Year One: An Intimate Look Inside Harvard Business School, Source of the Most Coveted Advanced Degree in the World [Hardcover]

Robert Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994

In the tradition of Scott Turow's One L, this intimate, no-holds-barred portrait chronicles the average student's experience at Harvard Business School, from the grueling application process to the fierce jockeying for professors' attentions to the bizarre courtship rituals which leading businesses use to lure Harvard enrollees.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard Business School inevitably engenders interest and/or envy because it has trained legions of successful managers. Reid, a recent graduate, presents an insider's view of his grueling first year. While his description of the school's administration is hardly flattering, Reid depicts instructors as genuinely interested in educating students. Regrettably, though, the author never confronts whether earning the MBA is an intellectual experience or mere professional training leading to $1250-per-week summer internships and $80,000 salaries. Many students, he observes, seem preoccupied with grades, sitting in the "right" seats at lectures and handling instructors' "cold calls," polishing resumes, joining clubs and prepping for interviews. Yes, Reid is ambivalent. His intimate study will enthrall, and possibly unnerve, those planning to attend Harvard Business, or any other business school.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688128173
• ISBN-13: 978-0688128173
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,083,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Business School Guides

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves MUCH More Attention, August 6, 2002

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year One: An Intimate Look Inside Harvard Business School (Paperback)

After not only getting an MBA, but teaching in business schools for nearly twenty years, I recommend this book to anyone considering an MBA. When students complained about their MBA programs, I would urge them to read this book so they'd realize Harvard isn't perfect either.

Reid takes you through the day to day life of a first-year MBA student. In a microcosm like HBS, little things make the difference: "air time" in class, getting into the right study group, and more.

Reid also offers some perspective that may be missed by those unfamiliar with b-schools. Clients often ask career coaches (like me) about whether getting an MBA is a wise decision. Reid shows clearly that some people and some career destinations benefit more than others. He himself can maximize the degree's value: aged 26 when he entered (he turned 27 his first year), experience with a top consulting firm, personable and friendly.

Read between the lines if you can. MBAs are social. They network. Sure they have to crack the books but success ultimately depends on interpersonal skills -- fitting into section parties, ski weekends and Caribbean getaways. These folks are definitely bright and beautiful.

And don't miss his irritation with Harvard: outrageous residence costs, outdated materials in certain courses, uneven distribution of tenured "name" professors across sections, and more.
Yet in the end, Reid admits, the big "H" counts for a lot in the business world.

I wish we could learn what happened to him and his Harvard friends. Was it all worth it?

...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-have Book for all Business Graduate Students., April 14, 1998

By 

Mike ([e-mail]) (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Year One: An Intimate Look Inside Harvard Business School (Paperback)

As a soon-to-be graduate student at a top b-school that focuses on the case-study method, I was at first rather apprehensive when I read through Reid's book. It felt that I panicked or was frustrated whenever the author panicked or was frustrated (which was a lot), but I also found that I laughed whenever the author laughed and related exceptionally well to his candor. Basically, I feel that in a small way, I have already experienced that harrowing first year. Reid's book has practically prepared me for my upcoming year by literally giving me tips on what university, the faculty, and fellow students will expect of me and what I can expect of them. A must-have, light-hearted, and down-to-earth book on a not so down-to-earth institution.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An easy reading, but leaves you waiting for more, July 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Year One: An Intimate Look Inside Harvard Business School (Paperback)

Well, let's start by saying that I read the book in one week, and I couldn't hardly separate from it. What I don't like from the book is that it ends so abruptly... I'd have liked that the book should have something like an epilogue, like a briefing of the second year, the summer job and the friends