WHAT DO 11 U.S. PRESIDENTS, the DALAI LAMA and WHOOPI HAVE in COMMON? by Patrick O’Donnell

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVG1G21C

Patrickinfocus.com

He photographed 11 U.S. presidents. But this California photojournalist’s 60-year career was about more than just the leaders of the free world. It was also about the evolution of modern journalism and one photographer’s quest to capture iconic images along the way.

Patrick O’Donnell’s journey began in high school, when he caught the photojournalism bug from a master teacher. By college, he was taking pictures for his student newspaper, then working full-time for local papers while still in school. Early assignments included Richard Nixon’s failed California governor bid and Eisenhower’s 1964 Rose Bowl appearance.

So began O’Donnell’s front-row view of history. His warm, personal stories take you behind the lens and scenes of inside access chatting confidentially with George H.W. Bush at an event and capturing images of Nixon’s resignation day at El Toro marine base.

Much more than presidents alone, this memoir follows O’Donnell through adventures covering sports, local events, fairs and entertainers like Kevin Costner and Tony Bennett. We ride along to meet everyone from Dr. “Bee Man” Norm Gary to Groucho Marx feeding grapes to Alice Cooper. The Dalai Lama, Margaret Thatcher and Jerry Brown sprinkle the narrative too.

Part journalism passion project, part who’s who of 55+ years behind closed doors, this richly illustrated book memorializes an era when newspapers still ruled – before cell phones and digital film crowded out the dark room. Personal, humorous stories make this insider’s chronicle a must-read photo memoir for any news junkie and photography buff.

The Stoic Alcoholic: It’s Not Only About Counting Days by Benton Savage

https://www.amazon.com/Stoic-Alcoholic-Only-About-Counting/dp/B0H1RRSBXV

After thirty years of addiction, broken relationships, and self-sabotage, Benton Savage reaches a turning point.
The Stoic Alcoholic is an honest and deeply reflective journey through sobriety, discipline, and personal responsibility. Through daily entries, Savage confronts the habits that nearly destroyed his life while applying timeless Stoic principles to rebuild it one day at a time.
Raw, real, and unfiltered, this book is not just about quitting alcohol. It’s about taking control, finding purpose, and choosing a better path forward.

Leadersh!t: A Look at the Broken Leadership System in Corporate America That Accepts Leaders Who are Really Good at Being Bad by Rande Somma

https://www.amazon.com/LEADERSH-Broken-Leadership-Corporate-America/dp/1634919343

With humble beginnings in a small, low-income home in Pittsburgh to over 40 years of business experience including serving as a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and member of several corporate boards of directors, being a corporate officer and running a $20 billion global operation for Johnson Controls, Inc., Automotive Operations, Worldwide, Rande Somma has seen some things in the context of leadership that deeply disturbed him.

Somma brings an empathetic top-down perspective to the problem of corporate leadership and the chasm of disconnect that often exists between the workers, management, and the C-suite executives. His book looks at lowered standards for leaders, higher compensation, and the path of convenience, fraud, greed, and corruption that leaders are more often choosing over obligation to their duties.

Recently, American businesses have been looking for and hiring leaders who are willing to do anything to elevate our companies to be “successful”, to be the “best”. The author contends that what is considered to be “successful” and the “best” has changed over the past several years or decades to refer almost exclusively to financial gain. While leaders we hire are supposed to be individuals talented in the art of leading people, they are now those guys and gals who are more talented at being financial wizards and creating the illusion that the business is fundamentally sound. This book is about what we have surrendered in the process of our hyper focus on financial gains, and that includes the exceptional return on investment of integrity.

The author presents a narrative about what he perceives as a serious and disturbing truth that is incrementally infecting companies both large and small. This truth that was once unacceptable has now become not just acceptable but expected and normal with regard to leadership in corporate America.

Somma demonstrates through his personal stories and others’ experiences how corporate American leadership has descended into leadershit.

While many of his stories are based on his own experience in the auto industry, Somma sees the problem as a more pervasive issue. It was not just the auto industry having a bad year or two; the pattern was repeated in other companies and industries and in other leadership situations. He recognized this as a leadership system that doesn’t serve us anymore, and therefore, it is the system that is the problem.

Somma shows how we – all of us – are paying for leadershit’s lack of commitment to absolute integrity, authenticity, and real performance. While this book walks through Somma’s own tangles with the facets of leadership over the course of his professional career with many organizations, he encourages the reader to recognize the challenges that we all face and for all of us to emerge with solutions and as authentic leaders.

The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning–and How to Help Them Thrive Again by Jared Cooney Horvath PhD Med.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPR5NXSM

Educator and neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath reveals why digital tools in school consistently undermine learning—and what parents, teachers, and schools can do to push back with purpose.

Our children are struggling.

Schools, once alive with human connection, are now dominated by screens and digital tools. The result is unmistakable: declining performance, fractured attention, and the slow erosion of rigorous thought. For the first time in recent history, children are falling behind previous generations on many key measures of cognitive development.

In The Digital Delusion, neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath reveals how the widespread use of laptops, tablets, and classroom software is undermining how children learn and develop. Drawing on decades of research, he provides practical tools for families to reassess device use at home, equips educators with the means to restore attention-rich learning environments, and helps schools make smarter decisions about technology. He exposes and dismantles the central myths driving the EdTech movement and lays out a clear path for putting people—not programs—back at the center of education. This is not a call to reject technology.

It’s a call to reclaim real learning.

