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Summary: A Must Read For Every Native Born American.
Review: I agree with Tom Brokaw on the back cover, "It should be required reading in schools." but it will also appeal to adults as well. An easy read and after reading it, you'll know why people risked their lives to come to the United States. To escape evil and find freedom. Read how he dodged the Arrow Cross, Nazi's and Communism, three big evils!
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Summary: I loved this book
Review: I found the beginning especially touching as we see the horrors of WWII through the eyes of an innocent child. The back end of the book is very moving and inspiring as Andy Grove flees Hungary, leaves his home and family, and makes his way towards America.In a time of great fear and uncertainty, this story demonstrates the will to live, the will to be free, and the potential that exists in each of us if we but dare to take risks.
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Summary: This Book is Humbling
Review: I gave the book four stars because I thought that is what it deserves as a piece of literature. But of course his "story" is five stars. That goes without saying. He is the second best known computer guy after Bill Gates and a modern Horatio Alger. Here is a person that leads by example. He has shown to have as superior intelligence and combined that with hard work, and outstanding communication and leadership skills. Obviously there are elements of luck in his success in computers and being at the right place - Intel - at the right time, but it is possible that if he had entered another field he still might be just as well known. An awe inspiring and humbling story of an immigrant to America. Jack in Toronto.
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Summary: Read this book or the content, not for literary strength
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Grove some time back. He's an intelligent man, with a powerful persona and strong sense of character. I was surprised then, when I picked up the text. Swimming Across did not meet my expectations from a literary perspective. The presentation is very simply written and seems to be directed at an individual with a 6th or 7th grade reading level. I nearly put the book down and opted for another as a result. The story however, is compelling. Mr. Grof and his family found a way to survive, compete, and eventually excel despite very long odds in Nazi and Communist dominated Hungary. Read this story for its content (it is stirring). Read this to understand the character development of a leader. It is likely that your respect for the individual (like mine) will have grown.
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Summary: Not what I expected -- Disappointment
Review: I like the idea that Andy Grove wrote this book for his grandchildren...certainly knowing the story of your grandfathter's childhood experiences, in an uncommon time, will make a lasting impression on any grandchild. The book did not capture my attention into the character insight of Andy Grove that his other books did, which is surprising, given that this is a memoir. I am always very interested in understanding the character development of leaders, especially the circumstances surrounding their education development and the life changing events of their lives. The times in which he lived certainly contained the impactful circumstances, but I do not feel the book related those circumstances to who he is today in any lucid manner. I found the memoir detached from who he is today, which should be a fascinating build up of a biography when read along with his other books. My thoughts throughout the book where that the story flow could have been much more fun to read if he had collaborated with a writer that could have livened the prose up a bit. If you have not read about Andy Grove before, then you will find this book an interesting story. However, if you are looking for a deeper insight into Andy Grove today, you will find a much more enjoyable insight by reading his other books. I was dissappointed with this book, so I would recommend as alternatives that you should read: Only the Paranoid Survive : How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company and Andrew S. Grove: High Output Management. You will find these books to provide much more meaningful insight into who he is.
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Summary: Stays with you
Review: I loved this clear, accessible memoir about a boy (and later young man) who grows up in Hungary during the WWII and Revolution years, escapes to the West and comes to the United States to start a new life. I'm biased because my father is from Hungary and is of the exact same generation; he even had experiences similar to Mr. Grove's, going to preparatory high school, university, getting caught up in the Hungarian Revolution and escaping in the middle of the night to Austria. How wonderful to have some of the history and experiences of the times described in such an accessible way. The story is clear and straightforward and yet extremely moving, almost haunting. I loved how the title becomes clear when you read the book (an allusion to swimming across the lake of life and how not everyone makes it to the other side). How glad I am that Mr. Grove made it (across the Atlantic, at any rate) and wrote such a lovely book. It means a lot to at least one daughter of a Hungarian immigrant.
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Summary: Kudos From a Fellow Memoirist
Review: Intel was a fierce competitor throughout my career in Silicon Valley. Although I didn't respect many of Andy Grove's business practices during his tenure as Intel's leader, I take my hat off to him for writing a superb memoir. "Swimming Across" is presented in a refreshing and honest manner. The scenes are vivid and all the characters come to life. Throughout the story, young Andy openly shares his fears, passions, curiosity and humility. The oppression the author endured as a child in Hungary provides a glimpse into not only the development of his work ethic but perhaps his "take no prisoners" approach in business. Andy's ability to assess people and situations were obviously developed early in his life as skills in order to survive. Andy's coming of age story is highly recommended for all readers. I didn't want to enjoy it, but "Swimming Across" won me over.
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Summary: a book for generations to come
Review: It is rare that many young people ever get the chance to hear about the early life of some of the most successful business people. SWIMMING ACROSS is one the most educational and enlightening accounts of Andy Grove's life. It is a story that I intend to pass down to my future generations. Too many accounts of the lives of business people focus on the profits and losses they made or mergers and acquisitions. Andy Grove shares his early life experiences that shaped his destiny. The challenge to start from below ground level and rise to the very top proves that anyone who does not have the resources to succeed can learn to leverage themselves to achieve goals that benefit everyone. This book is should be brought into classrooms and boardrooms. Terrific READ. Too bad Amazon's maximum star limit is 5. :-) Read, learn and enjoy.
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Summary: A bittersweet memoir
Review: My sons gave me this book for Christmas, thinking that it would interest me. It certainly did - and hit me in the heart. Andy Grove opens up the secret chambers of his heart, which he has long ago sealed up. As a Hungarian-American, to me his story rings true, even down to some of the same details of his escape and journey to America (his first encounter with bananas, the troop carrier ship across the Atlantic, the Hungarian National Anthem played like a military march by the Navy band... These were my personal experiences, also.) He is also brutally honest about his personal memories. In a rare glimpse of a boy "playing with himself" or peeing down the stairwell, he shows his vulnerable side, without overplaying it. Any one of us, who grew up in Budapest can immediatley identify with him as he discovers the wonders of old fashioned apartment buildings, the Danube promenade, the City Park. He loved that city and loved the people in it. They were a comfortable nest for him. Soon, however, that nest was turned upside down, and the brutality of the extreme Arrow Cross party henchmen, and Eichman's Gestapo turning the place into living hell. His mother and he are hidden by relatives and strangers, and survive. Most of his father's family is killed in Aushwitz. After the "liberation" by Russian soldiers - with not so velied reference to the sexual abuse of his mother - the Grof family rebuilds its existence, only to be knocked down repeatedly by the Communists. During the Revolution of 1956 Andy Grove does nothing heroic - and admits honestly - and ends up escaping to the West. What is very sad for me in this account is his turning his back completely on his homeland. I understand the conflict in him, I understand the desire to banish the memories. But Andy's story, the Hungarian portion at least, is not unique. Thousands of others with identical stories maintained their contacts, kept their roots and today's Hungary is the better for it. Perhaps eventually Andy can resolve his hidden barriers and break through this final wall. He'd be most welcome by all who are inspired by his story.... and he'd feel relieved.
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Summary: Surprises me - Andrew Grove's childhood
Review: Never would I have expected a man behind Intel could have such a childhood.I picked this book because it was written by Andrew Grove and mostly because it sets in the the times of World War II. Although I could not get much from a Jews perspective during the war time, however the book has captured some of the essence of tension during the period.
I was intrigued by his childhood story and found it hard to put the book down one I started reading it (Yes, it is cliche to say that..) The title of the book "Swimming Across" could not have been more appropriate with his escape from Hungary to the United States - that made such an outstanding person in man's history!
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