First-Class Fatherhood: Advice and Wisdom from High-Profile Dads

First Class Fatherhood podcaster Lace debuts with a collection of aspirational parenting advice from sports stars, media celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs, and elite military men. Touching broadly on such topics as discipline, finance, education, and dating and social life, each interviewee gets one to two pages for his take. In a section on “perspective,” former stockbroker and convicted felon Jordan Belfort writes, “the gift I gave my kids was being honest about the mistakes I’ve made,” while on “discipline,” Eric Trump warns of how difficult it can be to balance one’s role as a father with that of a mentor. But the advice for managing a child’s dating life is largely heterosexual, old-fashioned, high involvement, and rules oriented (“My daughter is twenty-six, and I still treat her like she is fifteen years old”), and a section on fitness and health veers into nutrition advice only tangentially related to kids. The short entries have a punchy feel, and their brevity also helps keep the focus tight. Fathers who like to see themselves reflected in the rich and successful will enjoy the support, but those looking for a guide to the ins and outs of parenting will be better served elsewhere. Agent: Rita Rosenkranz, Rita Rosenkranz Literary. (Apr.)