Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA

Book Description

In the irreverent and entertaining tradition of Liar's Poker, Peter Robinson's Snapshots from Hell is a hilarious and enlightening insider's answer to the paramount question every prospective student asks: what is business school really like?During his first frenetic year at Stanford Business School, Peter Robinson began keeping a journal of his day-to-day impressions which evolved into this book, the writing of which he came to see as a "simple act of decency, like going back to the last calm bend in the river and nailing up a sign that reads Waterfall Ahead'."From his first harrowing days at "maths camp" through the dizzying phalanx of core courses, the frenzy of exam week, the pitfalls and triumphs of the interview process (including a surreal interview with Robert Maxwell!) to being wind and dined by some of the most prestigious companies in the world, Robinson's story is witty, candid and peopled with a remarkable cast of characters. A must read for all aspirational "Masters of the Universe" as well as MBAers, Snapshots from Hell is a fast-paced, first-hand account of the nightmare world of getting a top business school MBA, one of the glittering prizes of the 90s.

Customer Reviews:

Required and Suggested.......2007-06-28

If you are considering an MBA, read this to know what to expect. If you have an MBA, read this for nostalgia and laughs.

This book was spot on.......2007-05-05

This book was great. With the exception of having prior business experience, Snapshots was 99% accurate to what my MBA experience has been like. I'm finishing up my first year at Top-20 B-School on the East Coast and Snapshots was like a play-by-play of what I've been through. I've read some of the other reviews trashing the book (the Med School guy for instance) and I think they're taking it a little too seriously. The author uses "poets" so he doesn't have to keep repeating "those of us without prior business experience". And in real life, you do notice differences between those who HAD prior business experience and those who didn't. I didn't pick up any strong political overtones in the book so again, the Med School guy needs to relax. I also didn't think Snapshots was written to be overly dramatic and engage the Med and Law school types in a pissing contest over whos gradschool program is the toughest. This book gives an honest account for what your first-year of business school will be like and I've recommended it to all my friends considering that path.

A political manifesto.......2007-03-16

I couldn't finish this book. There were several issues that led me to toss it by the middle of the book:

1) The author must use the word "Poet" at least three or four time PER PAGE. Ok. We get it. You were considered a Poet. Get over it. Stop using that as an excuse as to why you didn't seem to understand one lousy math concept.

2) The book is highly over-dramatized. Either this guy has the IQ of a Rhesus monkey, or he tried to make it sound a lot harder than it was. I'm a physician - and I'm pretty sure that medical school is harder than business school - and I didn't have near the "harrowing experience" this guy did.

3) I was looking for a book about what an MBA program is like - not a thinly disguised political ad. Being that this guy was a speech writer for Reagan and Bush #1, I should have known to expect some conservative drivel. What I didn't expect was several passages referring to "leftists", "liberals", "hippies", and the like. The passages are spread out throughout the book (as much as I read of it), but there is NO POINT to them. They add absolutely nothing to the story, and appear to be thrown in there just to make sure that we know the author disapproves of non-conservatives.

In the end, it was the political bias that drove me to stop reading. The book was mediocre, at best, to begin with, and the neo-conservative ravings put the nail in the coffin.

If you are a proud Republican, you may find this book to be alright. If you are an independent or Democrat, though, I would recommend you skip this one unless you enjoy being insulted.

alternative view.......2006-04-19

The book is nice in that it provides a nice alternative view to the MBA experience. The names and experiences in this book have been changed (to protect the guilty?) and it seems to lose something in the translation however.

I would recommend this book to people who are still on the fence about an MBA or are soon to begin an MBA program. It provides a nice breakdown of the characters, personalities and egos you are likely to encounter at a top MBA program.

A Poet's View.......2006-04-11

Peter Robinson's Stanford GSB stories describe his first year experience as a graduate business student. His personal enjoyable and educational accounts, "snapshots" if you will, about why he went to business school and the challenges a non-businessman type faces are well written. The book refers to students who are not from business-geek backgrounds, people with literary or artisit tilts, as "poets." Inspired by a 1L, a novel on a student's first year at law school, Snapshots from Hell is a quick read and covers both his personal and professional experiences at Stanford. The emphasis on mathematics, a field Peter did not study in college or use in his professional work, made his educational experience challenging and "hellish." His speechwriter turned businessman view is easy to see, though many of the observations about what professors and employers expect of students feel outdated and stuck in the 80's. The personal stories regarding his experience and interaction with others, however, are compelling enough to interest and entertain a reader.

