Reviewed by JB McPherson for Readers' Favorite

A Deeper Truth: The New Science of Innovation, Human Choice and Societal Scale Behavior by Tim Stroh is a thought-provoking book for those who wonder why people act as they do, especially in this day when digital items go viral and products become overnight successes. Based on his experience with marketing and entrepreneurship, Stroh integrates the newest brain research with Christensen’s concept of disruptive innovation, Gladwell’s “Tipping Point,” Roger’s diffusion of innovation principles, and Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow” to create an insightful theory that brings together the research in the field. One of his main ideas is that genetic cognitive traits such as the drive for status, mastery and novelty can account for many of the behaviors that seem to contradict popular theories. For those who find that behavioral models cannot account for seemingly irrational behavior, this book provides an intriguing premise.

In A Deeper Truth, I appreciated the clear writing style that speaks to a popular audience while at the same time giving a clear overview of the best theories in the field of innovation and how ideas/products are adopted. Stroh’s writing will give entrepreneurs, marketing professionals, and business forecasters a great deal to consider. The new research in brain science is especially interesting, though some evolutionary rationalizations detract from the discussion. Even if you don’t agree with all of the ideas in Stroh’s Motivational Drive Trait Theory, you will gain useful ideas about human behavior. Great book with excellent summary of leading theories. I'm a doctoral student in learning and leadership so I especially appreciate your thorough research. Highly recommended for those who want to understand more deeply why people decide and act as they do.

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

Compassionate Capitalism: The Intersection of Economic Growth and Social Justice by Gerard L. Hasenhuettl is a great book. It is an idea that society needs, but seems to always to be ignored because one of the ways capitalism is defined is greed; and greed is the problem with the current system. Greed is ruining our system and it’s going to take a concerted effort from the bottom and the top to solve this problem, and prevent our economy and our country from running off the rails. Everybody appreciates the benefits of capitalism here in America. Most of us just want those benefits to spread to all segments of society instead of just the top one percent. This book looks at our system as well as others, and suggests ways we can spread the wealth and make it work for everyone.

Compassionate Capitalism: The Intersection of Economic Growth and Social Justice is a serious look at how humanity handles wealth, security, survival, and business. This book takes a hard look at these issues, but it is written in a way that is easy to read and understand. I am not an economic expert, but I have thought about these issues and I could follow Gerard L. Hasenhuettl’s thinking on the subject and learned a lot as I read his words. The ideas are big, but simple. The solutions are elegant, but ultimately profound. Everything is organized and laid out in a way that keeps moving the reader forward. This may be a very important book.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Confessions of an Old Man: How I Am Stealing From Future Generations by Munir Moon reflects the thoughts of an elderly man who looks past his age into what tomorrow holds for his offspring. Working from the premise that what millennials inherit depends on the choices we have made in the past and the choices we make today, he makes a strong case against the contemporary American political landscape and unveils glaring flaws in the system. The author explains how the political scene is structured to rob millennials of their future and plunge them into a life of misery, being on the receiving end of the repercussions of the decisions made by today’s politicians and decisions inspired by sheer greed. The author makes readers understand how society cares less about the legacy it leaves to future generations.

Well-researched and intelligently written, this book is a tool for reflection that everyone with a good conscience should read, a book for those who love the children of America. The author deftly exposes the stupidity in domestic and foreign policies, starting from policies related to taxes to foreign relations and to our relationship with the environment. I was shocked to learn for the first time that the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stands at an estimate of “$5,600,000,000,000 dollars and nearly 6,800 mostly young American soldiers killed, and counting.”

The tone in Confessions of an Old Man is strong, filled with rage — and rightly so — and the author comes across as informed and very insightful in his message. His arguments are backed by clear references, which even feature some Tweets, memos, conversations, and documents by or relating to key decision makers in the United States. This book should be perceived as a wake-up call to right the wrongs the generation before this one and the present generation are doing to the future of millennials. It’s a very realistic, prophetic statement about what we’ll leave to those who will come after us.

Reviewed by Benjamin Ookami for Readers' Favorite

Why Does Government Need To Be Funded? In America Today, It Doesn't by Amphidromus is an interesting little piece of knowledge to consume for the mind that occasionally ponders about better structures for society. I cannot imagine anyone who has never asked that question of why a government needs to be funded at all. The name Amphidromus belongs to an individual who I think has quite a fascinating mind. There is an astounding truth to be discovered here that could result in America being home to an employer running a more effective business and an employee working many years while being truly motivated. The American government takes away more than they need. To push readers toward a place of understanding and consideration, the author first utilizes the surprising strategy of teaching them a few things about cosmology.

