Getting There: A Book of Mentors

Segal (New York Characters) does exactly what her title promises: she delivers thought-provoking advice from some of the world's best-known success stories. The collection consists of short first-person essays in which individuals from different creative and entrepreneurial fields share their life experiences and words of wisdom. The strength of this work is in its organization and its interesting and varied slate of contributors. Warren Buffett describes his personal idea of success ("As you grow older, the people who you hope love you actually do"). Anderson Cooper talks about plunging headfirst into fear while starting out as a freelance news reporter equipped with nothing but a home video camera. Kathy Ireland discusses prioritizing time while she worked to create her own business. Perhaps less engaging are Segal's photo portraits of each speaker, which don't particularly seem to capture the subjects' personalities as revealed in their essays. Regardless, this is a book that belongs on the shelves of anyone (perhaps especially anyone young) who's searching for meaningful pursuits as well as career success. 30 color photos. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (May)