Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA

Rating:
Summary: MUST-READ FOR ANYONE GOING TO BUSINESS SCHOOL!!!
Review: "Snapshots From Hell" provides an inside look at Stanford, in the heart of Silicon Valley, which along with Harvard is one of the two or three top business schools in the world. Since the author's background was words, not numbers--Robinson was a White House speechwriter--he struggled with the course work, and he makes you both laugh and feel for him as he sweats his way through the work. At the same time, Robinson reports on classmates who found the workload easier than he did, providing a balanced look at what business school is like and giving you a feeling for the range of characters you'll meet there. Informative--and always entertaining (I read it in one day). The book to read before going to B-school!

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money--lesson about famous-name schools
Review: Don't buy this book--it seems to be out of print and that's a good thing. It's a wonder that Stanford admitted this guy, considering the difficulties he describes with understanding supply-demand curves. I guess it must have something to do with his connections to the White House that he describes in the Prologue. Unfortunately that's what drives some college admissions.

He admits that he wanted to go to b-school for the money he would earn, so that gives you an idea of where this guy is based. Certainly, everyone likes to make good money but the author of this book is over the top. At one point in the book he actually wonders, about some items he wrote in his application, if "the admissions committee fell for any of that." At another point in the book he agrees with someone's description of him that he has a background of not really doing anything.

It has been said that one benefit of b-school is the connections to your classmates that you make. That's probably about the only thing that the author of this book got from the experience (other than the advance for this book) because he doesn't seem to be too bright and I'm not sure that he understood a lot of what he was taught. He knows how to bs people and he is friendly, skills valuable in the business world but skills that he possessed without going to Stanford.

I assume that he got the deal to write the book solely as a result of the "names" in his background-- combine the White House background with the fame of the Stanford name and the fact that the publisher didn't already have a book about b-school from the student's point of view and it was an easy decision for them to give him the deal. Reading the book is another story. Sure, it's an entertaining little story and if you have some time to kill while you're waiting to go into the OR to have your appendix removed, then you can read it. That doesn't mean you should spend any MONEY on it, though. If you see it discarded on the sidewalk, or if you find it for ten cents at a church used-book sale, then go ahead.

(Just so you know where I'm coming from, I have a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Finance, and have attended Stanford University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, so I've been through the whole process.)

I had to check out this book because the idea of a book about b-school being a "snapshot from Hell" was just so ludicrous. One other reviewer mentions that law school is more difficult; that may be true and probably is. Certainly, b-school is not as challenging as engineering school.

I made many friends while earning my undergrad degree in engineering, some of whom went on to b-school, law school or medical school. Each of us who went to b-school learned a lot, but found it nowhere as near to "Hell" as the engineering education was.

Now here's my advice about getting an MBA, aimed toward those of you still in college or high school: When you get your college degree, get it in something real. DON'T major in business at the undergraduate level. Get a degree that teaches you something so that you are qualified to actually do something. If you can do it, get a technical degree, because that's what the economy values (computer science, engineering, chemistry, biology). That way, you can get some experience in a pharmaceutical company, a consumer-products company, or virtually anywhere else. If you're not so technically adept, get some other degree but don't waste your time learning "business" at the undergraduate level. After you have some years of work experience you can learn whatever "business" topics you need when you get your MBA.

Rating:
Summary: Hell? Really?
Review: Having only stumbled upon this book at my local library, my expectations were rather low. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised. It's not often that I finish a book wishing for a bit more, but in this case, I did. Mr. Robinson's portrayal of his "descent" into business school "hell" is very well written and heart felt. I especially appreciated his self deprecating sense of humor and laughed along with him as he described the numerous occasions where he found himself completely lost in classes and study groups. I can only imagine the reaction, however, of some of his fellow classmates and professors who he spoke of at times in rather colorful terms. This book is an honest and sincere reflection of his experiences, and I found it to be both entertaining and thought provoking. For anyone contemplating the trip to graduate school, I would recommend this book. His story of having to discuss his study group's conclusions concerning a dillema that a particular airline found themselves in (when the CEO of that airline has been asked to join the class by his professor as a suprise to everyone in the room) is well worth the price admission itself. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Quit your B-School Bitching
Review: I am applying to MBA programs now and found the book to be a fun read. I think you have to keep the time frame in perspective and realize that Mr. Robinson did not want to be in the school in the first place. I would say that if you are a poet and planning to go to business school please take some math course before hand.

Rating:
Summary: Captures the feeling of b-school amazingly well
Review: I read this book at the half-way point in my program as an Evening MBA at the University of Michigan Business School. This is a funny book that also rewards with insights about what getting an MBA feels like.