The origins of the universe, how humans came to be, and even an examination of that divine force that we've come to call God help readers to have a better understanding of money when it comes to government. I must write that Amphidromus makes cosmology sound interesting to the point that I wanted to dive more and more into the subject, but we must remember that the author wants to present a model that can lead to financial equilibrium for "we the people." Furthermore, the author writes with a massive vocabulary and a good sense of humor at his disposal. If anything, Amphidromus' work is certainly an effervescent topic for debate. If the world of the American reader will change as a result of it ... well, we'll just have to see.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

What Every Good Lawyer Wants You to Know: An Insider's Guide on How to Reduce Stress, Reduce Costs and Get the Most From Your Lawyer is a legal reference book for consumers written by Francine R. Tone. Tone has been a practicing attorney since 1989 and has also served as a judge pro tem for almost 20 years. She found herself in need of an attorney when she faced legal action over the breakup of a former law firm, which gave her invaluable insights into what goes on in the mind of a client. Lawsuits are expensive, time-consuming and confusing, no matter whether you're the aggrieved party or the defendant in the case at hand. This book does not replace the need for a lawyer nor does it give the reader solutions on how to personally deal with one’s legal problems. What it does do is introduce the reader to the legal process. Tone explains what a good lawyer is and how to select one. She discusses the need for the attorney and client to feel they can work together for a satisfactory conclusion, and she offers sample questions to ask the attorney you're considering hiring. From there, she covers fee agreements, settlements and arbitration, and she provides a brief look at the procedural steps that comprise a case. Throughout the text, she explains what actions a client can do to assist his/her attorney and, to save costs, and she cautions against activities that will negatively affect the lawyer/client relationship as well as the final outcome of the case.

Francine R. Tone's legal reference book for non-lawyers, What Every Good Lawyer Wants You to Know: An Insider's Guide on How to Reduce Stress, Reduce Costs and Get the Most From Your Lawyer, quickly gets past the emotions, the hostility and combativeness that accompany lawsuits and shows the layman how to navigate the legal process from selecting an attorney to reaching a settlement or verdict. Tone presents her subject using her own situation as an example of the need for an impartial, good attorney to act for you, whether you're the plaintiff or the defendant. As I read her opening chapter, I was reminded of the old saying that an attorney who represents his/herself has a fool for a client, and Tone eloquently explains the truth of that adage. Tone's discussion on how to select a good attorney is invaluable, and her presentation of what happens after one decides to file a lawsuit should be required reading for anyone who is considering suing another party or finds themselves in the position of defendant in a legal case. Tone's book is decidedly free of lawyer-speak and legal jargon, and her literate and informative style of writing was a pleasure to read. Her book gives enough information to allow the reader some familiarity with the legal process and to feel more in control of what can be a decidedly stressful, scary and costly series of events. In her appendix, she includes a number of resources as well as a copy of the Lawyer's Code of Ethics and a Glossary of legal terms. What Every Good Lawyer Wants You to Know: An Insider's Guide on How to Reduce Stress, Reduce Costs and Get the Most From Your Lawyer is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Charles Remington for Readers' Favorite

Rich Nation, Poor Nation, subtitled Why Some Nations Prosper While Others Fail, is a compelling work on the positive aspects of Free Market Economics. The author, Robert Genetski, takes the basic wealth of nations as his baseline and demonstrates through statistical evidence and cogent argument how economic freedom, as envisaged by the founding fathers of the USA and luminaries such as Adam Smith and Milton Friedman, is the principal method to promote wealth and maintain a sound national economy. The book provides detailed information analysing periods of Free Market policies (which the author refers to as Classical Principles) followed by governments in the USA and around the world, and periods of more Socialist leaning policies involving high taxation and burdensome government control (referred to as Progressive Policies), to demonstrate the ebb and flow of national wealth resulting from those exact policies. It was a surprise to learn that during periods of Progressive Policies adopted by various governments in the USA and around the world, national wealth fell and workers' wages remained stagnant or were reduced. It was only during periods of minimal government control, low taxation, and free open markets that both the nation and the average worker improved their basic wealth. The book also includes extensive analysis and statistics, together with data and appendices, to support the author’s arguments and conclusions.

Let me say straight away that I am not an economist, and after the recent global banking crisis and the machinations of the oil and energy markets, I was inclined to take a jaundiced view of a book expounding the benefits of free market economics. However, the analysis carried out by Robert Genetski presents an argument which is difficult to counter. Taking evidence from the performances of countries all around the world, including Russia, Japan and a good number of European, African and South American countries during periods of both Classic and Progressive government policies, the evidence becomes almost incontrovertible. I did not expect to enjoy this book, let alone start to agree with the principles put forward, but Rich Nation, Poor Nation has certainly caused me to reexamine my views. I congratulate Mr Genetski on producing a clear, thought-provoking narrative covering a complex subject, but which can be easily followed by the layman. An excellent, scholarly work and I do not hesitate to recommend it.

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

This is a subject that most people don’t think really concerns them. Most people probably don’t have a real need to have a law changed. Indeed, they probably don’t know they even have this power. We are used to living in our society and doing the everyday things we need to do every day, without thinking about the impact we can have on the system itself. But we live in a democracy and it is our responsibility to try to change a law that is unjust or unfair. It is our responsibility to understand our system of government and use it to improve our lives and our communities. In How To Change A Law, John Thibault gives us a seven-step guide to greater participation in our government and a practical manual to community activism.