Customer Reviews:

Not Up to Par.......2000-02-24

As the United States' and Lotus' most recent Formula One champion, Mario Andretti has become an idol to the Lotus faithful. There is no lack of books detailing the extensive racing career of our Mario, however, these numerous publications are generally expansive and cover the dirt tracks, Champ cars, Stock cars and Sports cars as well as his Formula One success. Mario Andretti Photo Album does the same but is clearly focuses on his Grand Prix career. As such, there is a majority of coverage dedicated to his time with Lotus.

Mario Andretti Photo Album is, as its name suggests, a photo album. The text is limited to a three-page history of Mario's racing exploits and subheadings with each photo. They do a decent job in giving a basic knowledge of his career, but do not give the detailed information that enthusiasts crave. Likewise too much information is repeated from page to page. But the book is not about words. It is a photo album. In that department there is disappointment as well. All of the photos are black and white. The paper they are printed on is poor quality for photo reproduction. There are few photos that details of the cars can be seen. Drama is limited to some facial expressions and some descriptions in the text.

Still, the book does accomplish something worthwhile. It separates Mario's Grand Prix career from the rest of his extensive record. In doing so it covers a great deal of Lotus history. It is too bad the quality of the photos is not up to par.

This review first appeared in the newsletter of Lotus Limited

Hate to say it, but..........2000-01-09

This book is rather disappointing. Nygaard's photographs are lackluster and the reproductions are worse than you would find in your daily newspaper. As only the second American to be crowned World Driving Champion, Mario deserves better.

Beware.........1999-12-17

Beware...this photo book has black and white photos only.

Book Description

The 1950s was one of the most turbulent periods in the history of motion pictures and television. During the decade, as Hollywood's most powerful studios and independent producers shifted into TV production, TV replaced film as America's principal postwar culture industry. This pioneering study offers the first thorough exploration of the movie industry's shaping role in the development of television and its narrative forms. Drawing on the archives of Warner Bros. and David O. Selznick Productions and on interviews with participants in both industries, Christopher Anderson demonstrates how the episodic telefilm series, a clear descendant of the feature film, became and has remained the dominant narrative form in prime-time TV. This research suggests that the postwar motion picture industry was less an empire on the verge of ruin--as common wisdom has it--than one struggling under unsettling conditions to redefine its frontiers. Beyond the obvious contribution to film and television studies, these findings add an important chapter to the study of American popular culture of the postwar period.

Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties

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Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties
Christopher Anderson
Manufacturer: Univ of Texas Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORHAUW

Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties (Texas Film Studies Series)

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Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties (Texas Film Studies Series)
Christopher Anderson
Manufacturer: Univ of Texas Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OROT24

Amazon.com

John Seabrook, The New Yorker's "Buzz Studies" writer, deftly conveys the hubbub of modern pop culture, the blending of highbrow and lowbrow tastes, into a new sensibility he dubs "Nobrow." In Nobrowland, nobody can sell out, because art and commerce have fused like colliding electrons. America used to be split between "stark intellectuality and the plane of stark business," but now, as Puff Daddy observes, "It's all about the Benjamins [$100 bills]." It's not just that an Oxford-bred guy like Seabrook is a connoisseur of Biggie Smalls, it's that everyone, high and low, wants to feel part of the Buzz, to soak up the power of celebrity success. Puffy's rap hit constitutes "merchandising, advertising, salary-boasting, and art all at once," says Seabrook. Nowadays, "commercial culture has to do the work that both high and folk culture used to do--not only enlighten and teach but bond families and communities."

