Bob Edwards Weekend (March 7-8, 2015)

 

HOUR ONE:

 

Our favorite ex-con Louis Ferrante is back with a book just out in paperback titled Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman. He shares nuggets of advice good for the boardroom and the backroom such as, “never bad mouth the boss” and “the importance of networking: it’s good to go to a funeral as long as it’s not yours.” Ferrante served eight and a half years in prison for refusing to incriminate his associates in the Gambino family, since then he’s gone straight and now lectures groups of at-risk teens across the country. 

Then, as the 19th century came to a close, America’s big cities worked out how to move people quickly and efficiently in, out and around town. Author Doug Most tells the story of early mass transit in his book The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America’s First Subway. It’s just out in paperback.

 

HOUR TWO:

 

Andrew Blechman was shocked when his older New England neighbors put their house up for sale.  He was even more surprised when he learned they were moving to The Villages in central Florida.  It’s the world’s largest gated retirement community, takes up more space than Manhattan and includes a golf course for every day of the month.  Blechman explores this rapidly growing trend in his new book titled Leisureville: Adventures in America’s Retirement Utopias.

Then, Bob talks with actress and writer Annabelle Gurwitch about her book of essays titled I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50.  Every day, more than 10,000 Americans cross that threshold – and like Gurwitch – start receiving targeted mail from the AARP.  This coming-of-middle-age story covers that and other topics like aging out of your wardrobe, options for retirement and navigating the beauty counter at the department store.  Gurwitch’s book just came out in paperback.