Book Recommendations

Our publishers and editors have hand selected the following books for you to consider adding to your library. Happy reading.

James E. Hughes, Jr.
Every family, looking at the next generation, hopes to confer advantages that are more than just material and financial--to inculcate character and leadership, to inspire creativity and enterprise, to help all family members find and follow their individual callings, and to avoid the financial dependency and loss of initiative that can all too often be an unwanted consequence of financial success. Yet many families never succeed in realizing that vision, much less sustaining it for three, four, or five generations and beyond.
 
James E. Hughes, Jr.

Why do some families thrive for generations? What accounts for the sad deterioration that others experience? This book takes families and the professionals who serve them beyond the now widely accepted practices offered in Family Wealth and offers a view of Hughes's panoramic insights into what makes families flourish and fail. It lays out the basis for the vision of family governance the author has been developing through his work and research. His advice addresses not only what to do but how to think about the complex issues of family governance, growth, and stability and the ongoing challenge of nurturing the happiness of each family member.

James R. Kwaiser

Families working together have been described as ”tricky.” Many identify themselves as normal because the family’s dysfunctional inter-relations are considered normal. What family doesn’t have some dysfunction? Transforming Family Businesses From "Dysfunctional to Extraordinary" presents real stories of families who work together. Each story deals with the challenges every family working together in business face. The personal issues that intermix with the business issues, family baggage blending with decision-making. The process presented, enables families who are committed to improve family communication and business direction, find the right solutions. The family names and specifics of the business have been changed. The issues are real and so are the results. Each story explains the challenges, the options and what the choice of each family has been. It gives the "how to" steps to effectively deal with each issue. Each family is unique and situation is different. The process explained has been designed, and is proven to work, for those families that are willing to commit to Family First. By reading and studying these stories, and with commitment, families will discover a process that can assist in helping them to overcome any challenges they will face, by living and working together. After implementing the process with numerous family businesses, we have had the opportunity to see family relationships strengthen and business grow and continue. The process outlined can work for any family but it is in working with family business where it has been the most successful. Transforming your family in business from what is considered normal (dysfunctional) to extraordinary is only 152 pages away!

Jean-Charles Boisset, Marnie Old

Finally, an introduction to wine that takes the stiffness out of wine and puts the joie de vivre back in. You don't need to memorize reams of data to feel in control when shopping or deciding what to drink with dinner. All you need to learn are the handful of powerful ideas that help capture and explain wine's extraordinary variations of style. By instilling the confidence to make educated guesses based on a few central truths, this book will help you relax and savor what's in the glass regardless of its grape or region. The genus of this introduction to wine is that it shares the compelling ideas and practical skills that separate the wine expert from the wine novice. Its authors make use of the lessons of Franco-American history, the principles of sensory science, and the predictability of Mother Nature to make sense of the wine with humor, humility, and no shred of pretense. Passion For Wine is also refreshingly direct in its embrace of the central truth behind wine's appeal; that wine brings pleasure not simply through the sum of its flavors, textures, and scents, but also in its extraordinary ability to elevate life's precious moments and strengthen the bonds of love and humanity that connect us all.