Crittenden (The Price of Motherhood
) offers an engaging look at working mothers and how their parenting skills make them more adept managers. Based on interviews with 100 parents (mostly women) who were the primary caregivers in their family, the book offers an intriguing look at the changing face of American executives. Quoting her subjects directly, Crittenden illustrates how being a parent helps someone be a more creative, if sometimes unconventional, manager. One woman talked about a producer who shouted obscenities at her. The woman did nothing, viewing the behavior as the equivalent of a toddler's temper tantrum, and the producer apologized the next day. Sometimes, parents have added knowledge that has a direct impact on their job. Working parents in any field will readily identify with many of the scenarios discussed in this book by some visible CEOs including CNBC's Pamela Thomas-Graham, Oxygen's Geraldine Laybourne and actress Lindsay Crouse. Crittenden concludes that mothers are everywhere and they're "slowly changing the work world—its language, its atmosphere, and, more glacially, its norms." The book's theme is positive and its message inspiring. No doubt, the book will generate buzz because of the subject matter even if there's little startling to be found here. Agent, Katinka Matson.
(Aug.)
