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Summary: Intel Chairman Andrew Grove Reminds Us of Our Roots
Review: ...Intel Chairman Andrew Grove Reminds Us of Our Roots It is a rare book by a corporate CEO that isn't either a trumpet blasting his visionary insight and strategic brilliance or a dramatic and mawkish retelling of his climb to the top from unimaginably humble origins. Swimming Across: A Memoir - Andrew Grove's simple, elegant recounting of the first 20 years of his life - is that rare exception. Grove, one of the founders of Intel and still its chairman, was born Andras Grof in Hungary in 1936, the only child of parents who were in the dairy business. We tend to forget that prior to 1945 there was no Iron Curtain, and countries we think of now as post-Communist had vital histories of their own before the Soviet Union stitched together its empire following World War II. Grove recounts a happy childhood in Budapest, the country's largest and most cosmopolitan city. The specter of war loomed large in Europe in the late 1930s, but Grove was too young to be aware of its darker aspects. His family was Jewish and even as a young child he knew that many Jews were forced to live separately in ghettos. But to the young Grove and his playmates, this reality was simply material for another schoolyard game, much to the horror of their kindergarten teacher. Grove's early years, before the full force of the war descended upon Europe, were comfortably middle class. Budapest was actually two distinct communities, the wealthier Buda on one side of the Danube River and the more commercial Pest on the other side. Grove's family moved to Pest in 1938 when his father expanded the dairy business. In 1942, Grove's father was drafted into the Hungarian army. He and other Jewish conscripts were sent to the Russian front not as regular soldiers, but rather as part of a support team sent ahead to clear roadways and build camps, fortifications and other facilities. In 1943, Grove and his mother learned that his father "had disappeared at the front." The Hungarian army was unable to provide the family with any additional information regarding his father for the balance of the war. While his mother never gave up hope, Grove, who had been six at the time of the draft, had a more difficult time holding onto memories of his absent parent. In one of the book's most moving moments, Grove tells us of the doorbell ringing in their apartment one day in the fall of 1945. His mother opened the door and found "an emaciated man, filthy and in a ragged soldier's uniform standing at the open door." As his mother embraced the man, Grove thought, "this must be my father." Scenes like this, however poignant, are the book's chief disappointment. The writing is bland and devoid of emotion. Grove describes everyday life in the middle of a war zone and under the tightening noose of communism and even tells of his mother's rape by Russian soldiers, but all in prose that is more redolent of a corporate brief than an evocative memoir. The meatiest part of the book can be found in Grove's recounting of life in Hungary in the middle 1950s. We see a country that was being slowly strangled by the politburo in Moscow. In 1956, Grove, who had found his passion for chemistry, was looking forward to starting his second year at the university. He was already part of a small class of individuals destined for leadership within Hungary. But in October 1956, Russian troops and tanks rolled into Budapest and clamped down on what had been an incipient, but weak, effort to throw off the Soviet chains. We can imagine the agony Grove felt at watching his country being overrun by soldiers intent on enforcing a police state. He knew that many of his friends were in fact fleeing Hungary; Grove's parents urged him to get out before the borders were sealed. He and two friends made the difficult decision to leave, undertaking a journey to Austria and eventually to America that is the stuff of movies. Grove found his way to this country through the combined efforts of numerous relief and charitable organizations. Relatives in New York City took him in and helped him adapt to his new life. Grove entered City College of New York and graduated in 1960 with an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering followed in 1963 by a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. The rest, as they say, is history. Grove ends this memoir with his move to California. In an interview in Esquire magazine in 2000, Grove spoke about his life as an immigrant in this country. In an era when many would have the U.S. close its borders and eject every "foreigner," Grove's presence and success is a reminder that the U.S. has been the place for those seeking a better life for almost 400 years. "It is a very important truism that immigrants and immigration are what made America what it is," Grove writes. "We must be vigilant as a nation to have a tolerance for differences, a tolerance for new people."...
Rating: 
Summary: Intellectually honest, I lived every moment as if it was me.
Review: A refugee from the Hungarian revolution Andy Grove was surprised to learn that he was the only one interviewed by relief organizations who had not been (or claimed to be) a fighter in the revolution, and wondered why, if everyone had participated, it had ended the way it did. This intellectual honesty characterizes his memories of his first twenty years, and probably accounts his success thereafter.
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Summary: Life under communism as preparation for corporate success
Review: Andrew Grove was a founder of Intel Corporation and is the company's CEO today. His memoir tells the story of his childhood and early college years in Hungary. Grove survived World War II and emigrated to the United States following the Revolution.