Nobrow is itself a work of Nobrow art, shape-shifting like a Beck tune: it's art appreciation, memoir, social history, high-altitude academic theory, and shoe-leather reporting all at once. Seabrook captures world-historical figures in action: George Lucas, MTV's Judy McGrath, music exec Danny "Nirvana" Goldberg, and kabillionaire David Geffen, who helped bring you Tom Cruise and DreamWorks. The big book on Geffen may be The Operator, but Seabrook can nail him in a phrase: "The boredom in his eyes, which seemed on the verge of spilling over into other parts of his face, was held in check by his lively eyebrows." And no one has outdone Seabrook's jaunty account of his elite magazine's Nobrowification by Tina Brown, who established "a hierarchy of hotness."

Seabrook doesn't score on every shot, but it's fun to watch him play. He's like a kid brother to his cult idol, George W.S. Trow, author of the prescient 1978 classic Within the Context of No Context. If Eustace Tilley, The New Yorker's famous monocled snob icon, got zonked on "chronic bubonic" pot and gangsta rap, he might have written this dizzy yet erudite book. Indeed, one might not be altogether amiss in calling it "da bomb." --Tim Appelo

Book Description

From John Seabrook, one of our most incisive and amusing cultural critics, comes Nobrow, a fascinatingly original look at the radical convergence of marketing and culture.

In the old days, highbrow was elite and unique and lowbrow was commercial and mass-produced. Those distinctions have been eradicated by a new cultural landscape where “good” means popular, where artists show their work at K-Mart, Titantic becomes a bestselling classical album, and Roseanne Barr guest edits The New Yorker: in short, a culture of Nobrow. Combining social commentary, memoir, and profiles of the potentates and purveyors of pop culture–entertainment mogul David Geffen, MTV President Judy McGrath, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nobrow high-priest George Lucas, and others–Seabrook offers an enthralling look at our breakneck society where culture is ruled by the unpredictable Buzz and where even aesthetic worth is measured by units shipped.

Customer Reviews:

I second alot of what other people say.......2006-10-06

This book is very self indulgent. I can't think of any bad things to say about this book that have not already been said. Seabrook has a flimsy Idea of what he thinks Nobrow means and builds it up to be a philosophy that doesn't really get executed. The only good things about this book are the four or five interesting stories about the behind the scenes of MTV, Star Wars/Lucas, Ben Kweller and so on. Mind you these subjects are only loosely drawn into his mindless philosophy. I was hoping I would like this book, I was very dissapointed.

Well done!.......2006-07-06

Well done thanks to vivid mind of John Seabrook! I would like to recommend `Nobraw' to my Russian compatriots:

Klassnaya i ostroumnaya kniga, sovetuyu pochitat'. Tem bolee, chto avtor - John Seabrook - znayet, o chem pishet, t. k. sam yavliayetsia veteranom new-yorkskoi jurnalistiki. Dumayu, iz `Nobraw' mozhno uznat' mnogo novogo, a takzhe izbavit'sia (ili popytat'sia izbavit'sia) ot nekotoryh stereotipov. Koroche, prochtite, skuchno ne budet.

My best regards to John Seabrook!

More on nobrow.......2006-05-28

I searched amazon under "nobrow" and discovered another book on the same sumject, though infinitely better than Seabrook's self-indulgent musings (see the first 3-4 reviews below, they tell the whole story). From Lowbrow to Nobrow by Peter Swirski is lucid, engaging, intellectually stimulating and funny, on top of leaving Seabrook's superficial analysis in the dust (nobrow literary culture, it appears has been around for a century at least).
In fact I'd go so far as to say Swirski's book (released very recent too) is the ultimate study of the subject, at least according to the dean of popular culture studies, Ray Browne, who praises it in the editorial. Check it out for yourself, you're in for hours of happy reading.

Nobrow indeed........2005-09-23

This book was tossed around in a conversation along with the likes of the "brand and culture" work of Naomi Klein, so I put it on my list and finally got around to it.

The book is very informal; I was looking for some real media or culture critique. In fact, that was what kept me reading: I hoped to stumble upon the meat of the book. But it never came. The book, at the end, reads more like Seabrook's attempt at an urban hipster's autobiography. He spends just as much time talking about his pursuit of $200 tshirts and how others react to them as he does about actual social theory. Moreso, actually.

