By Emanuel Carpenter
Book Reviews II
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Diary
of a Lost Girl
Kola Boof
Door of Kush
324 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. Suite 504
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
http://doorofkush.50megs.com
ISBN # 0971201986, price $25.00, pp 441
In her dynamic yet controversial new book "Diary of a Lost Girl,"
author Kola Boof (known for admitting to being one of Osama Bin Laden’s
lovers) expounds upon her life’s story. This includes her life in
Sudan where she was raised by her light skinned, political Egyptian father
and her dark skinned mother. Boof chronicles her life in Africa, tales
of witchcraft within the village, and a host of other events, including
the saddening murder of her parents.
Boof later goes on to describe what is was like to make the transition
from Sudan to becoming the adopted daughter of a Washington D.C. family
who learns of racism, music (especially hip hop) and even sex. The author
discusses her no-holds-barred feelings on colorism, her family and the
man who she believed would become her husband who turns out to be no more
than a sexual predator. The author also recounts her life as an actress
and model in Africa and discusses how she eventually came to become Osama
Bin Laden’s lover and managed to move on with her life to become
one of the most controversial figures in black literature today.
"Diary of a Lost Girl" is the kind of book that book clubs
will be dying to get their hands on. It is an amazing, thought-provoking,
tour de force memoir that reads like a combination of the recent "Slave:
My True Story" by Mende Nazir and "The Coldest Winter Ever Known"
by Sister Souljah. The story is a raw, in-your-face look into the mind
of a woman who makes no apologies for her contentious opinions. While
it does have it share of editorial flaws and some may find a bit of it
hard to believe, the book still packs a walloping punch and is definitely
worth picking up and having a long discussion about.
Highly Recommended
Successful Self-Publishing
M. LaVora Perry
Forest Hill Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 12557
East Cleveland, OH 44112
www.foresthillpublishing.com
ISBN # 0-9759251-7-2, 108 pp., $13.00
In the publishing world, more and more authors are taking the self-publishing
route. Many authors choose this method of publishing because they’ve
been rejected by mainstream publishers, want to control their writing
projects from beginning to end, or even want to prove their worth to traditional
publishers in hopes of signing a contract. In M. LaVora Perry’s
new book “Successful Self-Publishing,” the Cleveland author
of “Wu-lung & I-lung” sheds light on the dos and don’ts
of publishing your own book.
“Successful Self-Publishing” is loaded with helpful advice
on many aspects of self-publishing, including information on the various
forms of non-traditional publishing, finding a distributor, and how to
market your book once it’s printed. The book also contains
sample press releases, a list of reviewers from which to choose, and tons
of information on how to publish a book from start to finish.
What makes the book unique is how the author shares her own self-publishing
and subsidy publishing experiences along with the helpful advice she gives
to the reader causing the book to serve as part desk reference, part motivational
guide. It’s obvious that the author truly cares about the
readers’ success, and she wants to use her experience as a children’s
book author to help them succeed.
There are only a couple of minor problems with the book. One is
that it is rather short and contains only a portion of the information
that other books on the same subject contain. The other is the fact
that the book gives information on the legal aspect of publishing but
never advices the reader to seek a lawyer’s advice. Even with
those minor flaws, anyone looking to gain the inside track on how to self-publish
should still run out and pick up this no nonsense book. Trust me
when I say you will learn a lot about the publishing world, and the money
spent will be paid back several times over.
Highly Recommended
High Performance Marketing
Naras Eechambadi
Dearborn Trade Publishing
30 South Wacker Dr.
Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60606-4781
www.high-performance-marketing.com
ISBN # 1-4195-0823-7, pages 288, price $27.00
As businesses fail and the economy shrinks, many organizations are keeping
a watchful eye on their marketing departments. Since many marketing
departments are responsible for customer satisfaction, advertising, sales,
and above all, results, marketers often become the victims of downsizing
as a result of the company’s overall performance. In Naras
Eechambadi’s new book “High Performance Marketing,”
the author gives sound advice on how marketers can perform at a higher
level to achieve success.
“High Performance Marketing” explains the reasons and methods
for metrics in detail, the importance of aligning the marketing department
with the company’s strategic goals, the importance of aligning the
marketing department with the IT department, and much more. For
instance on the subject of financial metrics, the author observes:
“Financial metrics offer a retrospective view of results; they do
not indicate what actions we must take to drive results. However,
these are the results most often reported to the financial marketplace
and the investors who have the last word on shareholder value.”
Not only is the book filled with sound advice from a strategic level but
it also gives important tactical level advice on how to perform marketing
tactics better. Eechambadi, the founder and CEO of Quaero, also
provides real-world case studies from well-known companies over various
industries to bring the message home. All in all, “High
Performance Marketing” will please many marketing professionals
who are looking for new and exciting ways to be effective in sales, marketing,
and customer satisfaction.
Highly Recommended
Selling is Dead
Marc Miller & Jason Sinkovitz
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
www.wiley.com
ISBN 0471721115, pp. 320, price $27.95
In today’s corporate world, the performance of a company’s
sales team can determine if they will sink or swim. The sales team
is responsible for seeking out opportunities from current customers and
creating opportunities from potential customers. In the new book
“Selling is dead” by Marc Miller and Jason Sinkovitz, the
Ohio-based authors explain the importance of hiring the right salesperson,
recognizing the type of demand that is needed, and monitoring the progression
of each sales stage.
“Selling is dead” introduces a new way of approaching potential customers based on four types of demand: new application demand, aggregate demand, continuous improvement demand, and economy demand because the authors believe that customer decision-making changes from one demand to another. According to this book, an informed salesperson should be able to recognize the demand type and respond accordingly.
This book is at its brilliant best when it explains the Buyer Psychological Model, the importance of creating demand, and how to overcome traditional objections such as a potential client’s budget constraints. It also serves as a wake-up call for sales managers who employ mediocre salespeople who are ineffective at creating demand or selling to prospects who are satisfied with existing products or services.
However, there are a few problems with this book that may cause its words to fall on deaf ears. The first is that it reads like a dissertation and contains complicated language (i.e. the cadence of commoditization) that may cause the average salesperson without a college degree to run for cover. Next, the book is written from a very strategic point of view and lacks more needed tactical instructions. Finally, the book is written with a slant towards IT firms and may turn off those who are not in technology fields. In other words, it’s great for IT sales managers but maybe not for other sales professionals.
“Selling is dead” has the
potential to be a groundbreaking book. The authors understand the
psychology of supply and demand, the pressures of a sales manager, and
the need to move salespeople from inertia. But the success of this
book will be determined by the buying public’s willingness to make
a major paradigm shift in the sales process and the hiring process and
a clear understanding in the psychology of how purchasing decisions are
made. This book makes an interesting and informative read but it
will be even more interesting to see if salespeople worldwide accept or
reject it.
Recommended.
S