Andrew's parents seem remarkably strong. His family enjoyed a comfortable life as owners of a dairy business. His father survived, improbably, a stint in a prison camp during World War II and later saw the business dissolve into state ownership. His mother's spirit kept him alive during the War. Both parents worked hard but gave Andrew what we would call "quality time." Even when money was tight, he had English and music lessons. After reading so many stories of growing-up-in-wartime-Europe, I was surprised to find myself drawn into the story. I wanted to keep reading and actually wish the book had continued into Andrew's early years. What works is Grove's straightforward, matter-of-fact style. He conveys a sense of, "I did what had to be done," with no time wasted on emotional fallout. As a result, his story can seem cold. For instance, when escaping from the Austrian countryside to Vienna, Grove and his boyhood friend decide to leave early to avoid "procedures" of the local gendarmes. They do not awaken the two girls who traveled with them from Hungary, and these girls are never mentioned again. Indeed, the only women Grove mentions are his mother, his occasional dates and -- in two sentences -- his wife and daughters. Apart from the compelling narrative, Grove's book shows how qualities of a future CEO emerge in childhood. Grove continually sought to learn and grow. At one point he even signed up for singing lessons. He had a clear sense of what he wanted and seemed to take for granted his success in school, particularly his talent for chemistry. Ironically, surviving in a Communist society turned out to be excellent preparation for capitalist corporate life. Both, for example, punish those who speak too freely. Grove's teachers predicted his success. The book's title comes from a teacher's prediction that Grove would "swim across" the river out of Hungary to success. Grove did swim across, and eventually he was able to fly.
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Summary: His Private Young Life
Review: Andrew S. Grove is one of the few people whose contributions to his profession not only change the means by which societies function, his deeds have additionally earned him a place in history. The machine on which I type, and with which many of you will read these thoughts contain elements from Intel. The combination of brilliant science and management, while not perfect, has brought Intel to a position of leadership in international business. Mr. Grove stepped down from active management of Intel several years ago, however he maintains the position of Chairman. If you are interested in the story of a young man who arrives in America and rises to the heights of this country's business elite, and becomes Time Magazine's Man Of The Year, this is not the book you seek. "Swimming Across", covers a remarkable though rather brief time of Mr. Grove's life. The memoir recounts memories from the age of 4, and ends when he completes college in New York City. After the close of the book he summarizes the 40 plus years the book does not mention, and while interesting to say the least, it is even more frustrating. Mr. Grove has always been a private man, and he states this book came about because of the arrival of his grandchildren. This may account for the time period covered, for even as a graduate of college, the papers of the city noted his remarkable academic accomplishments. As I read I hoped that a sequel would be readily perceived, however after reading why he wrote the book, and the summary of the balance of his life he offered, a definitive biography will be likely be written by another. The book is still enjoyable albeit brief, and almost exclusively confined to his years in Hungary. Those years are filled with events that have appeared in other memoirs of those who managed to survive not only the Holocaust, but also The Soviet Occupation that arrived as the former ended. Born in 1934 his recollections are necessarily spare due to his young age, however what he does recount are the memories of a very precocious child driven to succeed well before he arrived in America. Some of his earliest memories, and a few that he recalls from his early teen years, are remarkable in their candor for a man so normally private. His stories are candid, innocent, and at times remarkably funny. I have read many biographies of noted people that never seemed to have much of a childhood, much less decided to share the thoughts of their youthful hearts and minds. His ability to survive the Nazi's and then thrive during the Soviet Union served him well when he chose to escape and make his life in America. The drive that was so channeled and restrained by the occupation and by his religion predictably launched a career in America from the moment he arrived. I enjoy reading autobiographies like that of Mr. Grove, not because he eventually became a success by most measures personal and professional that are held in high regard in this country. I enjoy being reminded of just how remarkable this country was and continues to be to attract people from across the globe. Mr. Grove speaks of how he has never faced any resentment for his success because he was an immigrant. He explains why that for the over 4 decades that have passed since his escape from Hungary, he has never returned. Most of us are fairly recent immigrants to this nation. Mr. Grove did not arrive until the 1950's. And while his success has been very public and unusually great, the millions who found their way here usually contributed with the enthusiasm he did. Our nation is not perfect nor are all its citizens or those who have emigrated here. However we are a nation of immigrants, and books like this continue to keep the history of this country fresh, and by doing so always make for important reading.
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Summary: pulitzer prize winning
Review: Andy Grove writes a poignant account of the first 20 years of his life from an endearing boyhood perspective. Different from Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes (floridly written and unbearably sad), Swimming Across, in a beautifully spare way, recounts in matter of fact detail the story of a mother and son who escaped the Nazis and then later the Communists in Budapest, Hungary. There are several signature memories described by the young boy (abandoned or so he felt in a hospital room due to near fatal brush with scarlet fever or lost in the woods for a terrifying moment during the war)that fill out the picture of the adult man that we have only known until now as a corporate legend in the Silicon Valley. Andy's memoirs provide the rich internal and emotional story that was missing from his books on management and Intel. I am making holiday gifts of this book to family and friends because it is yet another powerful reminder of how lucky we are to live in America.
