Key Moments

June 15, 2012
Mohn chronicles her story of being a fifth-generation member of the family-owned international media conglomerate Bertelsmann, a corporation with more than 100,000 employees in 50 countries. The author began working for the Bertelsmann Book Club in the 1950s, and she became the protege of Reinhold Mohn, head of the company and 20 years her senior. Though he was married, the couple had three children together and ultimately married in 1982. Mohn soon began taking on larger projects for the company, such as overseeing the construction of its headquarters. During the '70s, the author became deeply involved with the Bertelsmann Foundation, which was designed to "work with specialists and with public and private institutions to develop projects." Mohn has been instrumental in projects in the medical and health care fields and music and the arts, and she stresses the necessity of combining intuition with reason as the formula for success in business and life. The author also discusses the social responsibility of corporations, the role of women in the professional world, the differences between men and women in the workplace and the importance of combining family and work. She touches on globalization, migration, global warming and the debt crisis in Europe. For years, she writes, European leaders refused to confront the problems facing the European Union and purposely withheld information from citizens. "For me," she writes, "the social unrest that is taking place in Greece and France is the precursor to serious social conflict." A straightforward account that will appeal to CEOs, business bloggers, business students and professional women.

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September 1, 2012

German media titan Mohn (vice chair, board of directors, Bertelsmann) recounts her eventful life in this memoir, smoothing over some of its rougher edges and encouraging readers to believe in themselves and persevere despite setbacks. She describes her philanthropy via the Bertelsmann Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the in-ternational media conglomerate that once included Nazi supporters--a history Mohn does not mention. First the secretary, then mistress, then wife of Bertelsmann's president Reinhard Mohn (1921-2009), whom she married in 1982, Mohn now sits on the board and has chaired charitable projects to improve society and corporate ethics. (Bertelsmann also owns Random House/Crown Publishing division, the book's publisher.) Mohn lauds the Bertelsmann Foundation's projects for their "commitment for societal reform," most of which she has initiated and financially supported. VERDICT Rather ostentatious, this book's many descriptions of philanthropic projects are somewhat self-congratulatory; readers may wonder how truly effective they are. This will have limited readership.--Joanne Conrad, Geneseo, NY

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2012
This autobiography by one of the most powerful German businesswomen, Liz Mohn, also chair of the Bertelsmann media empire, reads like a resume. Unfortunately, a somewhat dry one. Although it is written in the first person, Mohn covers the highlights of her life and work without much emotion. We do learn that health challenges faced by her children prompted the formation of, for instance, foundations to study stroke and uveitis (an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye). We see that culture and music have become one of the underpinnings of the Bertelsmann Foundation, including the much-lauded New Voices competition and the genesis of the Boys Choir of Gutersloh. What's more, almost every issue in today's society has been or is being addressed by this somewhat self-effacing leader: chronicling the world's beliefs, becoming an employee-engagement model for other global corporations, emphasizing the importance of social responsibility, and advocating for a greater representation of women and minorities in business. Her life motto shines through the unadorned prose: Try it. You can do it. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)