DISRUPTION BOOKS 2017 CONTENTS A DISRUPTIVE APPROACH 5 FRONTLIST Being Dead Is Bad for Business 7 The Resistance Handbook 9 Where Have You Gone, Harry Truman? 11 Back to Balance 13 The Green Amendment 15 BACKLIST Rescuing Retirement 17 Moneyball for Government 19 Greenthink 21 Decision Making In The Leadership Chair 23 A DISRUPTIVE APPROACH Disruption Books is an independent publisher focused on nonfiction thought leadership. After spending years working with the publishing industry, we concluded that it was badly broken, especially for the goals and timelines of high-profile authors with provocative ideas. So we decided to start a publishing company designed with these authors specifically in mind. And we’ve built something that can offer more than most publishers: Full editorial control of the manuscript. We will make recommendations about the most strategic and marketable way to structure a book, and define its tone and content, but we will ultimately defer to our authors on the direction the book takes. This is dramatically different than the experience with traditional publishing houses, where the editor’s views, not the author’s, will be the ultimate arbiter of the project’s direction. Guaranteed publication. We publish without the representation of an agent, based on our authors’ timelines and the timeliness of a book’s content, rather than the constraints of a traditional publishing calendar. Ownership of the editorial rights and a larger share of royalties. Traditional publishers pay authors between 4 and 10 percent of the list price of a book. Disruption Books offers its authors royalties of 25 to 75 percent of the net sales. We bring the know-how. Our authors bring the vision. Together, we turn big ideas into bold books. 5 US . STANLEY A. WEISS was formerly Chairman of Amer- What if, despite your fears, Praise for Being Dead Is Bad for Business ican Premier, Inc., a mining, you went for broke every time? refractories, chemicals, and mineral processing company. YOU MIGHT LIVE A LIFE AS EXTRAORDINARY He is Founding Chairman of “ Stanley Weiss’s memoir is three books in one: It’s a businessman’s story of striking . AS THE ONE STANLEY WEISS HAS LIVED FOR Business Executives for National Security it rich (literally, since he was a treasure hunter); a history of the second half of the STANLEY A WEISS NEARLY A CENTURY. (BENS), a nonpartisan organization of senior twentieth century; and an MRI of the author’s character development. Well wri en skinny Jewish kid from Philadelphia executives who use the best practices of busi- with great storytelling, the book is funny, poignant, and almost breathlessly candid training to fi ght and likely die in the ness to strengthen the nation’s security. Mr. about Weiss’s own shortcomings. A rich, compelling read about a self-made man.” A Weiss has wri en widely on public policy U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945, Stanley Weiss —LESLEY STAHL, correspondent for 60 Minutes and ma ers. His work has appeared in the H u ff - came home to the death of his loving but weak bestselling author of Becoming Grandma father, who le his mother penniless. Vowing ington Post, the International Herald Tribune, BUSINESS FOR BAD the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on the spot not to let his insecurities limit BEING DEAD IS BEING IS DEAD BEING DEAD him as they had his father, Weiss pledged The Washington Post, and The Washington “ A great read about a great life! Stanley Weiss’s refl ections are wonderfully introspec- Times. His book, Manganese: The Other Uses, tive, refreshingly candid, remarkably self-eff acing, and hugely fascinating—as well that his mother would never have to worry. Later, a humiliation suff ered at the hands of is the defi nitive work on the non-metallur- as repeatedly informed by his ultimate insight, that dying is bad for business.” gical uses of manganese. A former fellow at his wealthy girlfriend’s famous father ignited —GENERAL (RET) DAVID PETRAEUS , former director of the CIA and Harvard’s Center for International Aff airs, Mr. in him a determination to be er himself in commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan Weiss is the recipient of an honorary Doctor IS BAD every way and live life to the fullest. of Humane Le ers from Point Park Univer- Inspired by a Humphrey Bogart movie, sity in Pi sburgh, Pennsylvania. He currently “Wow. A er reading his memoir, I now see that I previously knew less than 5 percent Weiss moved to a foreign country to hunt serves on the Board of Directors for Premier of Stanley Weiss. He is a multifaceted, peripatetic, well-read, energetic, broadly for treasure—where Rule Number One was “Don’t Die.” Along the way, his zest for living Chemicals and is a member of the Council on connected, multi-movied bon vivant and more. Awesome.” Foreign