SABEW names Best in Business Book winners

The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing announced Wednesday the winners and finalists for its fifth annual Best in Business Book Awards, which recognizes and celebrates outstanding business journalism in books published between Aug. 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024.

The book, Taming the Street: The Old Guard, the New Deal, and FDR’s Fight to Regulate American Capitalism by Diana B. Henriques and published by Random House, was chosen as the winner in the “Business Reporting” category.

The judging panel said the book “is a comprehensive and engaging exploration into the early days of Wall Street regulation and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The page-turner with an unexpected twist explores President Franklin Roosevelt’s efforts to reign in Wall Street – a challenge that rings true decades later as some of the same debates over regulation continue. Henriques introduces readers to vivid characters and recreates an era that is long gone but has remarkable relevance for today.”

Judges also selected one finalist from the category: Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux (published by Crown Currency).

In the “Career and Financial Development” category, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport and published by Portfolio, won.

The judges said, “Slow Productivity should be on the fast track for every business manager to read. It offers a tonic that is sorely needed in our overworked, burned-out society. Taking longer to do less seems counterproductive, but when the result is a top-quality product, it makes it all worthwhile. The author lays out his argument clearly and simply, creating a compelling read that should help shift your mindset about work.”

The two finalists selected in the category were: Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg (published by Random House), and 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work: …And the Truth We Need to Succeed by Bonnie Hammer (published by Simon and Schuster/Simon Element).

In the Management and Leadership category, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy C. Edmondson and published by Simon Element/Simon Acumen won.

The judges said the book was, “an engaging combination of theory and case studies, The Right Kind of Wrong breaks down the different kinds of failures, how they happen and what we can learn from them. It offers smart, actionable guidance for companies, managers and individuals to ‘fail well.’”

The finalist selected in the category was The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now by Hilke Schellmann (published by Hatchette Books).