David Merkel on Seeking Alpha has posted a review of Pension Dumping: The Reasons, the Wreckage, the Stakes for Wall Street by Fran Hawthorne.  From his review:

"One of the things that the book gets right is the difficulty in setting pension regulations and laws. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to give pensioners a higher priority claim in the bankruptcy pecking order. But if that had been done, many companies might have terminated their plans then and there, because of the higher yields demanded from lenders who would have been subordinated.

She also covers the debate on the “equity premium” versus immunization well. Yes, it is less risky to immunize – i.e., buy bonds to match the payout stream. Trouble is, it costs a lot more in the short run. With equities, you can assume that you will earn a lot more.

She also notes how many companies were deliberately too generous with pension benefits, because they did not have to pay for them all at once. Instead, they could put up a little today, and try to catch up tomorrow."

Download world_of_business_books_fran_hawthorne1.mp3 or use the mp3 on the right.

In our latest podcast, Fran Hawthorne talks to us about her new book, PENSION DUMPING: The Reasons, The Wreckage, the Stakes for Wall Street just out this week from Bloomberg Press. 

FringeHog has a detailed and in-depth post on Daniel Pink's “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Book You’ll Ever Need” 

So does Rohit Bhargava at Influential Marketing Blog.

Pink explains why manga offers some important lessons for American businesses.

All Things Considered on NPR broadcast a fascinating interview yesterday with author Katie Smith Milway about her new children's book One Hen which tells the story of a boy in Ghana who borrows a few coins to buy a single hen -- and grows up to create his own a highly successful poultry farm.  The story is based on the real life experiences of Kwabena Darko, owner of Darko Farms, and of one of Ghana's leading entrepreneurs (and certainly its biggest supplier of poultry and eggs.)

What's really fascinating is how the story of Darko (or the book's main character, Kojo) translates to children--the tale obtaining a small loan from a local banker and eventually working up to commercial credit is not exactly kid's stuff.  But listening to the interview, you understand how and why it works.  I haven't read the book yet, but I'd love to and will.

Microlending, which has been around for decades, received great attention when Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 -- and in his current bestselling book Creating a World Without Poverty.  In the NPR interview, Darko discusses how he too has become a microlender and the great success he has seen. 

The One Hen website, by the way, is brilliantly done and very informative -- read more about it here.

Today's New York Times features a review of The Second World by Parag Khanna which is just out this week.  There are several business books coming out in the next few months on the rise of nations such as China, India, and Brazil and how the the geopolitical and socioeconomic landscapes will be greatly shift as a result -- and challenge America's dominance. 

This review marks the second big hit for The Second World -- which was also excerpted for a cover story in the NY Times Magazine.

BusinessWeek covers how the recent trend of magna (Japanese graphic novels) becoming very hot in Japan's business world is attempting to make its way to the U.S. -- most notably in Daniel Pink's forthcoming book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need.

Another title that's been a huge business best seller in Japan (and will soon be published in the U.S.) is Kensuke Watanabe's The World's Easiest Problem-Solving Class which distills the issue analysis and problem solving tenets of McKinsey for parents, students, and business people of all stripes.  It's not exactly a graphic novel (and is really geared toward the education market) but it does feature cartoons, simple drawings, and funny characters.  Conincidentally, BusinessWeek was on top of this book too when they featured it back in November.

More than a million free copies of Suze Orman's new book Women & Money were downloaded from Oprah's website in just 33 hours last week.  Apparently, it has had a great impact on actual sales -- it's sitting at # 3 this morning on Amazon's top 100. 

Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio are marketing dynamos.  I've seen some great coverage of their new book The Girl's Guide to Kicking Your Career into Gear including a nice spot on the Today show.

I came across this post on Fox Business's site where they explain how working women can overcome their fears. 

If a publisher hasn't already approached New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin to write a book about management and leadership, I don't know what they are waiting for!  Stories abound on how Coughlin--legendary for his tough-as-nails approach which alienated players last year--dramatically altered his style this season to better relate to his players and to motivate them to become leaders. 

Without question, Coughlin, who said after the Giants' incredible Super Bowl win on Sunday "You have to change, you have to adjust..." when asked how he survived what was an initially tough season, made the right moves in terms of not only leading his team but enabling the players to believe in themselves and perform at their very best. 

I'm sure the coach has got plenty of other items on his agenda right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see something from him in the future.