What I like most about How To Change A Law is that it is practical. The total process of changing a law is a very lengthy and complicated one, but John Thibault breaks the process down into manageable steps that any citizen can follow and have an impact on his city, county, state, and even country. How To Change A Law is well written and well organized by someone who knows the process and knows how to teach it to others. This should be a part of civics classes all over America. This knowledge is something every citizen should have access to. John Thibault has done a lot of us a big favor by writing this book.

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite

The middle class makes up the biggest part of the American population. Unfortunately, it is also the most disgruntled group due to the adverse effects of poor government policies that have seen their income continue to decline while expenses continue to go up. Fundamental expenses like education, healthcare, housing and taxes continue to become more and more costly, and in most cases also more inefficient, leaving the lower and middle classes always struggling to afford a decent lifestyle. So is there still any hope for lower and middle-class Americans or is it all downhill from here? In The Middle Class Comeback: Women, Millennials and Technology Leading the Way, Munir Moon puts across a strong argument in favor of positive change coming. America's lower and middle class citizens have been pushed into a tunnel that seems to get darker by the day, but Munir Moon gives clear and detailed points to illustrate that there is a bright ray of light at the end of this tunnel. Changes brought on by female empowerment, technology advancement, and the power of millennials are giving the middle class more strength and a perfect opportunity to make a comeback. The old ways that benefit the few at the expense of the majority are being challenged, paving the way for desperately needed changes.

The Middle Class Comeback: Women, Millennials and Technology Leading the Way by Munir Moon is an insightful, detailed and yet simple read that breaks down the main social and economic challenges Americans are facing, and the new opportunities that are paving a way for the middle class to prevail once again. Americans have had enough and they are now ready to push for changes in policies and systems, and to challenge the status quo. Munir Moon's assessment of the situation is realistic, unbiased, and relevant to the current times. The Middle Class Comeback could not have come out at a better time and it will continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future.

Reviewed by Chris Fischer for Readers' Favorite

Wow! How's that for a review? Well, it's definitely what I thought when I finished reading Red November: Inside the Secret U.S.-Soviet Submarine War by author W. Craig Reed. A simply fantastic re-telling of an extremely tense time in the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Cold War. Giving his readers previously unreleased information about the secret underwater maneuverings by both sides at the time, this non-fiction book reads like fictional story-telling at its best; it's simply that gripping, exciting and well done. Readers will surprised at all that was going on behind the scenes, and even those who may consider themselves to be knowledgeable about the time period will be able to glean information that is new to them.

I loved this book. Loved it. Author W. Craig Reed, a former Navy diver and fast-track submariner, has written a simply stellar account of this dangerous and intriguing time period in our history. Once I started Red November, I simply could not put it down, much to my own chagrin as I had picked it up at bed time, intending to read just a few chapters. Any reader who enjoys a great work of non-fiction, history, military history, or a historical recounting with a great deal of intrigue, adventure and excitement will absolutely love Red November. I very highly recommend this book. I certainly hope that author W. Craig Reed is hard at work on his next book. If it is anything like Red November, it will definitely be worth the read!

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Witness to Greatness: The Consequential Presidency of Barack Obama in Perspective by Obi Nwasokwa is a powerful appraisal of President Obama’s rise to power and the circumstances surrounding his rise. Obama might have appeared on the American political landscape like a joke and people might have thought he was just another rabble-rouser, but when his ascent to the presidency became inevitable, the world had to stand by and watch. Obama’s rise to power created what the author calls “a cold uncivil civil war,” a kind of silent revolution whose ramifications can be very far reaching. Witness to Greatness takes an honest look at the monumental figure that is Barack Obama, and what his ascent to power could imply for the history of the American nation and the world at large.

Obi Nwasokwa’s book comes across as a warning to the American people to take notice of the gift that they have at this historic moment. He sees Obama as one of the great people whose name will be remembered alongside Abraham Lincoln, Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, and many others. Witness to Greatness: The Consequential Presidency of Barack Obama in Perspective is an honest, somewhat fierce look at today’s American political landscape. The author writes with simplicity and the work is laced with biting humor.

In the heart of this eye-opening work is the oft repeated question: How did Obama do it? How did he rise to power? What are the implications of his rise to power on the American political situation? The author doesn’t hesitate to state unequivocally and in clear terms: “For Obama did it fair and square by his own exertions — playing by the rules. He did it through his personal drive, discipline, dynamism, and determination, backed by uncommon and uncanny political and operational skill, smarts, savvy, and sophistication — against seemingly insuperable odds including the stiff and spirited but fair opposition of a majority of white Americans.”

Witness to Greatness is one of those books that will force the American people to look frankly at its reality and see a powerful sign of the times in the figure that has held power for almost a decade: Barack Obama. This book is more than a biography; it is prophetic, a powerful and insightful commentary on the American current reality.