Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler [Hardcover]

Henry Mintzberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2001

As all travelers know, flying is no simple matter. There are the horrors of the check-in to be negotiated, the uneven struggle to squash your hand luggage into the overhead locker and the constant fight with your neighbor over ownership of the armrest. Add to that the question of the food, the immigration queues and waiting for your luggage to appear and we can all see that something isnÂ't quite right. So when one of the worldÂ's leading management gurus Â- Henry Mintzberg Â- decides to scrutinize the managment practices of the airlines and airports from his personal experience, it is worth taking notice. And when he does it in a highly amusing manner; it is worth reading.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Henry Mintzberg hates flying. Granted, almost everyone hates air travel these days, but Mintzberg hates it so much that he wrote an entire book called Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler. The author of numerous books on businessthe Financial Times recently named him one of the top 10 management thinkers, well above Bill Gates and Jeff BezosMintzberg travels all over the world to speak to corporate audiences. His airline horror stories are truly outrageous, from getting stuck in Cincinnati for 26 hours to riding the LA-JFK redeye with a live chicken under the seat two rows up. Mintzberg uses his management expertise to analyze the incompetence of the airline industry and offer suggestions for mending it. This book should resonate with businesspeople and other frequent flyers grumbling about the inconveniences of air travel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Alison Eadie, The Daily Telegraph, March 29, 2001 "He should write more books like this...Coming next from the same author is Why I Hate Refilling the Stapler. I am ordering my copy now." Harvard Management Update, June, 2001 Mixing spleen with mordant wit, Mintzberg uses the air-line industry as an object lesson in management gone catastrophically awry. Harvard Management Update, June, 2001 Mintzberg's book also serves as a cautionary tale about separating the abstractions of management from the everyday reality. Globe and Mail, April 28, 2001 A lot of travellers will find themselves nodding in agreement as they read this small gem of a book. Publishers Weekly, April 23, 2001 This book should resonate with businesspeople and other frequent flyers grumbling about the inconveniences of air travel. Insider Business Journal, June 22, 2001 This little book, is indeed the perfect airplane read, for obvious reasons.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Texere; 1 edition (April 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587990636
• ISBN-13: 978-1587990632
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Air Travel

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent rant, April 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler (Hardcover)

Mintzberg may be one of the world's great management gurus, but he doesn't show it here.

This book is exactly what it is billed to be---why Mintzberg hates the airlines.

In particular, it is NOT why Mintzberg hates the airlines and what brilliant insights he has into how he would fix things.

This is quite a disappointment, because, of course, to the extent that Mintzberg has a claim to fame, it's as a management guru, not a comedian. Moreover the airlines really do need some help from someone like Mintzberg.

But because he's not a comedian, it's not a terribly funny book either (he tries hard, too hard), so it's not interesting on that score either.

Any editor with sense would have told Mintzberg not to waste his time. Don't waste your time (or money).

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mintzberg misses on all points, April 30, 2001

By 

Wim Biemans (Bedum, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler (Hardcover)

While this book is touted as a humurous book about flying by one of management premier thinkers, it misses on all points. For one thing, there is no management wisdom to be found at all (apart from obvious platitudes). The (thanfully brief) book is filled with the usual, very predictable complaining about airplanes, airplane food, scheduling, ticket prices etc. Anyone who has ever flown in an airplane has already had all these thoughts for him/herself. The absolute worst aspect of the book, however, is that although Mintzberg is trying very hard, he is not even close to being funny. I mean, writing about Sitford Business School (instead of Stanford) and Skiphole Airport (instead of Schiphol) is bringing tears to my eyes, but they are definitely not from laughter! Anyone looking for some really funny read would do better to pick up any book by travel writer Bill Bryson. I agree with a previous reviewer: the publisher should have rejected this, but now that the book is here you better spend your money on something else!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unfunny and uninspired, September 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler (Hardcover)

Other reviewers have it spot-on: this book is not (or very rarely) funny, poorly written, self-indulgent, and in particular offers no management insight at all, aside from informing airline managers how customers perceive their product, which I suppose was not exactly a secret.