Recent Books
Managers Not MBAs
Henry Mintzberg; Translated by Sung Hyun-jung from English to Korean: Booksnut: 664 pp., 28,000 won
MBA programs have long been regarded as the indispensable course to become a good corporate manager. But this book suggests conventional MBA programs train the wrong people in the wrong ways, with the wrong consequences. The author, a professor, believes MBA programs are schools of business that only pretend to develop managers, and offers a critique of the programs and an analysis of the practice of management itself.
He says that strong economies are based on good management, not on good business schools, and because the top companies employ the top MBAs and the top MBAs are products of unrealistic graduate programs, ramifications can be felt far beyond classroom walls.
Mintzberg's recommendations include program changes as well as his observations on faculty tenure, prima donnas and entrenched thinking. He believes MBA programs have failed to develop better managers who should be improving their organizations and thereby creating a better society.
This book offers an important perspective for the global MBA community, which serves its students, businesses and society in general. Although some may disagree with the author's views, his insight should foster discussion and may lead to action.
-Chung Ah-young
Curse of the Spellmans
Lisa Lutz; Translated by Kim I-sun from English to Korean; Gimmyoung Publishing: 478 pp., 12,000 won
This book comes two years after the publication of the ``The Spellman Files,'' which was the first installment in the series. It seems everyone is acting strangely. Older brother David is staying home watching TV and eating junk food. The father, Albert, is sneaking out of the house and returning with his hair wet. Olivia, the mother, is sneaking out of the house late at night. Youngest sister Rae is distraught about almost accidentally slaughtering her best friend, inspector Henry Stone. And Isabel is hot on the trail of the copycat vandals ruining neighbor Mrs. Chandler's holiday displays. The vandals are copying the crimes that Isabel herself committed when she was a teenager.
The author delves further into character development in this book, enriching the storyline and creating a strong connection between the reader and the characters through the intertwined mysteries. She uses short scenes to propel the story forward and help readers keep everything straight.
Confessions of an American Media Man
Tom Plate; Translated from English to Korean by Kim Hae-young; Everrich Holdings: 428 pp., 20,000 won
``Confessions of an American Media Man'' is the autobiography of one of the world's most famous journalists, Tom Plate.
Among the numerous journalists in the American news industry, Plate has proven to be one of the most honest and influential, and now aspiring journalists can take a peek at his life - from the young boy who was the first in his school to read Time magazine, to his early years as a reporter, and finally his career as a successful syndicated columnist and professor.
The writer also takes readers behind the scenes of the most iconic media firms in the world, including Time magazine, New York Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
News agencies may be all about running for scoops and trying to get interviews with famous people, but journalists have to meet deadlines, survive office politics and sometimes experience subtle, yet intriguing, moments of pride. Plate tells all there was in his exciting life, and readers will easily enjoy the book, from aspiring journalists seeking guidance to older journalists looking to reflect on the joys of reporting and seeking true journalism.
-Han Sang-hee
Mirror Mirror
Gregory Maguire; Translated from English to Korean by Han Eun-gyeong; Minumsa: 368 pp., 13,000 won
"Mirror Mirror" by Gregory Maguire, the best-selling author of the novel-turned-Broadway musical "Wicked," is finally available in Korean. And the translation does a good job of capturing the original's Baroque language and grotesque imagery.
This revisionist novel showcases the author's hallmark talent of taking a familiar fairytale and exploring all the shadows that lurk beneath its surface, ultimately drawing out light and beauty from the depths of darkness.
The Brothers Grimm's timeless tale of "Snow White" is relocated to 16th-century Renaissance Europe. Young Bianca de Nevada is taken under the care of the pope's decadent children ― Cesare Borgia, who inspired Machiavelli's "The Prince," and the vain and beautiful Lucrezia. When Bianca grows up and strikes the fancy of Cesare, however, she incites unremitting jealousy in Lucrezia, who is not only Cesare's sister but also his lover and political collaborator.
If "Wicked" is a wickedly clever reinterpretation of "The Wizard of Oz" that poses moral questions, then this book is a perfect marriage between history and fiction that gives way to thrilling psychological drama.
-Lee Hyo-won