Club
"Why They Do It" by Eugene Soltes. Content Warning.
What drives wealthy and powerful people to white-collar crime? Why They Do It is a breakthrough look at the dark side of the business world. From the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the insider traders at McKinsey, to the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the failings of corporate titans are regular fixtures in the news. In Why They Do It , Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes draws from extensive personal interaction and correspondence with nearly fifty former executives as well as the latest research in psychology, criminology, and economics to investigate how once-celebrated executives become white-collar criminals. White-collar criminals are not merely driven by excessive greed or hubris, nor do they usually carefully calculate costs and benefits before breaking the law. Instead, Soltes shows that most of the executives who committed crimes made decisions the way we all do-on the basis of their intuitions and gut feelings. The trouble is that these gut feelings are often poorly suited for the modern business world where leaders are increasingly distanced from the consequences of their decisions and the individuals they impact. The extraordinary costs of corporate misconduct are clear to its victims. Yet, never before have we been able to peer so deeply into the minds of the many prominent perpetrators of white-collar crime. With the increasing globalization of business threatening us with even more devastating corporate misconduct, the lessons Soltes draws in Why They Do It are needed more urgently than ever.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Hell's Princess" by Harold Schechter. Content Warning.
In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana "murder farm." Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn't merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They'd been butchered. Hell's Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter's gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery--and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
The Whispering Library: Where Voices Come to Life
Picture a library where the books don’t just sit on shelves but actively engage with those who seek them out. This enchanted space, known as the Whispering Library, is a perfect metaphor for the art of vocal performance. Each book represents a unique aspect of vocal technique, emotion, and style, waiting to be discovered and brought to life.
By Lakshya goyal2 years ago in BookClub
"The Mystic Tournament"
Every thousand years, the Mystic Tournament is held, a secret competition where the greatest warriors from across dimensions are summoned to compete for ultimate power. The winner of the tournament is granted a wish—any wish—by the ancient gods who oversee the contest. This year, the stakes are higher than ever, as the fabric of reality itself is beginning to unravel.
By chinedu okongwu2 years ago in BookClub
"The Elemental Conspiracy"
In a world where elemental powers are real, the balance between nature and civilization is maintained by a secret society of Elemental Guardians. Kira Frost (Scarlett Johansson), a former Guardian with the ability to control ice, has been living in seclusion after a tragic event led her to abandon her duties. But when a series of natural disasters linked to the awakening of ancient elemental forces threatens the world, Kira is reluctantly pulled back into the fold.
By chinedu okongwu2 years ago in BookClub
"Pirates of the Starsea"
In the distant future, humanity has colonized the stars, but with the expansion into space came a new era of piracy. Among the stars, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), the most cunning and unpredictable pirate of the galaxy, commands the infamous ship The Black Pearl Nebula. Known for his wits, Jack navigates the treacherous Starsea, a region filled with black holes, rogue planets, and ancient alien ruins.
By chinedu okongwu2 years ago in BookClub
