Book `Em

Mama said there'd be days like this, right? In this month's book roundup, motherly advice is given its due:

"Mom's timeless wisdom, her fundamental values, are desperately needed, as well as enormously effective, in business life today," writes Rhonda Abrams in Wear Clean Underwear: Business Wisdom From Mom (Villard Books, $22.95). Aside from an undeniably catchy title, Wear Clean Underwear rates a read for its down-to-earth truisms.

For a wackier time, check out David Lindsay's The Patent Files: Dispatches From the Frontiers of Invention (The Lyons Press, $22.95). If you've ever wondered whether you're a Thomas Edison in waiting, this book could tip the scales.

Finally, assess the communication skills of yourself and others in Straight Talk: Turning Communication Upside Down For Strategic Results at Work (Davies-Black Publishing, $26.95). Eric F. Douglas may not be as plain-spoken as Mom, but his Straight Talk gets points for its attention to detail. No failures to communicate here.

This article was originally published in the April 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Book `Em.