While Robinson describes the experience of a full-time two-year program, my experience is going through the same type of full MBA experience but over four years while holding down a full time job, holding a marriage together, and raising several children. So, maybe our experience of exhaustion, anxiety, and struggle have different sources, but they are similar enough.

I haven't found b-school to be hell. In fact, I have enjoyed it a great deal and have learned many things that I am already applying to my day job. But there is no getting around the fact that an MBA, especially in one of the top programs, isn't a picnic. Good reading, good writing, good fun. Read it if you have any interest in the b-school experience.

Rating:
Summary: True enough
Review: I read this book just as I started B-school and it scared me well and good. Like Robinson I was a "poet", meaning I was a liberal arts major among financial and engineering types. I can certainly empathize with Robinson's struggles to grasp the more quantitative disciplines of business, since I went through my own miserable times. But I think the review right before me makes a good point, that getting IN to business school is the hard part, especially for an elite program like Stanford. The school certainly doesn't want students to flunk out or struggle too much, since all that does is hurt the school's precious statistics. While business school ain't a picnic, it isn't the trial of tears that Robinson makes it out to be.

But the book is entertaining enough, and even though Robinson was a speechwriter for President Reagan and writers for Republican presidents tend to be an especially odious sort, he seems a decent guy. One problem that Robinson identified and I heartily agree with is the lack of, well, overall intelligence and awareness in business school students. I'll readily admit that I can't crunch numbers as well as many of my former classmates, but I was amazed at how ignorant many of the folks in school were. They had no idea who Larry Ellison was. Discussions about government policy rarely went above a 10th-grade level. My ethics class was a revelation. I don't think anyone else in my class ever studied philosophy and it seemed like they looked at ethics as an obstacle to be hurdled rather than as a code to define proper behavior. Depressing stuff.

But Robinson made it through B-school, and so did I (in my case, barely. Going part-time and working full-time while planning a wedding was a pain the rear. Can't imagine folks who go to school when they have little kids. Insane). The only problem with this book now is how dated it is. Robinson went to B-school in the heart of Silicon Valley, yet the words "e-commerce" and "dot.com" are nowhere to be found in the book. Robinson and his fellow students interviewed with the usual investment banks, which today almost seems quaint. What, no one dropped out to found a company that had a multibillion dollar IPO six months later?

All in all a good read, but if you're thinking about getting your MBA I don't think this is a totally accurate picture of what you're going to endure. Still, it's well worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Really enjoyed this book - but don't read it expecting to get facts/numbers/overviews of what b-school is like. It is more of a story about one individuals experiences at a top b-school. I read this right after finishing my undergraduate degree when I was thinking about going back to b-school. It is now three years later and I just shipped off my applications. I really feel that this book helped to give me a better idea of what the work-load, competition, social life, etc are going to be about.

Rating:
Summary: Might spark you for an MBA from top B-School
Review: The book gives you an impression that even though the first year of your MBA from a top B-School (in this case Stanford) might seem like a hell - though this might only be the case for so called poets - one has a high probability of doing well after an MBA form one of the top b-schools. Though, author has done a lot of complaining, he later concludes that is MBA was fun, interesting and rewarding.
This book is more like a diary, which also provides some (I said some!) insight into a b-school. Overall, this book is fun and worth a read.
On the lighter side, if you are a so called poet, planing to go for an MBA, take up some Maths and Statistics courses before you actually start your MBA :-)

Rating:
Summary: Just okay
Review: The title is the first point of confusion; although the author names the book "Snapshots From Hell," he later calls B-School rewarding and interesting. What I disliked about the book was all the complaining that Robinson did, as if he expected to cakewalk through one of the most prestigious B-Schools in the nation, especially with a liberal arts degree. Also, if you read the preface carefully, the author admits that the characters in the story are fictional, so that took a bit out of the story as well. All in all though, the story wasn't that bad, and was actually quite interesting at times. There are two ways to get a first-hand account of B-school life: you can either spend $80,000 at a business school, or pay for the book and have someone give you their (mostly) honest account.

Rating:
Summary: (For MBA aspirants) Use this only for light reading
Review: This is at best a memoir - more of a daily-maintained diary than a guide for MBA aspirants. Robinson captures the spicy aspects of Stanford MBA pretty well. The "cold calledEanecdote is really funny. Good for light reading. Caution for MBA aspirants: Please use other sources to form your opinions about the merits and demerits of joining a b-school (Try "The Witch DoctorsEby John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge).