Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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And don't miss his irritation with Harvard: outrageous residence costs, outdated materials in certain courses, uneven distribution of tenured "name" professors across sections, and more.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?

...

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.

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

I think that anyone who wants to enter business school can read this book first.It not only gives you a portrait of what MBA life is but also how MBA students value their school.Totally speaking,MBA programs offered by USA are the best in the present world.To get an MBA degree is quite attractive to many overseas students,such as me.Maybe not everyone can enter Harvard,however,it's still a pleasure to know about what life in Harvard is and how Harvardians think and solve problems.

This one is a must have for every business major. I liked Rob Reid's candor, his effortless writing, and most of his jokes. I believe people going into Wall Street or other financial service industries will find this book invaluable. My advise will be to read the section on interviews a coule of times. My personal favorite was "Hell!" though I loved the one in which the some prankster changed everyone's name plates. Again, this is a really cool book to buy.

This book, Year One, was excellent. I would recommend it to any one considered getting an MBA from any school. The author is extremely candid about his own harrowing experience with the cut-throat nature of the program, to the diverse group of students, to the unaccomodating faculty, and to the struggle to keep a sane head. Very interesting, alarming, and alluring, at times, especially for a non-fiction

This book is a must read for anyone going to business school. I found the sections that discuss the whole classroom dynamic to be good preparation for my first business classes.

Year One was an excellent guided campus tour. The author was humble and candid, yet determined to pursue his own dream -- to work in the hitech venture capital community and he is now! I wish Rob will write another book documenting his second year and beyond. I would love to hear about the fate of all his friends and other section mates.

the B-School experience, read "Snapshots from hell: The Making of an MBA". That was about the Stanford experience - but it painted a more vivid portrait of the characters/students, the classes, and the faculty. Also, it was more introspective, it engaged in some soul-searching as to the relevance/worth of an MBA. While this one does to some extent (the "lemming march"), it does give the impression that, for the author and most of his peers at HBS, life revolved around one final destination - high-powered high-paying jobs. Other than that, a fairly breezy read.

I definitely and strongly recomend this book to anyone considering going to HBS (and only to those!). The book is quite intelectually oriented (you will find little clies on who Bob really is, what kind of poetry, of literature he likes, who his friends are) but that is OK. The best remark in this book is his "lemmings theory" - the theory that too many of us just go with the crowd, without really knowing where we would like to go. Interesting!!