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Fly Write, Right?

Southwest's James Parker hopes his book takes off

By Sam Merten

Published on March 13, 2008 at 12:41am

It's hard to believe it's already been 19 years since Spike Lee made Do the Right Thing, which put Lee on the map and also launched the career of Martin Lawrence. Looking to boost his street cred, former Southwest Airlines CEO James Parker wrote a book by the same name. Parker shares Southwest's secrets to success, including its decisions not to lay off or cut pay for employees and offering no-hassle refunds for customers after 9/11. Parker also slips in some baseball analogies, noting that Ted Williams was a much better player than a manager, and Tommy Lasorda was more successful as a manager than as a player. Is Parker as good a writer as he was a CEO? Is he less white since naming his book after Lee's film? Do the right thing and tell him yourself at Barnes & Noble, 7700 West Northwest Highway, where he'll be holding a book discussion and signing copies of his book at 7 p.m. Call 214-739-1124 for more information.
Thu., March 13, 7 p.m., 2008


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