Customer Reviews

Why I Hate Flying: Tales for the Tormented Traveler

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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).

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!

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.

I was at the bookstore buying more serious books on Six Sigma when this little gem jumped out at me.

By the time I got to the chapter dealing with food I was weeping with laughter. Just about everyone cops a swipe in this book and as an Australian, MBA qualified manager who used to work at Sydney Airport, I felt a few barbs myself.

Henry is working outside of his normal style and doesnt always pull it off but I nonetheless was refreshed to see that this world-wide authority on management shares some of my own misgivings about Globalism with a big G and Management with a big M.

The insights are a useful whack on the side of the head for anybody involved in managing any business. Readers who have travelled only a fraction of Mintzberg's air-miles are also bound to identify with at least some of his anecdotes, as I did.

By the end of the book you should understand the difference between Customer Service and customer service.

So, if your management-reading palate is a little jaded then treat this as sorbet-for-the-management soul.

I found this book enjoyable, as it is good to find a kindred spirit who is also fed up with the airlines and flying. But he isn't very informational on how to overcome some of the difficulties we all have, like Celentino's "Combating Air Rage", but it is still interesting. Plus, Celentino's book is more humorous for us extreme "extremies" travelers.

Publishers are wrapping small books that may not be worth a softcover in a business hardcover to give the author (and publisher)stature. This $...diminutive edition is title driven but once you open the book, the drive is dead. It would easy to say academics are self-indulgent and humorless but this book builds the stereotype. The first clue is the use of his mother with one of those cute quotes "Well, let them laugh, Henry. You can always try again." on the back cover. You can point to any page to find similar ... humor - "The food is taking so long it as though they are out catching the fish -" Page 69. The leading thinker's preening egotism is unfortunate in that the subtitle promised real humor can be found in a business under terrific strain. The publisher must owe the author a book. Based on this book, I would avoid his management seminars as well.

The only thing worse than an insufferable, ivory-tower know-it-all is one who makes dumb, senseless jokes about everything. Just read Mintzberg's WHY I HATE FLYING. The fact is, this book leads one to conclude that Mintzberg is the type who is ready to hate just about anything without taking the trouble to find out the first thing about it. This so-called authority on "management" has obviously never interviewed a pilot, gate agent, ticket agent, or flight attendant. These are the folks who have to put up with people like Mintzberg who think that profit-seeking (like every other industry)commercial airlines should be moving companies, hotels, and 5-star restaurants all rolled into one. In all, the groundlessness of his arguments combine with a weak (and this is being generous) sense of humor make this book a total bust.

Henry's book fills a much-needed gap in the literature.

Actually, in spite of the publisher's request that I write an "undorsement" of this book, I read it cover to cover. Now, if they'd only sent me the text, too, I could have read the rest. But in any case, I laughed! I cried! And then Henry's goons put me down...

Do me a favor. If you see me reading this book in public, don't tell my students.

So, I'm at O'Hare and I pick up this book because I hate flying too. Read the first ten pages or so and realized to my horror that this piece of tripe was all I had to read for the next few hours.

The purchase of this book led to me reading the inflight magazine. Dreadful, just dreadful. The only reason I didn't leave it in the seatback in front of me is because I didn't want to inflict the same damage on another poor traveler.

I started reading this book in one of the lounges at JFK's Terminal One (and continued reading it over an excellent glass of wine on my way to Frankfurt). Hence the atmosphere was right somehow). Mr. Mintzberg is one of these "Professor of Economics Guru" who's frequently travelling and knows all about the world - except the real one. The "real one" in today's economics is surviving, especially for the airline industry. Airlines do have to fill their planes and make more revenues than they do have cost - as simple as that! Obviously Mr. Mintzberg has a hard time to get used to the fact that airlines can't give away anything for free. He's one of these guys spending 150 bucks for going overseas and expecting - of course - an upgrade for free including all the good stuff served in Business and First Class. Since that does not happen all the time he's blowing out all of his frustrations in this book. I feel sorry for having spent the money for this book, it's not worth it.