Message from Author Louis Bohtlingk

We recently published the book Dare to Care: A Love Based Foundation for Money and Finance by Louis Bohtlingk. While the book discusses a financial system in which caring is more valuable than monetary gain, Louis and his organization Care First World, continue to uphold and teach this method. If you'd like to know more check out his newsletter or watch the video above. 

Website Redesign: It's all very exciting!

Recently, Cosimo made the decision to do a major website overhaul. This extensive and labor intensive overhaul involved new content, new color, new graphics, and most importantly an user friendly atmosphere that is easy to navigate. All of the aforementioned were implemented with the new design and we're pretty pleased with the results. Check out our new website and let us know what you think. http://www.cosimobooks.com/

Rory O'Connor's Virtual Book Tour

If you're interested in social media, or media in general, and like Danny Schechter's work, then you should check out a virtual book tour by Rory O'Connor TONIGHT, at 7pm EST/4pm PST. You can see all the details and sign up here.

O'Connor will be discussing his new book, Friends, Followers and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands and Killing Traditional Media. He'll explain the trends in social media and explore what tech visionaries, media makers, political advisers, and businesspeople are saying about the meteoric rise of the various social networks.

Check it out!

Co-founder of Women's World Banking, Michaela Walsh on "Is Risk-taking Only Bad Banking When Done by Women?"

"Michaela Walsh (co-founder of Women's World Banking and author of the upcoming Cosimo book "Founding a Movement, Women's World Banking,1975–1990" -  which tells the story about the founding of this micro-finance institution for women), wrote together with Nancy Carson in a letter to the Financial Times their response to an article published earlier in the FT, "Women bankers linked to rise in risk-taking". That latter article presents a report by the German Bundesbank that claims a link between the more women are represented on a bank board, the riskier the decisions of the bank. Based on Ms. Walsh's extensive experience working with women and finance around the world, she counters this narrow finding by stating her point of view:

"This characterisation appears to be yet another argument against women as full participants in today’s economy." Then she and ms. Carson point out a McKinsey study that found that boards with mixed boards had 56% higher operating profits, and continue to say that during their 15 years leading the Women’s World Banking movement around the globe, they learnt that "...Women are business people. Some take risks, others do not. Some succeed, others do not." Finally, they state that the low participation rate of women on bank and other boards is not strengthening the economy, but a denial of talent and resources. It will be interesting to see how this discussion will develop further as more women will be gaining professional and executive roles in banking and business.

Check the article out on the Financial Times Website.

Cosimo’s Classic of the Month, written by one of the finest writers in the history of Spanish Language.

Saint John of the Cross was a major figure in the Catholic reformation of the 16^th century. He was a passionate writer and wrote many pieces including Spiritual Canticle, The Dark Night of the Soul, and Sayings of Love and Peace.

Cosimo’s classic of the month The Living Flame of Love contains not only the poem of the same name but selected letters, poems, and writings of the 16th-century mystic. Written soon after his escape from a nine-month stint in solitary confinement, The Living Flame of Love is Saint John’s ode to the soul’s ultimate union with God. It is presented here in its entirety along with a detailed explanation of each stanza.

With 365 spiritual maxims, instructions on achieving perfection, and precautions against Satan, The Living Flame of Love is a wonderful introduction to the works of a deeply pious man, but one of the finest writers in the history of the Spanish language.

As a tribute to upcoming Earth Day, Cosimo picks Earth Fever as April's book of the month

With spring officially here, the trees growing greener, the flowers starting to bloom, and the weather starting to warm up it’s time to announce a new book of the month. April is filled with many important days, holidays, and themes. But here at Cosimo we decided to focus on Earth Day, which falls on Sunday April 22 this year. 

The purpose of Earth Day is to bring awareness to the environmental issues that continue to have an impact on the health of our Earth.  Climate change is warming the Earth up and we need to find a way to cool down the effects our actions are having. Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change discusses not only the small ways everyone could change their habits to reduce their carbon footprint but also how they could better their own lives by helping the Earth. A truly original take on climate change this book focuses on the individual's growth as well as their ability to effect change in the current environmental woes. To learn more about the book visit EarthFeverBook.com.

• "Links a crisp and clear explanation of the climate problem to a spiritual quest for solutions... Earth Fever is something special... Read it and subsequently do something." -Pierre de Winter, in Platform for Managers and Professionals  
• "Ends with a positive, hopeful scenario. Living more consciously is not only good for our planet, but also for ourselves... The fever can be decreased, we can become healthy again." -Lisette Thooft, in Happinez
• "Inspiring... The authors show that there is a third way, a path that weaves between doomsday thinking and unfounded optimism..." -Derk Hueting and Klaas van Egmond, in Milieu

Authors Judy McAllister, Erik van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest bring to bear their diverse experience in the fields of sustainability, leadership, and entrepreneurialism on the challenge of building a radically different belief system about life such an endeavor will require.