Volumes about women and work

Writers and marketers have discovered that if you slap together the words "women" and "work," you've got a pretty good target market. Every day seems to bring a new book.

We've pulled together a roundup of some of the latest, addressing women's varied career needs.

"New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches" by Hannah Seligson (Citadel Press Books, 2007, $20). Seligson, who has the dubious credential of getting fired from her first job, draws on voices of young career women and seasoned veterans to produce an easy-to-read primer on how to succeed in today's work world.

"Art of War for Women: Sun Tzu's Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work" by Chin-Ning Chu (Doubleday, 2007, $22). Get ahead ethically without confrontation, transforming female weaknesses into strengths, using the Taoist philosopher's guidelines. Instructive high-powered women's success stories.

"See Jane Lead: 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work" by Lois P. Frankel (Warner Business Books, $22.99). The latest from the best-selling author of "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich." Discusses attitudes and obstacles that keep women from reaching the top and strategies for using and overcoming them. Frankel also has an updated version of her book "Stop Sabotaging Your Career: 8 Proven Strategies to Succeed — In Spite of Yourself" (Warner Business Trade Paperback, 2007, $13.99).

"Your Career, Your Way: Personal Strategies to Achieve Your Career Aspirations," by Lisa Quast (Lisa Quast, 2007, $19.95). Quast is CEO and president of a Seattle-based international career-development consulting company. The book shows how to use strategic planning to position yourself competitively, just as businesses do with their products. She also answers career questions on her Web site, www.careerwomaninc.com

"Ladies Who Launch: Embracing Entrepreneurship and Creativity as a Lifestyle," by Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt with Amy Swift (St. Martin's Press, 2007, $24.95). A guide by the co-founders of the company with the same name — an online social-networking and offline support system to help women start businesses.

"Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success" by Sylvia Ann Hewlett (Harvard Business School Press, 2007, $29.95). Top thinker's research on who's leaving work, why, for how long, obstacles for returning, the price paid, the brain drain's toll on corporate bottom lines and solutions.

"Mothers on the Fast Track: How a New Generation Can Balance Family and Careers" by Mary Ann Mason and Eve Mason Ekman (Oxford University Press, 2007, $24.95). The mom-and-daughter authors suggest policy solutions as well as strategies women can employ to plan family and work lives, particularly during the make-or-break years of their 30s.

"Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home" by Pamela Stone (University of California Press, 2007, $24.95). The Hunter College sociologist conducted interviews to get to the bottom of the question, focusing on 54 white women who had been highly successful professionals and were married to men who could support them while they stayed at home. She found they quit as a last resort because of inflexible, "all-or-nothing" workplaces or "because they found themselves marginalized for trying to hold onto their careers after becoming mothers."

"The Anti-9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube," by Michelle Goodman (Seal Press, 2007, $14.95). Useful strategies, tips and resources on how to create a career outside the cubicle world — from self-employment to part time and flex-time.

"Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work," by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin (Warner Business Books, 2007, $24.99). Written by former Harvard MBAs who returned to the workplace after stays at home with their kids. A guide to the practical strategies of what they call "relaunching" and to psychological factors at work in making a successful transition. www.backonthecareertrack.com