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Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American

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Traces the life and career of the enigmatic former CEO of Intel, drawing on private papers and interviews with his closest friends and associates to discuss such topics as the persecution he survived as a Jewish Hungarian in the 1930s, his relationships with such figures as Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, and his management talents.

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

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Richard S. Tedlow

20 books23 followers

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5 stars
39 (31%)
4 stars
44 (36%)
3 stars
33 (27%)
2 stars
6 (4%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
73 reviews42 followers
August 13, 2016
This book's 460 pages contain a nice 200-page biography of Andy Grove. Unfortunately, the book also contains reams of inexplicable verbiage.

The way to read this book is to skip around aggressively. Any paragraph that starts with "Remember," "Note," or "Consider" is going to restate something you read a few pages ago. Skip. Any paragraph with a classical or pop-culture allusion will also include the author's review. Skip. These heuristics will lop off about 10% of the text. But there are other nuggets of badness that are hard to skip.

A few lowlights:

* On page 132, in a single paragraph, the author explains the connotation of "360" in brand name three times. You had me at "360."

* P. 224: the book notes that even when Intel was in a slump, no Wall Street analyst rated it a "sell." Even after the 2003 analyst research settlement, this is like bragging that however ugly you are your mom will still call you "reasonably handsome."

* 248: the author makes a big deal about how rare it is for someone to be good at engineering and then to become a good manager. While one can make allowances, here—perhaps there's a very high threshold for goodness—engineering is the single most common undergraduate degree among Fortune 500 CEOs.

* 312: a bizarre riff on the fact that Bill Gates' last name is "Gates" and he's like a barrier you have to cross to get into the PC industry, or something, complete with a classical allusion so detailed it required an endnote.

* Two separate references to getting "listed" on the Dow. You get listed on an exchange.

* Early in the book there's a five-page Jungian jam session analyzing a dream Grove had about an angry dog, in which the dog is said to potentially represent: an actual dog, Andy Grove's coworkers, Andy Grove's dad, Andy Grove himself, and the Holocaust.

Cut all the weird excesses, and this would be an unremarkably good book about an extraordinary guy.
Profile Image for Doğa Armangil.
51 reviews26 followers
February 12, 2017
Worth reading up to chapter 13 included.

Negative points:
- Author's explanations about the computing business and the computing technologies are often approximate, or plain wrong.
- Too long, particularly parts where author talks about certain events like cancer and the Pentium bug.
- Second part of the book is less about Grove than about computing industry and business in general (did author not get enough help from Grove & entourage?).
- May be "illuminating", but is a below par book nevertheless.
Profile Image for David.
359 reviews
November 28, 2021
Sort of an average biography...Grove is an interesting man, and parts of the book we're fascinating...growing up in both the Nazi regime and the Soviets, and later in the book, the game changing decision to "sole source" the 386 chip, and Pentium debacle...That said, the best biographies, such as Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs", look at both a subject's good attributes AND faults...this one came across like a third grade paper on Abraham Lincoln at times...fawning on the good attributes, but didn't look at the faults much.
Profile Image for Ke Lun.
26 reviews
September 17, 2017
Recounts Grove's childhood and fighting scraps to his time in Intel.

Sentence that always flashes through my mind is on the Revolving Door Test.

Grove asked, “If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think he would do?” Gordon answered without hesitation, “He would get us out of memories.” I stared at him, numb, then said, “Why shouldn’t you and I walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?
Profile Image for Cameron Olsen.
37 reviews
June 18, 2017
Needs good editing. An absolute slog of a book which goes into way too much detail. Could cut it in half even though Andy Grove was an industry giant in the Bay Area. Has inspired me to read some of his management books next.
Profile Image for Dan Zwirn.
113 reviews16 followers
October 7, 2021
An insightful biography of the creator of the OKR system of management
Profile Image for أرتقي.
33 reviews
November 3, 2022
I've 20% of the book, and I think it's enough for me about this subject for a lot of reasons..
Profile Image for Brian .
913 reviews3 followers
February 4, 2012
Richard Tedlow produces a very interesting, although slanted, biography of Andy Grove. While many things have been written about Grove including several autobiographies this is one of the more thorough accounts of his life in a single volume. It covers the early years very well and puts the reader with Grove as he is fleeing Hungary from the Soviets and immigrating to America. His rise as a street smart engineer from City College to CEO of a major company is covered in detail. The semiconductor industry is one of the more fascinating industries to study and its development was dependent on the scientific research and development end of the semiconductor companies, but also the development of the personal computer research. The 800 pound gorilla in that game was none other than Big Blue IBM and when IBM selected Intel's processor the market was corned. As with Microsoft, Intel had to engage in direct consumer marketing to keep the public demanding the latest chip in IBM and competitors computers. Overall it is a great chronicle of how Intel grew as a company and what led them to predominance in the industry.
The only major complaint is that this book is incredibly pro Andy Grove to the point that Grove can do no wrong. While there is little doubting that Tim Jackson's account treats Grove very harshly I feel that both books need to be read in order to have a balanced viewpoint of Grove's effect on the company as with many things the truth lies in the middle. Despite this I still recommend and find it an enjoyable way to learn about a fascinating man and company.
Profile Image for Damon.
20 reviews
July 22, 2008
I particularly enjoyed this book because it is a history of my industry and my company. It was a great read if you are interested in the history of the computer and one of the industry movers and shakers who brought it and Intel to be what it is today.
Profile Image for Andy.
3 reviews
Read
September 3, 2010
The first half of the book dealing with the early years of Andy were interesting and well laid out. The book fizzles towards the end as his time with Intel winds down and he tackles a personal health crisis.
Profile Image for Citra.
104 reviews
February 13, 2008
Well, it's really interesting that this book reviewed about Andrew S. Grove.. Good to know a lot thing about someone so...unbelieveable!
Profile Image for Michael.
2 reviews2 followers
March 5, 2012
Fascinating book - even for, or especially for those of us who lived in Intel for many years.
5 reviews
January 1, 2017
I loved Andy Grove. This is one of the best biography I had ever read.
Amazing live, with a lot of difficulties in his youth, 2 WW issues in Hungry.
Profile Image for Louis.
64 reviews7 followers
March 16, 2010
Not the greatest writing, but his story is pretty impressive.
Profile Image for Pedro.
35 reviews
April 30, 2017
O don't know if I like the story or the book or both. I just know I had a fabulous time learning about Andy Grove and his fantastic life and achievements
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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