If you want it done right, do it yourself
It pays to provide your own PR; these guides offer tips on self-promotion.
Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort. Steven Van Yoder. Bay Tree Publishing. 288 pages. $16.95.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@Herald.com, 09/22/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Authors offer pointers on traveling path from high school to workforce
Lots of sticker shock these days on the education front. The price of a college education is going up and as federal budget deficits increase, many direct government subsidies and support will likely diminish, if not disappear. As such, covering tuition and other costs requires careful strategic planning, advance preparation and deliberate tactics.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@Herald.com, 09/08/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Comic-book history comes to life in authors' hands
Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book. Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon. Chicago Review Press. 304 pages. $24.95
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 09/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Author Mark Stevens reinforces basic marketing ideas
Your Marketing Sucks. Mark Stevens. Crown Business. 224 pages. $24 Used to be that the term ''sucks'' was not used in polite company, and then usually not by anyone above the age of 15. But, let's face it, as social discourse turns more colloquial, it's not uncommon for ''sucks'' to be part of everyday parlance.
( RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 08/25/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Most readers enjoy this month's book
Cleverly written, funny at times, and full of good suggestions for those executives who think that marketing is only advertising and promotional ideas, disregarding [its] impact on revenue and sales returns for the company.
( 08/25/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Taking toys from the drawing board to store shelves
The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash-in on Your Ideas. Richard C. Levy and Ronald O. Weingartner. Penguin/Putnam. 336 pages. $19.95.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 08/11/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Texts on real estate that cover the right ground
For the most part, we only deal with real estate -- and real estate agents -- when we must, like when we need a place to live. As an investment, owning property can be rewarding but risky.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 08/04/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Author offers insight into the management style of Elvis' Colonel
The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. Alanna Nash. Simon & Schuster. 416 pages. $25 Several years back, I had a brainstorm; so I wrote up a proposal for a book, The Management Secrets of Brian Epstein and Colonel Tom Parker. How could I lose? After all, The Beatles and Elvis were the biggest entertainment acts in history, and I could surely glean a few relevant chestnuts from their (deceased) managers' experiences to spin into a pop biz book. Instant bestseller...
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 07/28/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Taking good with bad: An inside look at forensics
The New Forensics: From Identifying Intellectual Property Theft to Corporate Fraud. Joe Anastasi. John Wiley & Sons. 256 pages. $29.95.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@Herald.com, 07/21/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

The world may be ending, but it's business as usual for authors
The future of business is not what it used to be. Sad to say, but pervasive optimism has been at least partially replaced by an impending sense of doom or, at best, the feeling that few things go as planned has superseded pandemic irrational exuberance.
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 07/14/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Profile of Segway's inventor proves to be a fun ride
Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World. Steve Kemper. Harvard Business School Press. $27.95
( BY RICHARD PACHTER, rpachter@herald.com, 07/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Readers share their impressions
Steve Kemper who wrote Code Name Ginger has two stories: one of the Segway and one of its inventor, Dean Kamen. Mr. Kemper's passion for Kamen's Segway is mostly for its design and engineering, but he can be just as passionate about the ideas of the Segway's inventor.
( 07/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)