This book provides a sweeping narrative of the inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs who have given the world computers and the Internet. It begins with Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer, and continues through the contributions of Alan Turing, Vannevar Bush, John von Neumann, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, and Larry Page, among others. Isaacson emphasizes the importance of collaboration and teamwork in driving innovation, showing how these visionaries built upon and improved the accomplishments of previous generations.
Swimming Across is a poignant memoir by Andrew S. Grove, detailing his childhood in Budapest, Hungary, amidst the Nazi occupation and subsequent Communist regime. The book recounts his experiences growing up in a secular Jewish family, facing anti-Semitism, and eventually escaping to the West during the Hungarian uprising of 1956. Grove's story is a testament to resilience and courage, offering a vivid portrait of a tumultuous period in history.
High Output Management is a seminal book by Andrew S. Grove that outlines his management and productivity concepts developed during his tenure at Intel. The book introduces the 'management by objectives' approach, also known as the objectives and key results (OKR) framework. It covers techniques for creating highly productive teams, methods of motivation, and the importance of measurable processes, performance reviews, and training. Grove emphasizes the role of managers in leading and motivating teams, and his book is praised for its practical advice and timeless relevance in various professions and industries.
In 'Freedom's Forge', Arthur Herman delves into the untold story of America's industrial mobilization during World War II. The book highlights the significant contributions of American business leaders and the industrial sector in producing the vast array of military equipment and supplies that were essential for the Allied victory. Herman's narrative focuses on key figures such as William S. Knudsen and Henry J. Kaiser, who spearheaded this massive industrial effort.
In 'Total Recall,' Arnold Schwarzenegger shares his life story in his signature larger-than-life style. The book chronicles his early life in Austria, his rise to fame as a bodybuilding champion, his successful career in Hollywood, and his tenure as the Governor of California. It highlights his immense ambition, tenacity, and business acumen, making him one of the greatest immigrant success stories of our time.
What I learned from reading Swimming Across by Andrew S. Grove.
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[0:01] I was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1936. By the time I was twenty, I had lived through a Hungarian Fascist dictatorship, German military occupation, the Nazis’ “Final Solution,” the siege of Budapest by the Soviet Red Army, a period of chaotic democracy in the years immediately after the war, a variety of repressive Communist regimes, and a popular uprising that was put down at gunpoint.
[3:02] Some 200,000 Hungarians escaped to the West. I was one of them.
[8:05] A subtle and compelling commentary on the power to endure.
[10:03] He dedicates this book to his mom. He says: To my mother, who gave me the gift of life more than once.
[13:03] People avoided looking at us. Even people whom we knew wouldn’t meet our eyes. It was as if a barrier was growing between us and everyone else.
[14:01] My mother returned in a couple of hours, shaken up. She told me that the man who came for her was a policeman who arrested her along with the superintendent’s wife. Feeding Jewish people was against the law. The policeman told her that she should have bid me a more proper good-bye because she probably would not see me again.
[18:35] There was so much pressure in my chest that I could barely breathe. After a while, my mother came back for me. She was very tense and angry. She carried me to bed and we went to sleep. Later on that night, some more Russians came into our cellar. My mother yelled at them something about how all three of the women had already done it today.
[23:02] An emaciated man, filthy and in a ragged soldier’s uniform, was standing at the open door. I thought: This must be my father. His arms and legs were like sticks.
[25:49] There was nothing to be done. The Communist government called all the shots. They increasingly interfered with our daily life. They took away my parents’ business, they uprooted me from my school.
[28:09] I always had a tight feeling in my chest when we went by because by now I knew my relatives had been taken from that house to be killed.
[33:30] Life is like a big lake. All the boys get in the water at one end and start swimming. Not all of them will swim across. But one of them, I’m sure will. That one is Grove.
[37:28] In the middle of one bitterly cold winter night, my father’s battalion was made to strip naked and climb trees, and the guards sprayed them with water and watched and laughed as one after another fell out of the trees frozen to death.
[43:52] I thought I had made an important discovery. I realized that it’s good to have at least two interests in your life. If you have only one interest and that goes sour, there’s nothing to act as a counterbalance to lift your mood. But if you have more than one interest, chances are something will always go okay.
[52:11] I wished there were no mortars falling on our house and no Russian soldiers in our apartment. I wanted the trams to run again. I wanted to go back to school. I wanted life to go back to normal.
[56:24] After a while, we emerged from the woods. I could see some faint lights far across an open field. The man came close to us. “Those lights are Austria’, he whispered. ‘Head towards them and don’t take your eyes off them. This is as far as I go.’ And he was gone. I didn’t take my eyes off those lights. I trudged toward them as if they were a magnet.
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