Book Reviews: Cocktail Parties and Dinner Tables

While slaying the business media with one hand, The Business Press Maven simultaneously began using his spare hand on book publishers two weeks ago.

My premise is that newspapers, looking to outrun their financial demons, have been dropping book reviews like bad habits, and, besides, newspapers never looked at books through an investor's eyes anyway. So here I am, reporting for duty again.

Whether it's an investment advice book, CEO autobiography, business history or financial thriller, The Business Press Maven has one measure: Does the book add to or detract from your ultimate understanding of investing? If it adds, then the book earns a coveted "Help" label. If not, it gets cursed with a dreaded "Hindrance" sticker. Ties, mind you, get lumped into "Hindrance," because if authors and publishers are asking for investors' time, the book better be good.

Speaking of what's good, let's start with what's not. ...