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Build Your A-Game

Name: Build Your A-Game
Author: Carole Sacino
ISBN: 978-0991159727

BE SEEN - BE HEARD - BE REMEMBERED

by Carole Sacino ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2014

An often insightful book that focuses on women’s challenges and celebrates the power of choice.

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An executive coach offers a motivational prescription for women who want to make their marks in business.

The continuing salary gap between the sexes has created an opportunity for books about contemporary women’s roles, such as Sheryl Sandberg’s best-selling Lean In (2013). In somewhat the same vein, this well-written, perceptive work by a female executive coach looks at what it takes to “be seen, be heard, and be remembered.” Using the well-worn technique of alliteration, Sacino discusses five “A’s”: awareness, authenticity, alliances, affluence and advocacy. In each section, she relates her own experiences as a businesswoman, draws on material from other authors and speakers, and offers an approach that generally revolves around self-empowerment and giving back to others. Although the ground she covers isn’t necessarily new, Sacino writes with passion, emotion and honesty, doling out sound advice for how to cope with workplace and lifestyle challenges. For example, she discusses the importance of networking, advising readers to “use whatever will help you get over the challenge with networking, since it’s a game changer in work and in life.” Sacino also helpfully differentiates between a “mentor” (“a valuable resource and role model”) and a “sponsor” (who “takes it to the next level and is willing to advocate on your behalf”). Sacino is strongest when addressing how women can compete in the male-dominated business world, particularly in management roles. Intriguingly, she writes that “[m]ost women I have worked with…that have been in the workforce for more than twenty-plus years were unaware of personally having been victims of gender discrimination.” Still, Sacino recognizes that the quest for equality is an uphill battle, so she offers such tools as 11 tips for “building resilience.” Her advice about leaving a legacy is particularly reflective and thoughtful. Overall, despite a penchant for repetition (and an overreliance on exclamation points), Sacino’s inspirational book has much to commend it.

An often insightful book that focuses on women’s challenges and celebrates the power of choice.

Pub Date: March 21, 2014

ISBN: 978-0991159727

Page Count: 210

Publisher: SDP Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 28, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.