About the author
Jared Cooney Horvath (PhD, MEd) is a neuroscientist, educator, and best-selling author who specializes in human learning and brain development. He is the creator of The Learning Blueprint, an international award-winning program helping educators and students understand how learning actually works. Jared has conducted research and taught at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Melbourne, and has worked with more than 1,000 schools around the world. He is the author of six books, has published over fifty research articles, and his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, Harvard Business Review, and PBS’s NOVA. He currently serves as Director of LME Global, an organization dedicated to bringing cutting-edge brain and behavioral science to educators, students, and communities.

The Greatest Love: Lessons for Living with Extraordinary Courage–Even After the Worst Day of Your Life by Tim Brown

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593981391

Fftim.com

“A powerful reminder that true courage is measured not in strength but in service to others . . . Tim Brown doesn’t just tell a story of survival—he delivers a blueprint for leadership under the most extreme circumstances imaginable.”—Gary Sinise

“I was profoundly moved by Tim’s story of resilience, faith, and enduring purpose.”—Admiral William McRaven, from the foreword

Decorated FDNY firefighter, 9/11 survivor, and expert emergency manager Tim Brown shares the lessons he’s learned about grief, resilience, sacrificial love, and transforming pain into purpose.

Would you be able to stand again after the worst day of your life? How do you keep serving and leading when the task is heavy and the cost is high?

On September 11, 2001, FDNY firefighter and emergency manager Tim Brown was inside the World Trade Center complex when the towers fell. Nearly one hundred of his friends and colleagues were killed. He lived—and vowed to never forget.

Then came September 12. And every day after that. Days spent first surviving, then grieving, then learning how to transform pain into purpose.

Drawing on decades in fire service, disaster response, and national security, as well as on the lessons learned from the fallen heroes, Brown distills the principles of sacrificial service that he forged in the midst of pressure, trauma, and great personal cost. In The Greatest Love, you’ll learn:

• How to re-discover purpose by finding your sacrificial why
• What nine therapists missed about managing grief—and the process that finally worked
• Why establishing the DNA of sacrificial service in your life is key
• How to connect with your brotherhood and leave a legacy

Sacrificial service is the greatest love any of us can show. This means carrying the load when no one is watching, putting service before self-protection, and not letting your loss dictate who you become. Step beyond survival and into a life marked by purpose, resilience, and grace.

Artificial Intelligence Governance, Risk, and Compliance: Ensuring Trust, Security, and Ethics in AI-Based System by Dr. Kellep A. Charles AIGP CISSP

https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Governance-Risk-Compliance/dp/B0GYJD5D6X

Kellepcharles.com

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing many industries, but with its power comes responsibility. “AI Governance: Ensuring Trust, Security, and Ethics in AI-Based Systems” is your guide to navigating the challenges of responsible AI development and deployment.

Written by cybersecurity expert Dr. Kellep A. Charles, this essential resource connects AI innovation with ethical practices. Whether you are a cybersecurity professional, data scientist, business leader, policymaker, or student, this book offers practical frameworks for managing AI risks, ensuring compliance, and creating trustworthy systems.

Inside, you’ll find:
Foundational AI concepts and the development of machine learning technologies
Insights into agentic AI systems, including their benefits, risks, and governance needs
Real-world applications of the NIST AI Risk Management Framework
Strategies for managing the entire AI development lifecycle
Practical threat modeling and security testing methods for AI systems
Techniques for data governance, privacy protection, and reducing bias
Current laws, standards, and regulations such as GDPR and the EU AI Act
Step-by-step guidance for creating AI cybersecurity frameworks
Protocols for incident response, monitoring, and maintaining deployed AI systems
Tools, certifications, and organizational resources for AI security testing
What makes this book unique? It includes real-world case studies, detailed checklists, sample governance policies, and templates for assessing AI impact. This book turns abstract AI ethics into concrete action plans. It addresses critical risks like model poisoning, adversarial attacks, data protection, and algorithmic fairness, providing practical strategies for mitigation.

It is ideal for professionals seeking AIGP certification, organizations establishing AI governance programs, or anyone dedicated to responsible AI innovation. The book offers easy-to-understand explanations for non-technical readers while delivering the depth that practitioners need.

Create AI systems that are powerful yet transparent, accountable, and aligned with human values. In a time when AI failures can have serious consequences, this book shows you how to ensure AI serves everyone safely and ethically. Learn to manage AI before it manages you.

Dogs Don’t Bark at Parked Cars: Your GPS in an Era of Hyper-Change by Jeff Piersall

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1683504461

Linkedin.com/in/jeffpiersall

Some attribute it to Aristotle, but whether the great Greek philosopher said it or not doesn’t affect its timeless truth. “If you want to avoid criticism, all you have to do is say nothing, do nothing and be nothing.” If on the other hand, you decide your life is purposed for something worthy and being on the playing field is preferred to sitting in the stands, there is something you are sure to encounter; what Jeff Piersall and Eric Wright call “barking dogs.”

Dogs Don’t Bark at Parked Cars illustrates this encounter as the voices that find fault, who don’t think it’s possible, who are unable to see a future alive with opportunities waiting to be seized. They are the ones governed by fear instead of faith. Unfortunately, many times the loudest of these barking dogs are kenneled right in most people’s own heads. For Jeff and Eric, that priceless quality is wisdom. It goes beyond knowledge or aptitude and transcends this era of cultural and technological hyper-change, with principles that are timeless.