The book isn't awful; I'd still recommend that anyone who finds the cover blurb of interest to pick it up as it's a quick short weekend read. But enjoy it more as a slightly intellectual gossip rag, because that's really the overall feeling I was left with after reading it.

I was really hoping I'd like this.......2005-06-30

John Seabrook's "Nobrow" fails on just about every level. The basic concept of this book is to explain how today's culture no longer separates activities and art into distinctions of "highbrow" and "lowbrow," and that really anything can be for anybody, albeit with slight modifications. As an example (assuming I'm reading this right), you could look at the world of fashion, where fashion icon trendsetters like actors and musicians might throw together an outfit based on stuff they found at thrift stores, clearly a source for lowbrow items. However, because this celebrity has sported this fashion, designers across the world will mimic this style, placing similar clothing styles, with better craftsmanship, in boutiques where the similar article of clothing may sell for hundreds of times what the celebrity paid for their initial outfit. The people buying the designer duds are purchasing them, thinking it's a "highbrow" investment, when really the same thing can be had at a "lowbrow" establishment (the thrift store), thus this item has transcended the easy identification and fallen into the realm of Seabrook's "nobrow."

Regretfully, he never explains what this has to do with marketing, as promised in the subtitle "The Culture of Marketing + The Marketing of Culture." Sure, there are snippets of this, particularly in the chapter discussing the band Radish and the "kid band" craze that also happened to involve Hanson. I'm willing to give Mr. Seabrook the benefit of the doubt, and maybe the publisher just wanted to attach that subtitle in an effort to convey the essence of the book to the short attention span-addled customer at the local Barnes & Noble.

The book succeeds in certain parts. Personally, I found the chapters about Ben Kweller and George Lucas to be particularly interesting, because I enjoy books about media and media marketing. Seabrook does have a way with words, and some of the descriptions of Ben Kweller's saga are quite good, though as a whole the book didn't have the "Klosterman-esque" feel I was hoping for.

In fact, my biggest complaint about the book is the author's tone of voice - that smug, detached, preppy rich boy in New York air of over-confidence. The man doesn't even bat an eyelash when confronted with a $200 price tag on a t-shirt, but on the first page of the book, he wants to convince the reader that his urban lifestyle (complete with Biggie Smallz lyrics) is authentic. He may very well have grown up in New York City, but Seabrook was definitely born with a silver spoon firmly planted in his mouth. No amount of borrowed gangsta-rap bling can hide that, and I find his attempt to be everything to every subculture not only unconvincing but outright appalling.

Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing and the Marketing of Culture

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Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing and the Marketing of Culture
John Seabrook
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Media Studies | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0413744701

Book Description

This essential guide offers a detailed framework for assessing communication processes within an organization and using the results to develop improved organizational strategies. Presented in clear, accessible prose are the "tools of the trade" for planning and initiating audits, gathering data using a wide variety of methodologies, analyzing the findings, and preparing effective reports. Throughout, practical examples drawn from the authors' influential work in the field help readers understand the real-world applications of the concepts discussed and gain skills for creative problem solving. A successor volume to Cal Downs's popular Communication Audits, the book has been extensively rewritten with many new topics and two entirely new chapters reflecting today's critical issues and best practices. It will serve as both an authoritative primer for human resource and management consultants and a comprehensive text for undergraduate and graduate students in organizational communication.

The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership

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Good book, but it could have been better
Effective Strategic Thinking
A well-crafted book on strategic formulation, with good case studies!

The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership
Mike Freedman , and Mike Freedman
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0071441212

Book Description

“You will come away from The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership better equipped to not only think more incisively about future competitive advantage, but your organization will have greater strategic focus at every level, beginning with the top management team.”

—Gerald L. Kiser, president & CEO, La-Z-Boy Incorporated

Now in paperback, The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership offers business strategists an integrated five-phase model for setting and implementing strategy. Proven effective at a diverse range of organizations worldwide, the model provides executives with a powerful framework for assessing and tweaking current strategy, or charting a bold new strategic course.

