Adventures of a Bystander

Rating:
Summary: Typically over-rated Drucker stuff
Review: Although this supposed masterpiece has much more life than most boring Druckerian narratives, it is still relatively slow and heavy reading. Drucker is fairly decent at analyzing minutia, otherwise not obvious to most of us, from seemingly mundane situations -- so, I will give hime the bystander monicker. But, to think that any of what he is describing even borders on adventures is preposterous. He is, most definitely, the Salman Rashdie of business writing.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant encounter.
Review: Buy this book. It's like having lunch with the man himself.

Rating:
Summary: Orwell's long lost cousin! Sense, wit, and compassion.
Review: Drucker's "autobiography" is actually a series of short essays describing his encounters with various characters from his life. Filled with a yarn-weaver's charms, the stories each capture the spirit of their subjects in all of their complexity. Invariably this means advocacy for common sense, compassion, and the transcendent uniqueness of each one of us. Meeting the people of the book may not change your life like it did Drucker's, but it will leave you enriched and thankful

Rating:
Summary: ....every page of this book reward rereading.
Review: Drucker's most captivating book, Adventures of a Bystander, is a dynamic memoir of the singular Americans and Europeans of Drucker's life. They include Fritz Kraemer, the historian who "invented" Henry Kissinger; Reinhold Hensch, a newspaper editor so mediocre his only career path was to become the "monster" of the Third Reich; John L. Lewis, Marshall McLuhan, and the visionary early chiefs of General Motors. (Yes, General Motors.) Most importantly, you meet Peter Drucker, whose offhand insights into the world surrounding his characters make every page of this book reward rereading. ....

Rating:
Summary: ....every page of this book reward rereading.
Review: Drucker's most captivating book, Adventures of a Bystander, is a dynamic memoir of the singular Americans and Europeans of Drucker's life. They include Fritz Kraemer, the historian who "invented" Henry Kissinger; Reinhold Hensch, a newspaper editor so mediocre his only career path was to become the "monster" of the Third Reich; John L. Lewis, Marshall McLuhan, and the visionary early chiefs of General Motors. (Yes, General Motors.) Most importantly, you meet Peter Drucker, whose offhand insights into the world surrounding his characters make every page of this book reward rereading. ....

Rating:
Summary: ....every page of this book reward rereading.
Review: Drucker's most captivating book, Adventures of a Bystander, is a dynamic memoir of the singular Americans and Europeans of Drucker's life. They include Fritz Kraemer, the historian who "invented" Henry Kissinger; Reinhold Hensch, a newspaper editor so mediocre his only career path was to become the "monster" of the Third Reich; John L. Lewis, Marshall McLuhan, and the visionary early chiefs of General Motors. (Yes, General Motors.) Most importantly, you meet Peter Drucker, whose offhand insights into the world surrounding his characters make every page of this book reward rereading. ....

Rating:
Summary: This Bystander helps to shape the future.
Review: I did not know about this book until I read Jack Beatty's THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PETER DRUCKER. I thought that the excerpts from ADVENTURES OF A BYSTANDER were the best part of Beatty's book. Thus, encouraged, I ordered a copy on Amazon.com and sat down to read. What a great surprise! I felt I knew a lot of Peter Drucker stories, from having met him many times. It looked like I had missed most of the best ones. I was also impressed to learn the places where he first learned many of his most important observations, such as the power of asking the right questions and following through (from his fourth grade teacher, Miss Sophie). There are several chapters in the book that are worth the price of the book, such as the chapters about Sigmund Freud, General Motors, Henry Luce, and the rise of Nazism in Austria and Germany. As a history major, I felt I knew a lot about the people and places he talks about, but I was wrong. I had been sold a bill of goods by people who were not there, as Professor Drucker was. I finished the book wishing he would write a longer autobiography that would capture more of Professor Drucker's remarkable life. He apparently turned down more good jobs before he was 30 than most people would ever have offered to them in 100 lifetimes. This book also helps explain why Professor Drucker has been a seminal thinker for three generations of Americans. His first bestseller in English came out when he was only 30, and only a few years away from his native Austria. What an amazing life Professor Drucker has lived! Until you read this book, you will not know how amazing, and you will have missed a wonderful book -- probably his most intriguing and interesting. Get this book now! If you have not read much of Professor Drucker's work, I suggest you read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PETER DRUCKER next. It is an invaluable guide to all of Professor Drucker's writing.

Rating:
Summary: A RING-SIDE SEAT WITH LEADING MINDS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Review: I did not know about this book until I read Jack Beatty's THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PETER DRUCKER. I thought that the excerpts from ADVENTURES OF A BYSTANDER were the best part of Beatty's book. Thus, encouraged, I ordered a copy on Amazon.com and sat down to read. What a great surprise! I felt I knew a lot of Peter Drucker stories, from having met him many times. It looked like I had missed most of the best ones. I was also impressed to learn the places where he first learned many of his most important observations, such as the power of asking the right questions and following through (from his fourth grade teacher, Miss Sophie). There are several chapters in the book that are worth the price of the book, such as the chapters about Sigmund Freud, General Motors, Henry Luce, and the rise of Nazism in Austria and Germany. As a history major, I felt I knew a lot about the people and places he talks about, but I was wrong. I had been sold a bill of goods by people who were not there, as Professor Drucker was. I finished the book wishing he would write a longer autobiography that would capture more of Professor Drucker's remarkable life. He apparently turned down more good jobs before he was 30 than most people would ever have offered to them in 100 lifetimes. This book also helps explain why Professor Drucker has been a seminal thinker for three generations of Americans. His first bestseller in English came out when he was only 30, and only a few years away from his native Austria. What an amazing life Professor Drucker has lived! Until you read this book, you will not know how amazing, and you will have missed a wonderful book -- probably his most intriguing and interesting. Get this book now! If you have not read much of Professor Drucker's work, I suggest you read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PETER DRUCKER next. It is an invaluable guide to all of Professor Drucker's writing.

Rating:
Summary: The perfect Father's Day (or belated Mother's Day )gift
Review: I have given away copies of every edition of this book over the last 15 years since I first read it -- anyone in business knows of Drucker and this volume is invaluable in explaining how he came to his insights. More important, it is great fun to read -- like having a very intense conversation with the man himself. Warning -- it may send you back to his work, or to economic historians such as Karl Polanyi. My favorite character is the man who made Kissinger.

Rating:
Summary: This Bystander helps to shape the future.
Review: I laughed and I cried as I read Adventures of a Bystander. I have always had enormous respect for Professor Drucker, but this book has taken my respect and awe of him to another plateau. To learn how and what Professor Drucker thought as a child and how many momentous decisions he made by the time he was fourteen helps us understand him as a person and the environment from which all of his other works come. My grandmother also grew up in Austria and the "Grandmother stories" brought back very precious memories. Once again, even as a youngster, we see Professor Drucker uncannily knowing what will happen by studying (by living) the events of the times. One cannot really understand and appreciate Professor Drucker and his other works withour reading this book, and yet, reading many of his other works first, made me appreciate Adventures of a Bystander even more.