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Bookshelf A business leader faces constant challenges, but only a few can be classified as true crises: events that are infrequent, significant, played out in public, and likely to affect multiple stakehold- ers. It's the rare CEO who knows how to get through such an event with grace. In Leading Under Pres- sure, Erika Hayes James and Lynn Perry Wooten explore what defines a crisis, what skills will help executives weather it, and how they can prepare for it in the first place. They identify the five phases: signal detection, prepa- ration, damage control, business recovery, and learning. According to James, of the University of Virginia, and Woo- ten, of the University of Michigan, "Crisis leadership is a frame of mind accompanied by a key set of behav- iors. The frame of mind is character- ized by openness to new experiences, willingness to learn and take risk, an assumption that all things are pos- sible, and a belief that even in times of crisis people and organizations can emerge better off after the crisis than before." They don't minimize the trauma of a crisis, but they do offer hope for surviving it not only intact, but strong. (Routledge, $59.95) Despite all the coverage it gets in busi- ness media, China is still a largely mysterious country where even the most sophisticated multinational firms can fail. Jonathan Story, an emeritus INSEAD professor now at Rensselaer Institute, provides a look at China's past and a glimpse into its future in China Uncovered. Designed to help CEOs figure out how to succeed in this complex market, the book is part history les- 66 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 son, part strategy session—and part admonishment that any company doing business in the country must be infinitely adaptable. "China's rapid and radical transformation towards a market economy has created a busi- ness environment that varies widely and changes almost daily, and there is no sign that it is slowing down," Story warns. He touches on the myriad factors that influence Chinese business, from Communist politics to the guanxi underlying relation- ships to the vast differences between urban and rural areas. With his detailed and absorbing book, Story helps business leaders learn how to think about this constantly evolv- ing nation. (Prentice Hall Financial Times, $19.99) Breaking up isn't the only thing that's hard to do—so is closing down an underperforming division or firing a subpar staff member. Generally speaking, most people aren't good at making Necessary Endings, says psychologist Henry Cloud, and that flaw might prevent them from being successful, in business and in life. He makes the case that endings are natural and essential events that open the way for improved careers and relationships. "Endings are the reason you are not married to your prom date or still working at your first job," Cloud observes. "Endings are crucial, but we rarely like them. Hence, the problem." In an approach that is both compassionate and impla- cable, he outlines why endings are so important, what "internal software" keeps many people from accepting them, and how to tell the difference between something that can be fixed and something that ought to go. He acknowledges that endings are often painful, but he makes a persuasive case for their positive power. (Harper Business, $25.99) It's hard to resist a book called Economics, and University of Queens- land professor John Quiggin makes his tale as compelling as his title. His premise is that the global financial crisis can be partly blamed on eco- nomic theories that died long ago, but that stubbornly keep shambling around, destroying individual for- tunes and whole economies. He writes, "In the history of economics, there can be no more dura- ble zombie than that of a New Era, in which full employment and steady eco- nomic growth would con- tinue on indefinitely." According to Quiggin, other destructive undead include privatization, trickle-down economics, and the efficient markets hypothesis. He's not afraid to call out advocates and authors of these ideas, especially those trying to reanimate the tattered corpses. His own prescriptions to keep the econo- my breathing include relying "more on realism, less on rigor, more on equity, less on efficiency, more on humility, less on hubris." It's the rare read that's both thoughtful and fun. (Princeton University Press, $24.95) "If businesses managed their money as carelessly as they manage their people, most would be bank- rupt," write Bill Conaty and Ram Charan in The Talent Masters. Their book presents companies Zombie