Book Shelf:  2002 Books

This web page lists all books appearing on the pages of Executive Times during 2002. You can click on the title to jump to the detailed book review. Click on the picture of the jacket cover to jump to amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of the book. You can jump to an issue of Executive Times by hitting the date in the “Issue Date” column.

Key to Ratings:
•••••	Outstanding book-read it now
••••	Highly recommended
•••	Recommended
••	Mildly recommended
•	Read if your interest is strong
DNR	Do Not Read: Take a Pass

Title (Click on Link to go to Book Review)	Author(s)	Rating	Issue Date	Comments	Click on Picture to Purchase at amazon.com
A Good Hard Kick in the Ass: Basic Training for Entrepreneurs	Adams, Rob	•••	Oct 02	Swagger. Austin-based Adams presents drill sergeant attitude and practical advice, especially to those starting or expanding a business.
Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election	Allen, John L., Jr.	•••	Aug 02	Learn through the eyes of a talented, balanced and authoritative writer what will happen behind closed doors when the next pope is chosen. Breezy, conversational writing style makes this book easy to read.
The Long Firm	Arnott, Jake	•	Feb 02	Multiple narrators describe gay English gangster Harry Starks’ life of crime, violence and sex. No compelling reason to read this novel.
The Shelters of Stone	Auel, Jean M.	•	Jul 02	Ayla and Jondalar go to his home to meet the parents and get married in this 750-page fifth volume in Auel’s Earth’s Children series of novels about prehistoric life.
Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing	Badaracco, Jr., Joseph L.	••••	Apr 02	Lots of leadership books focus on heroes. Badaracco presents those everyday challenges that ordinary people face with all life’s ambiguity. Useful and realistic.
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism	Baer, Robert	•••	Jun 02	Disgruntled CIA agent’s story of his work life and how the CIA and White House devalues field and foreign agents and sources, weakening the ability of the U.S. to know what’s going on around the world.
Last Man Standing	Baldacci, David	••	Jan 02	The plot is creative, and contains enough twists to keep a reader somewhat interested, despite the weak dialogue and limited use of the language.
Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate	Baldwin, Neil	•••	May 02	Baldwin traces how Henry Ford personally fed the flames of anti-Semitism around the world during the 20^th century.
The Sweet Hell Inside: A Family History	Ball, Edward	••	Mar 02	Slave descendents become wealthy undertakers as family faces life’s challenges from Civil War to today. One family’s story can be everyone’s story.
Servants of the Map	Barrett, Andrea	•••	Mar 02	Masterful short stories that transport readers to the time and place she captures and to the well-developed characters she presents.
Tricky Business	Barry, Dave	•	Dec 02	Treading Water. 12 funny pages out of 300, the best of which are sidebars to the plot. Barry does better when brief. Eclectic cast of South Florida weirdos.
Coming Soon!!!	Barth, John	•	Feb 02	Postmodern novel that’s hard to follow but frequently clever and witty.
The Doctor’s House	Beattie, Ann	•••	Apr 02	Three characters, a daughter, her mother, and a son, narrate different perspectives of life in this well-written novel.
True to Form	Berg, Elizabeth	•••	Jul 02	Katie Nash returns and presents the anxieties of adolescence and friendship with a delicacy and poignancy that will ring true for most readers.
Criminal Intent	Bernhardt, William	••	Nov 02	Renegade Priest. Mystery fans will appreciate that William Bernhardt has reprised attorney Ben Kincaid to defend another client accused of murder. Father Dan helped Ben years ago, and now it’s Ben’s turn. Good plot, weak writing.
Final Round	Bernhardt, William	•	May 02	Author leaves familiar setting of Oklahoma and criminal justice system for Georgia and the Masters. Weak dialogue and little character development.
Natural Suspect: A Collaborative Novel of Suspense	Bernhardt, William	••	Jan 02	Cute and funny mystery by eleven authors who collaborated to twist and turn plot and characters with whimsy.
Reaching for Glory: Lyndon Johnson’s Secret White House Tapes, 1964-1965	Beschloss, Michael	•••	Jan 02	Eavesdrop on selected conversations between Lyndon Johnson and a wide cast of characters to gain insight into how a manipulative President operated.
What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Meanness	Bing, Stanley	••	Apr 02	A funny reflection on bad bosses by Fortune columnist and CBS executive. Dilbert without the cartoons.
Class Action	Bingham, Clara and Laura Leedy Gansler	•••	Sep 02	Mesmerizing story about a hostile work environment at Eveleth Mines in Minnesota, a landmark lawsuit, and the behavior of all participants.
The Buffalo Soldier	Bohjalian, Chris	•••	May 02	Powerful novel of loss and recovery with real tension and deep feelings. The physical surroundings have a life of their own.
From the Dust Returned	Bradbury, Ray	•••	Jan 02	Creative and well-written novel that could be read aloud to frighten pre-adolescents, while creating enjoyment for the adult reader.
The Strange Death of American Liberalism	Brands, H.W.	•••	Mar 02	Lively and interesting short book that posits that the end of the Cold War caused the end of American Liberalism. Read about Nixon as a liberal.
A False Sense of Well Being	Braselton, Jeanne	•••	Feb 02	Finely written first novel of the adventures of a woman of the New South in her middle years struggle.
The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Guiterrez	Breslin, Jimmy	•••	Jul 02	Illegal Mexican immigrant arrives in New York looking for a better life and finds work with an unscrupulous builder. In the end, neither get what they deserve.
P.G. County	Briscoe, Connie	••	Dec 02	Appearances. Briscoe uses all the demographics of the real D.C. suburb, Princes Georges County, Maryland, to portray characters who fit the locale and for whom appearances make all the difference.
No Way to Treat a First Lady	Buckley, Christopher	•••	Dec 02	Chuckles. Laugh out loud as Buckley returns to DC and the trial of Lady Bethmac, who’s on trial for the murder of her husband, a philandering U.S. President. Sex, lawyers, media, and the Lincoln bedroom.
Nuremberg: The Reckoning	Buckley, Jr., William F.	••	Jul 02	Neither good history nor good fiction. As always, Buckley writes well, but in this novel too quickly and without much depth.
Another Planet: A Year in the Life of a Suburban High School	Burkett, Elinor	••••	Feb 02	Well-written chronology of Burkett’s participant-observation at Prior Lake H.S. outside Minneapolis from 9/99 through 6/00. Breaks stereotypes and helps readers think.
The Baby Boon: How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless	Burkett, Elinor	•••	Jan 02	Burkett calls attention to all the ways that government and companies favor in their policies those with children over the childfree.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate	Caro, Robert A.	••••	Oct 02	Hands On. At 4 pounds and 1,040 pages of text, there are ample stories and examples in this well written presentation of how Lyndon Johnson transformed the use of power in the United States Senate.
Christmas in Plains: Memories	Carter, Jimmy	•