Customer Reviews:

Good book, but it could have been better.......2006-04-23

Strategic leadership certainly requires discipline, and it clearly is an art form. But it is not as complicated as the authors would have their readers believe. Furthermore, the 5-phase model for strategy formulation and implementation that the authors claim to have developed is not unique. It's the same model just about any entrepreneur who writes a sound business plan uses to start a new business, and entrepreneurs have been around since before the authors were born.

I think the book was written adequately well, and I recommend that entrepreneurs who have read a few books on how to write a business plan read this book, too. I would have liked the book better if the authors had first described what a company founder goes through when he or she practices strategic leadership in starting his company. Then explain what the company founder (or his or her replacement) must do to monitor the strategy, renew it, or possibly change it. Then, and only then, discuss real-world examples about how it is hard to monitor strategy, renew it, or possibly change it. I did not like the way the authors sprinkled real-world examples throughout the text. I think they should have been included in a separate section of the book.

If the authors had titled the book "The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership at Large Multi-National Companies," then I would have rated it higher. Strategic leadership at large companies is complicated because of their size, and because their leaders are probably not all that competent at thinking strategically. It is hard to implement strategic change in something that is old and big, especially if one hasn't been at the helm for long.

Probably the most important thing I learned from reading this book is that many people enjoying the role of CEO in large multi-national businesses hire consultants to educate them on things they would already know if they had ever started their own successful small business. I would not have learned this if the authors had kept to describing strategic leadership rather than the problems large companies face regarding their strategic leadership. This book is worth a read, but it is not a masterpiece.

Effective Strategic Thinking.......2003-03-06

I have long believed that any organization without a cogent strategy is vulnerable. Too much strategic thinking these days is driven, in my opinion, by a desire to appeal to Wall Street investment bankers and analysts or by a dot.bomb-fueled fear of failure.

Strategy is a two-headed prong. It is creative enough to fashion a vision, while being disciplined enough to drive the vision into reality.

Mike Freedman defines the word as the ýframework of choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization.ý It is a definition I like. The word ýframeworký establishes boundaries and scope. ýChoicesý are about products, services, markets and capabilities. ýNatureý describes the character of any organization. ýDirectioný is the organizationýs course determined by choices about future products, services, customers and markets.

Notice that a decision is not strategic simply because it is long-term or involves mega-dollar expenditures. While these can be made within the strategic framework, only those decisions that change the framework are strategic.

Freedman says there are three critical aspects to a strategy:

1. A strategic vision is based on facts, informed assumptions and critical what-if thinking.
2. The vision must be communicated throughout the organization.
3. Its implementation must be monitored.

I particularly enjoyed the section on Strategic Master Project Planning. Freedman says the purpose of master project plan is to assess the necessary strategic initiatives, integrate the existing operation projects, identify project priority and interdict those projects which are out of line with the strategic vision.

This is a great book. As always, organizations that desire to survive and thrive will have to mast the art of strategy creation and implementation. The Kepner-Tregoe five phase model on which Freedman bases this book is a great foundation for organizations and managers who wish to begin the journey.

A well-crafted book on strategic formulation, with good case studies!.......2003-01-30

I have always been impressed by the work of the Kepner-Tregoe team because their methodologies really work.

My first encounter with their work was the mastering - and application - of their Problem Solving & Decision Making (PSDM)strategies in the late 70's/early 80's, while I was a practising engineer. Subsequent fruitful encounters include reading - and assimilating - Tregoe's Vision at Work and Top Management Strategy (both of which are great works) when I was a General Manager.

This book should have been available when I was still working in the corporate world. Anyway, I am very pleased to have bought and perused this wonderful book, which I will now add to my Strategic Thinking and Strategic Leadership bookshelf.

I particularly enjoyed digesting the authors' practical approach to strategy formulation, which has been extensively covered in the book. The attendant case studies - field-tested - have been well selected and the process of working out their integrated model to help readers to understand - and eventually apply - has also been well crafted.

I also like their way of posing pertinent questions to think through some of the process steps.

All practising managers must get hold of this book. In terms of depth and breadth in the strategic thinking process, as well as the clarity in writing and presentation, I would rate this book in the same genre as Michel Robert's strategic thinking books. Across the board, the authors' writing in the book is crisp and succinct, and I really appreciate authors who write this way.

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