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Summary: Simplicity is splendor
Review: As I was reading Andrew Grove's book a strange sensation came over me. Would it be possible that I had been cloned back in the prewar years? The life and experiences he describes are very familiar, for I lived only one block away from his family, and shared a great deal of his experiences being very much in the same predicament. His book is not for those who are looking for eloquence, grand dialogues, or pages of description of a sunset. It is a very matter of fact description of growing up Jewish in Budapest during the 30's and 40's. Grove, who eventually escaped and landed in America, became the CEO of INTEL and also Time Magazine's Man of the Year '97. Anyone who is interested in a measured and perceptive historical autobiography of a very talented and,to some extent self assured,person, will find this book fascinating. Naturally, as a fellow witness to those times I appreciated the fact that his facts and figures were always on target. He did not paint himself a hero of the Hungarian Revolution of '56, as was the case with almost anyone else during that period, and did not hesitate to admit some of his own shortcomings. As I finished the book I could not help but to think that I would have considered myself very lucky had our paths ever crossed.
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Summary: The Antidote for CEO Excess
Review: Consider this book your antidote for all the recent tales of CEO excess and duplicity. Andy Grove's story of his first 20 years in Hungary and New York City tells us how the events of World War II and the Hungarian Revolution shaped the integrity and inner drive of one man. The story is compelling in its own right. But to read the story of Andras Grof and realize that this boy and his distant childhood turned into Andrew S. Grove...well, it's a journey of unfathomable proportions. To his credit, Grove never oversells the story. He is quite forthright about his role in the Revolution - he was simply a bystander. Fellow Hungarians have read his story and lauded him for his accuracy and honesty. Grove's writing style is sparse and direct. He recalls events with clarity and without extensive interpretation. He gives credit to a couple of editors who helped shape the story, most notably Norman Pearlstine of Time. But this is no ghost-written CEO treatise. These are obviously his words. Some will read "Swimming Across" and conclude that it is a statement about the triumph of the American system. Grove notes near the end of the book "I've continued to be amazed by the fact that as I progressed through school and my career, no one has ever resented my success on account of my being an immigrant." While there's an element of that, I think you'll see it more as a simple but brilliant testament to the Power of One Man. Long live Andy Grove.
Rating:
Summary: The Antidote for CEO Excess
Review: Consider this book your antidote for all the recent tales of CEO excess and duplicity. Andy Grove's story of his first 20 years in Hungary and New York City tells us how the events of World War II and the Hungarian Revolution shaped the integrity and inner drive of one man. The story is compelling in its own right. But to read the story of Andras Grof and realize that this boy and his distant childhood turned into Andrew S. Grove...well, it's a journey of unfathomable proportions. To his credit, Grove never oversells the story. He is quite forthright about his role in the Revolution - he was simply a bystander. Fellow Hungarians have read his story and lauded him for his accuracy and honesty. Grove's writing style is sparse and direct. He recalls events with clarity and without extensive interpretation. He gives credit to a couple of editors who helped shape the story, most notably Norman Pearlstine of Time. But this is no ghost-written CEO treatise. These are obviously his words. Some will read "Swimming Across" and conclude that it is a statement about the triumph of the American system. Grove notes near the end of the book "I've continued to be amazed by the fact that as I progressed through school and my career, no one has ever resented my success on account of my being an immigrant." While there's an element of that, I think you'll see it more as a simple but brilliant testament to the Power of One Man. Long live Andy Grove.
Rating:
Summary: A heartwrenching autobiography
Review: Grove relates the story of his youth as a secular jew forced to suffer through unimaginable hardships. Reading dry textbooks about millions of Jews killed in various concentration camps is revolting but to see pure evil through the eyes of an innocent 5 year old is heartwrenching. We've seen Grove in Business Week cover stories and across the table from Charlie Rose discussing memory chips and microprocessors but he finally opens up in this book and expresses the emotions of his youth. As arguably the most famous witness to the Holocaust alive today, Grove conveys a story with an ethos unlike any other.
Rating: 
Summary: very little substance
Review: Had two books to read..Swimming Across by Grove and To The Edge by K. Johnson. Read Swimming first and was astonished at the poor presentation of Grove's young life. Very little in it to make it compelling reading though you do feel compassion for his struggles. It's as if he took notes but forgot to fatten the paragraphs. There was not enough information for a book this size but could have made a good magazine article. The contrast in writing was amazing when I read To The Edge by Johnson.
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