combination of ignorance, arrogance, and an insatiable lust for power has caused havoc all over the world, and may threaten the democracy of the United States.
Ward follows their trajectory from New Jersey and New York City to the White House, where the couple's many forays into policy-making and national security have mocked long-standing U.S. policy and protocol. They have pursued an agenda that could increase their wealth while their actions have mostly gone unchecked. In Kushner, Inc., Ward holds Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump accountable: she unveils the couple's self-serving transactional motivations and how those have propelled them into the highest levels of the US government where no one, the President included, has been able to stop them.
ISBN:9781250185945
Author:Vicky Ward
Smart Retail by Richard Hammond
Brief Summary
Smart Retail: Practical Winning Ideas and Strategies from the Most Successful Retailers in the World
A really practical and helpful guide: essential reading for anyone involved in retailing.
Charles Dunstone, CEO, The Carphone Warehouse
Work in retail for any length of time and it gets into your system. It’s immediate, exciting, risky and hard to predict. No two days are the same ? one day could be a triumph, the next a disaster. But when you get it right, it’s thrilling.
Based on one simple question, which Richard Hammond posed to the world’s leading retailers:
• What makes you so good? Smart Retail shows you how to use some of the best winning ideas, strategies and tactical thinking.
• Discover the secrets of great retailing Boost sales with practical advice from the best retailers in the world Learn how to delight customers and keep them coming back for more
• A toolkit of retailing skills to take you beyond survival, to super-performance.
• This book is full of practical, good things to make running stores that bit easier to get right
• A wonderful insight into the world of retailing. A fun and inspiring read, particularly for those close to retail.
ISBN:9780273744542
Author:Richard Hammond
