Summer Reading List

Nourishment for the corporate mind and soul.

SMALL IS BIG: Making the Next Great Small to Mid-Size Downtowns
Contrary to popular belief, Canada is mostly a suburban nation, says Michael von Hausen, president of MVH Urban Planning & Design Inc. in South Surrey. Of the country’s estimated 8,500 communities, 7,500 are small towns (fewer than 100,000 inhabitants), which are often largely ignored when it comes to federal and provincial funding and
other resources. Arguing that small and mid-size downtowns have enormous potential, von Hausen, an adjunct professor at SFU and Vancouver Island University, explains the different types and how to make the most of them.
VIU Press
204 pages; $34.95 (paperback); viu.ca

THE DIVIDENDS OF DECENCY: How Values-Based Leadership Will Help Business Flourish in Trump’s America
Donald Lee Sheppard grew up in a mining family in Sudbury, Ontario, joined Manulife Financial Corp. as a trainee right out of high school, then rose through the ranks of such firms as William M. Mercer Ltd. before launching his own employee communications outfit. Now CEO of Sheppard
Properties LLC and a U.S. citizen living in Los
Angeles, Sheppard warns that America under President Donald Trump represents the unfettered pursuit of profit and ever-increasing power for the corporate sector. Using case studies, he shows that the most successful and admired corporations thrive by following ethical business methods, and how others can learn from them.
Figure 1 Publishing Inc.
272 pages; $35.95 (hardcover); figure1publishing.com

RESILIENCE: Navigating Life, Loss and the Road to Success
She is the first woman and first Canadian to be president of Federal Express Canada Ltd. She has received a Diamond Jubilee Medal and been named to Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame by the Women’s Executive Network. But three years after her husband suffered a heart attack, Lisa Lisson had to accept defeat and allow him to be removed from life support. This is her story of how she achieved career success and came to terms with personal loss.
ECW Press
214 pages; $29.95 (hardcover); ecwpress.com

EDGE OF CHAOS: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth– and How to Fix It
New York–based economist Dambisa Moyo, who worked for the World Bank Group and Goldman Sachs Group before writing such bestsellers as Winner Take All and Dead Aid, now explains why some countries’ economies grow and others don’t, critiques what she calls the false promise of protectionism and suggests seven ways that democratic systems need to change. Some of Moyo’s proposals target politicians and political institutions (e.g., how to address short-term thinking and why to elect better-qualified candidates), while others are aimed at voters (mandatory voting).
Basic Books
320 pages; $36.50 (hardcover); hbgcanada.com

GRIZZLIES, GALES AND GIANT SALMON: Life at a Rivers Inlet Fishing Lodge
In 1972, Pat Ardley moved from Winnipeg to
Vancouver, where she met her future husband, George (Hurricane) Ardley. Their adventurous life together started with a car rally on their first date. They worked as junior lighthouse keepers for
several years, then bought a fishing lodge in
Rivers Inlet off Queen Charlotte Sound in 1976. George died in 2003, but Pat operated Rivers
Lodge until selling it in 2012. Here she describes how, despite her fear of the ocean, they raised a family and expanded their business. Black-and-white snapshots capture the flavour of the times. Pat Ardley now lives in West Vancouver.
Harbour Publishing
353 pages; $24.95 (paperback); harbourpublishing.com