Business Books.

By Andrea Sachs

Financial Infidelity By Bonnie Eaker Weil Hudson Street; 312 pages

It's not the crime, it's the cover-up. In politics and in marriage, the old lesson applies. And this provocative new book makes a compelling case that financial infidelity--lying to your partner about how much you spend, secretly playing the stock market or piling up debts--can be just as damaging to a relationship as adultery. "The dangerous thing about financial infidelity," writes Weil, "is not the secret itself, but the act of conscious deception in a relationship." Weil, a psychologist in New York City with 30 years of experience counseling troubled couples, takes an uncompromising position: "There's no such thing as an innocent financial fib." Even if you don't accept her zero-tolerance approach--Weil frowns on even the surreptitious picking of your partner's clothing pockets or wallet for extra cash--financial faithlessness may be more widespread than you think. According to a recent Harris poll, 40% of all adults in a committed relationship admitted to lying to their partner about spending habits.

Weil helpfully points out the lipstick-on-the-collar warning signs of trouble: maxed-out credit cards, bank accounts with cash missing or unaccounted for, a refusal to discuss finances or unopened bills and general secrecy about money. And watch out for a pattern of revenge shopping binges following fights.

The solution? Weil is a great believer in talking frankly about the problem. But some of her proposed conversations just don't sound real. For example, here's her suggestion for how a workaholic spouse should confront a partner about secret credit-card bills: "You must be so stressed and lonely. I know my working late nights and on weekends contributed to this, big time! I want to help you with a plan for the credit card debt that's accumulated, probably from your 'weariness.'" Words not likely to ever be spoken. But Weil argues persuasively that from the beginning of the relationship, couples need to break through the broader societal taboo against discussing money openly. "Participating in a regular review of the relationship's financial and emotional balance sheets," she says, "is the first step in identifying and treating these issues."

Powerlines By Steve Cone Bloomberg; 251 pages

You won't win a Nobel Prize for Literature for writing a memorable slogan. But you will earn a well-deserved place in marketing history, according to this engaging teaching guide/love letter to "words that sell brands, grip fans & sometimes change history." After all, says Cone, the chief marketing officer for Epsilon and a veteran phrasemaker, look at the enduring impact of power lines such as Morton Salt's "When it rains it pours" (1912) and McDonald's "You deserve a break today" (1971). Whatever you do, counsels the author, "change everything but a great line." That sort of inspiration, he maintains, is the voice of the brand.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need By Daniel H. Pink Riverhead; 160 pages

Our hero Johnny is a frustrated young cube dweller, disillusioned with his fledgling accounting career. "He did what everyone said he was supposed to do," writes Pink. "He's begun to suspect that everyone was wrong." Enter Diana, a comely sprite who doles out zenlike job advice ("Think strengths, not weaknesses. Persistence trumps talent. Make excellent mistakes") along with manga magic in this witty Japanese-style graphic novel. She convinces Johnny that following his true creative passion is the secret to workplace success. Luckily for readers, Pink, a best-selling author who studied manga in Tokyo, and his talented illustrator, Rob Ten Pas, seem to have taken her advice.