Relations, the American Ditchley Foun- has taken him from the company of legend- —JOSH S. WESTON , former chief executive offi cer and honorary chairman FOR BUSINESS ary artists and poets in Mexico, to writers dation, the International Institute for Strategic of Automatic Data Processing Inc. Studies, and the Royal Institution in the UK. Mr. and beatniks in 1960s San Francisco and Weiss has served on the Board of Directors of Hollywood; from drunken nights with a noto- Harman International Industries; the Board “ Just like the fi lm characters he reveres, Stanley Weiss brings us a story of charm, rious spy to friendships with three of the men who played James Bond; from glamorous of Visitors of Georgetown University School courage, and adventure—and he tells it all with his trademark wit and insight. It is a memoir parties in Gstaad and Phuket to power poli- of Foreign Service; and the Advisory Boards of a masterful book.” the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy tics in London and Washington, DC. A story —LORD CARRINGTON, foreign secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the International Crisis Group. Mr. Weiss of growth, tenacious focus, and good humor, and the last living member of Winston Churchill’s cabinet WEISS is married with two children. He divides his it stretches from the days of “Don’t Die” to time between his residences in London and Weiss’s response when asked why business Gstaad, and his offi ce in Washington, DC. executives were interested in preventing Autobiography & Biography nuclear war: “Being dead is bad for business.” stanleyweiss.net For those who believe the world is shaped by ordinary people who push themselves to do extraordinary things, Stanley Weiss’s story will inspire and surprise while reminding us disruptionbooks.com all that being dead is bad for business—and being boring is bad for life. Jacket Design by Kim Lance Printed in the U.S.A. An Amazon National Bestseller Being Dead Is Bad for Business A memoir Stanley A. Weiss Publicity: Michael Pauker | [email protected] SUMMARY Most of us spend our lives talking ourselves out of things. But what could you accomplish if you never held yourself back? You might live a life as extraor- dinary as the one Stanley Weiss has lived for nearly a century. A skinny Jewish kid from Philadelphia training to fight and likely die in the U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945, Stanley Weiss came home to the death of his loving but weak father, who left his mother penniless. Vowing on the spot not to let his insecurities limit him as they had his father, Weiss pledged that his mother would never have to worry. Inspired by a Humphrey Bogart movie, Weiss moved to a foreign country to hunt for treasure—where Rule Number One was ‘’Don’t Die.’’ Along the way, his zest for living has taken him from the company of legendary artists and poets in Mexico, to writers and beatniks in 1960s San Francisco and Hollywood; from drunken nights with a notorious spy, to friendships with three of the men who played James Bond; from glamorous parties in Gstaad and Phuket, to power politics in London and Washington, DC. Being Dead Is Bad for Business is a story of growth, tenacious focus, and good humor. Stanley Weiss’s story will inspire and surprise while reminding us all that being dead is bad for business—and being boring is bad for life. AUTHOR BIO Stanley A. Weiss is Founding Chairman of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a nonpartisan organization of senior executives who use the best practices of business to strengthen the nation’s security. He has written widely on public policy matters, with articles in numerous publications including the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times. He divides his time between his residence in London and his office in Washington D.C. Disruption Books 978-1-63331-016-2 On-Sale Date: February 28, 2017 Hardcover $25.95 Autobiography & Biography | Personal Memoirs “Rumbustious, warm and disarmingly candid … This is an astonishing life, recounted with humor and wit.” —THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 7 An Amazon National Bestseller Foreword INDIE Book of The Year Finalist The Resistance Handbook 45 Ways to Fight Trump Markos Moulitsas & Michael Huttner Publicity: Michael Huttner | [email protected] SUMMARY A much-needed guide to combating the current president and building a better, more just, and more equitable America. A majority of Americans have been shocked, dismayed, and disgusted by Trump’s actions since he took office. But we aren’t taking it lying down. Across the United States, the Resistance is growing, as many thousands of patriotic Americans lead the charge against the corrupt and traitorous Trump regime—and the Republican Party that is enabling him.