Swimming Across: A Memoir (Paperback)

Andrew Grove has earned fame and fortune as chairman and cofounder of Intel. But, we learn from this remarkable memoir, he began life under very different circumstances, narrowly escaping the Holocaust and the closing of the Iron Curtain.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1936, Grove--then called Andras Grof--grew up in a modestly prosperous, secular Jewish family. Through foresight and sheer good fortune, they avoided the fate of many of their fellow Jews, fleeing the Nazis into the countryside and living in a dark cellar in which "the sound of artillery was a continuous backdrop." Under the Communist regime that followed, Grove distinguished himself as a student of chemistry and was seemingly destined for a comfortable position in academia or industry--until revolution broke out in 1956 and he found himself in that cellar once again.

How Grove emerged, "swam across" to America, and made a new life under a new name makes a satisfying conclusion to this humane memoir, which gives readers valuable insight into the business guru and technologist. --Gregory McNamee --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"Jesus Christ was killed by the Jews, and because of that, all of the Jews will be thrown into the Danube," says a playmate to four-year-old Andris Grof Grove's original name. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in 1936, Grove, chairman of Intel, grew up in Budapest during his country's most tempestuous era. Despite avoiding deportation and death, Grove's family lived in fear during Nazi occupation and lost some rights and property. Afterwards, they lived under Soviet control. Curiously, Grove's memoir charts the routinized mundanities of his teen years seeing his teacher at the opera, being afraid to meet young women at the local public pool, the success of a short story he wrote more than life in war-torn Europe. But his discussion of contemporary politics is astute and personal "I had mixed feelings about the Communists... they had saved my mother's life and my own.... On the other hand... they increasingly interfered with our daily life." Never didactic, he remains focused on his own intellectual growth. Grove continued his education in New York after the 1956 revolution failed. The intelligence, dedication and ingenuity that earned him fame and fortune (he was Time's Man of the Year in 1997) are evident early on. He deftly balances humor e.g., subversive anti-Communist jokes from Hungary with insight into overcoming endless obstacles (from hostile foreign invasions to New York's City University system). Though lacking in drama, Grove's story stands smartly amid inspirational literature by self-made Americans. B&w photos. (Nov. 12)Forecast: Warner's fanfare pre-pub bookseller luncheons, Jewish Book Fair appearances, publication events in New York and San Francisco and concerted media campaigns will bring this book to readers' attention despite it not being the sort of business-oriented book most would expect from Grove. Its unexpected subject matter will mean that, despite the Grove name, it won't come near to matching Welch-size sales, but still, it should thrive.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

From a near-fatal bout with scarlet fever as a child to Nazi power and the horrors of anti-Semitism to flight from the Communists Intel chair Grove has not had an easy life.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover édition.

This memoir of the early years of Grove, cofounder and chair of Intel, is written and read in a formal way that has a distancing effect. While enumerating bland details of daily life, the book, fortunately, offers some interesting glimpses into life in Hungary, first as a Jew living in hiding under the Nazis, and later under the Soviet regime. He reports the hardships and absurdities of life under the Soviets with understated irony. His escape from occupied Hungary and his difficult journey to America are the most affectingly told part of his story. Philip Bosco reads clearly at a good pace, but with a flatness that fails to capture any spark of life. Fans of Grove's business writings and those curious about life under communism may find enough to keep them listening. E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

Grove, who, as one of the cofounders of Intel and CEO for 11 years, was responsible for turning the company into the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. He is also the author of Only the Paranoid Survive (1996), a well-written collection of illuminating insights into management. Also, Grove was named "Man of the Year" by Time magazine for 1997. None of these things matter, though, in this moving and inspiring memoir, which is really the story of Andras Grof, a young Hungarian boy who barely survived scarlet fever, hid from Nazis in the Budapest basement of a sympathetic Christian family, suffered anti-Semitic taunts as a youth, fled his homeland as Soviet tanks advanced during the Hungarian uprising of 1956, and sailed off alone at the age of 20 to the U.S.--where Grove's narrative ends as he starts school in New York and begins to make his way in a new country. Grove's account of life in Hungary in the 1950s is a vivid picture of a tumultuous period in world history. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"Haunting and inspirational. It should be required reading in schools." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"A poignant memoir...a moving reminder of the meaning of America... --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"This honest and riveting account gives a fascinating insight into the man who wrote Only the Paranoid Survive." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"Andy Grove is a tremendous role model, and his book sheds light on his amazing journey..." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"...a unique and often harrowing personal experience...fiction at its most engrossing... an utterly compelling narrative...a wonderful reading experience." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"A poignant tale leading to human courage and hope." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"...an astringently unsentimental memoir that may find its place...with such works as Angela's Ashes...and This Boy's Life..." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"...a remarkable book, both for what it says and for what it does not..." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"...a heck of a story...reads like a spy novel..." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

"...Grove tells an enthralling tale..." --Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.

Set in the cruel years of Hungary's Nazi occupation and subsequent communist regime, the bestselling "Swimming Across" is the stunning childhood memoir of one of the leading thinkers of our time, legendary Intel chairman, Andrew S. Grove. Photos throughout.

Andrew S. Grove is chairman of Intel.