Customer Reviews

As I Remember: An Autobiography by Lillian Gilbreth

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading "Cheaper by the Dozen", "Belles on their Toes", and "I'm a Lucky Guy", this book filled in the essential details for throughly understaning the Gilbreth lifestyle. The aforementioned children's books provoked my interest, leading me to seek further information on this remarkable family. This book, aimed at the adult level, depicts in acute detail Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's family history, childhood, education, and motion study work. Exciting recolletions of work and travel fill this volume, which is entrancing form cover to cover. The style in which this book was written provokes thoughts of listening to a warm elderly woman, carefully sharing how a shy child became a "pioneer" in women's work, and a marvel in her day. There are numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the text, which are pardonable if the reader considers that these are the actual written words of Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, apparently unedited. The only other disappointment is that this manuscript was unpublished for so many decades that it has not been updated. It does not elaborate on her lasting contributions to industrial engineering today, nor does it reveal which of her children are still surviving. However, there are many useful addresses and contacts mentioned that would provide some update on the issues of industrial engineering. I would recommed this book to anyone interested in the life and work of Lillian Gilbreth or her field, as she should be an inspirational role model for all young women.

This book is a really great read if you want to get a feel for Lillian Gilbreth's personality (which is a hurmorous, optimistic personality)or if you want to learn about her family life. But if you're writing a term paper, like I am, and trying just to get facts about her life and not cute stories about the children getting their tonsils out, then this is not the book for you. This is an interesting book, and I would recommend it, just not for the facts it gives you.

I have not read this book, but the editorial review on Amazon's page needs updating. First of all, it is not Lillian who wrote Cheaper by the Dozen, but two of her children: Ernestine and Frank. Secondly, there does indeed exist a full biography of Lillian Gilbreth titled "Making Time: Lillian Moller Gilbreth - A life beyond Cheaper by the Dozen" by Jane Lancaster. It is readily available on Amazon, and provides an extremely detailed account of her personal life, though perhaps not much insight into the anecdotes found in Cheaper by the Dozen.

As a city of Oakland resident, interested in 19th century life there, I was very happy to come across this book and read Mrs Gilbreth's childhood memories, visiting Lake Merritt, spending time with cousins, visiting her well to do grandfather at his grand estate (he is known as Oakland's first millionaire). I intend to share it with others I know who share an interest in Oakland's early history.

While I agree with Ms. Collins' assessment of this book, and realize it is Mrs. Gilbreth's unedited writings, I found the book to be only a rather dry collection of memories. I guess I hoped to find another "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "Belles on Their Toes" for entertainment, which is a rather unfair expectation. Mrs. Gilbreth does not write to entertain. Her writing style is completely unadorned by either humor or color; she states facts alone (Frank and Ernestine must have inherited their father's humor).
What did irritate me is her attitude toward her daughter, Mary. Perhaps not well-known, this attitude was mentioned in "Time Out For Happiness." The Gilbreths buried their understandably overwhelming grief for Mary and never spoke of her again. This book confirms that fact. Nowhere is Mary mentioned after her death. Mrs. Gilbreth spoke of Mary as part of her husband's 'project' and not a living, breathing child, whose brief life should have been celebrated, not mourned. She says the services of a psychiatrist would have 'adjusted' the situation, 'but it was not adjusted, and it left a permanent scar.' As much money as they apparently had, why they did not seek psychiatric help in the aftermath is beyond me. I was overjoyed to see a picture of Mary; in fact, the pictures throughout the book are fascinating. Mrs. Gilbreth was a wonderful woman, who contributed greatly to humanity, and should be so honored. But she wasn't a writer.

"As I Remember" is the autobiography of Lillian Gilbreth, the author and management consultant. She was the wife of Frank Gilbreth who was one of the important figures in the scientific management movement. The biography is interesting, but not impressive. The writing style was just boring.

The autobiography doesn't have any major chapters or parts, instead its one long text. Interestingly enough, even though it is an autobiography, its written mainly from third person perspective. This makes it feel very impersonal. Also, the biography is like a summary of their personal journal. It just observes what has happened at a certain moment, not relating it to each other and not relating it to a certain message or life-insights. All of these make the autobiography a little bit boring to read.

All in all, if you are interested in the life of the Gilbreths, this book might be worth reading. If you are looking for life-insights, a good autobiography or even historical facts on scientific management then you won't find these in this book. From that perspective, I wouldn't recommend this book. I'll rate it 3 stars... 2 for the average reader, 4 for people researching the Gilbreths life.