Be My Guest [Paperback]

Conrad N. Hilton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (December 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130715980
• ISBN-13: 978-0130715982
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ambition, without greed, pays off, January 14, 2000

By 

Kurt (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be My Guest (Paperback)

I got my copy of BE MY GUEST at an old book sale at the public library. It's a wonderful book, and I'm glad to hear that even in the late 1990s it was still being distributed at Hilton hotels. This book chronicles the business endeavors of Conrad N. Hilton from his aspirations to own his own bank in the pre-WWI years through his first hotels in Texas and New Mexico in the early '20s to his crowning glory--the purchase of the opulent Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NYC around 1950. What makes this book interesting and useful is the quality of the man, not the strength of his business empire. "Connie" Hilton is a man of honor and principle, but he has much ambition, too. His fortunes have been made through hard work, calculated risks, and his "people skills." Comparing Conrad "Connie" Hilton to someone like Donald "The Donald" Trump shows how our culture has become more cheap and frivilous in the two generations that separate these hotel/real estate giants. For another book with similar factual content but less wit, humor, and commentary on human nature, see Thomas Ewing Dabney's book, THE MAN WHO BOUGHT THE WALDORF (New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce;1950.)

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than many so-called "business books", September 10, 2003

By 

Patrick J O'Grady (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be my guest (Mass Market Paperback)

I discovered "Be My Guest" at the Hilton San Francisco and couldn't put it down again until I had read the entire book. It's an absolutely riveting read, full of adventure and lessons learned over the course of many years. I was completely surprised that such a special book (really a testament to a hard working man with great ideas and an ability to execute them) isn't more widely distributed. It's choc full of humor and pathos, drama and innocence. More like a novel than an autobiography. From now on, I'm going to position Hilton Hotels as my first choice when traveling. Read this wonderful book if you want to be inspired!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a positive uplifting book about finding out what a person wants to do with his life!, April 24, 2006

By 

John H. McConnell (Fairfax Station, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be My Guest (Paperback)

I came across this book while staying at a Hilton in Pittsburgh. I opened the desk drawer and there it was. Accident or syncronicity? (from Webster's dictionary - the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality -- used especially in the psychology of C. G. Jung).

This book came to my attention just at the right time for me to read. The story is very entertaining, keeps your attention, and inspiring. Conrad Hilton defines what a man can become. He had his feet solidly on the ground. He kept his ears open to hear that still soft voice of intuition give him the answers he needed. No doubt going to church daily empowered him to be still and be centered enough to listen for inspiration and for answers as he describes it in the book (p-196). This he describes as well as I have read anywhere. The man had integrity and faith in his being and doing. He accomplished a lot, and had an impact on many people's lives. By leaving the bulk of his wealth to a foundation his vision of what can be done continues today many years after his death.