Step 1: Get a better job offer somewhere else
Step 2: Accept said offer
Step 3: Give notice at your current job. "Sorry to leave you guys in the lurch, but this amazing opportunity opened up for me, and I just had to take it!"
Step 4, Optional: Offer to come in to the old job for a day or two, on the weekend, to help out, just to grease the wheels a bit, and show that you're leaving on good terms, as a team player.Why not pull your timeline forward and use the book as the excuse?
Regardless of the reason you end up using, I'm in favor of doing whatever it takes to leave on a good note. Think long term. Always.
Sounds like you answered your own question.
Would you really WANT a reference from these people?
I'm guessing no -- they're legally bound to confirm that you worked there, but your references should be people that you've worked with, trust, and respect. I NEVER list managers that have clusterfucked projects as references, I always choose people who've worked with me and that I respected technically as well as personally. (Some of whom WERE managers, but that's exceedingly rare.)