book review
By Elizabeth Fenner

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Women of corporate America: Have you ever fended off a romantic advance from your boss? Fumed that your male counterparts earn more than you do? Been inches away from committing fraud to make your company's performance look better? Robin Wolaner has--and she's here to tell you all about it. Her Naked in the Boardroom: A CEO Bares Her Secrets So You Can Transform Your Career (Fireside) is a how-to book for career women, with a difference: It's full of dishy and street-smart examples from her own life as a magazine executive. (Wolaner was a copywriter at Penthouse and then went on to found Parenting magazine, which was later bought by Time Warner, FORTUNE's parent).

A quick, diverting read, the book zigs and zags through everything from business ethics to office attire to raising money for a new venture. But ultimately the book is about how women should deal with the men who dominate the world of business. For example: "You can learn the most from anti-mentors whose bad behavior you vow never to emulate." And "Never sleep with anyone to get a job; that doesn't work. On the other hand, if you've slept with someone for the right reasons and later he can help your career, that's great." This may not be wisdom for the ages. But for a young woman just beginning to ascend the career ladder, it's bound to help. -- Elizabeth Fenner