Books to consider -- III

We continue our series of possible gifts more topical than those mentioned below.

In The Communicators, Leadership in the Age of Crisis, Richard Levick, with Charles Slack, offers forty rules that can help leaders deal with the instantaneous nature of information flows and the challenges and opportunities that emerge from that environment. From rule number one ("Learn to accept death") to number 40 ("People want to be inspired"), there are stories and insights that are engaging and helpfully provocative.

If there is anyone better suited to editing a volume called Lessons Learned in Changing Healthcare . . . and How We Learned Them than Paul Batalden, I am hard-pressed to know who that might be. A dozen knowledgeable and self-reflective practitioners relate the stories of their progress in improving health care, creating a tapestry of thoughtful observations and lessons.