Customer Reviews

The Creative Ordeal: The Story of Raytheon

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When I first picked up this book I expected a dry treatise of the Raytheon Corporation. Sure they invented the microwave oven (and also as it turns out, microwave popcorn) and missile weaponry. But did you know about the Raytheon TV and refrigerator? I certainly didn't.

This book is actually a conservative, industry-favorable view of America in the 1920's thru the 1970's (that's when the book was published). For those that think that all Defense Industry is Evil Incarnate, you should read the chapters on World War II and realize how these companies pulled our fat out of the fire and allowed the war to go our way. War is never a good thing, but it goes much worse when you are the loser. And don't forget: we didn't start that particular war.

It was refreshing to read a book that considers Roosevelt's New Deal a bad idea that paid no dividends; the American economy remained depressed despite the vast amounts of money that the Federal Gov't was pumping into creating temporary jobs. Sounds familiar? For those like me that grew up reading textbooks that considered the New Deal a godsend (all of those Conservation Corps folks fixing our National Parks!!) it was interesting to see that most industrialists of the time considered it money wasted. The Great Depression could have been shortened if some of their ideas had been implemented instead of relying on well-intentioned, ineffective government measures.

Finally, the book is an exciting story of how a few technical people can get together, scrap together some investment capital, and start a company with one idea or one product. The company survived from those humble beginnings and ferocious competition from the Big Boys (GE, Phillips, Bell Labs, etc) to become the mega corporation that it is now. The book tells this story in exciting prose that could be a good contender for a movie script treatise.

If you want to see into the soul of Raytheon, this is your book. It is interesting to note that some of those early behaviors from a company of 20 employees survive to this day when the company employs tens of thousands.