Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sam Walton: Made in America

Top positive review

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2023

What a delightful business book. I was previously blind to Wal-Mart’s history, philosophies, and operational practices, but they’re simple and lovely, and make for an enjoyable read.

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

StevenM

Sam, and klan you are such down home folk, never woulda guessed you'd all become filthy rich.

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014

All I can say is when reading this Sam seems like such a good ol boy. A story starting with his humble beginnings, oh, and how he'd work his store managers constantly, yea lotta them got rich in the process. Decent, honest, family man, who started out with a few Ben a Franklin stores. He, saw what was happening in the sixties, big stores like K Mart, Moreway, Arlans, etc. He wanted to compete, well you know who won ! Despite those who dislike Walmart and refuse to step inside, you really need to admit that they have driven prices down. But, the cost had been the small business owner, and small town / and city business districts have been mostly laid to ruin. It was bound to happen, just like it has in most other catagories, retail and wholesale. Just a few major players.

3 people found this helpful

6,903 total ratings, 1,297 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

Jeremy P.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2023

Verified Purchase

What a delightful business book. I was previously blind to Wal-Mart’s history, philosophies, and operational practices, but they’re simple and lovely, and make for an enjoyable read.

Helpful

Dionne Ervin

Great read for small business owners

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book has some great nuggets in it to help you stay the course when starting a small business I recommend it hands down

Helpful

Bella

A must read

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023

Verified Purchase

Absolutely a joy. I love Sam Walton. So impressed with his down home attitude and his morals and values. We need more Sam's in this world.

Helpful

Intan Mashayu

Kindle, is it possible to rate this book 10 stars?

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

Sam Walton is really inspiring me in many ways, in living frugal and spending money wisely, in working hard committedly and relentlessly, in learning from many sources-copying idea here and there with yellow-pad notes and tape recorder-implementing it right away, in managing his teams and treating team as equal partners, and in being a family man despite of his workaholic nature.

Wal-Mart proves that no single factor contributes to a company's success. It started out with a passion to compete and a love for retailing business. It is getting bigger because of its core value to always deliver the best value for the customers. It copied best practice here and there and implemented it in Wal-Mart in their own way to increase their customers' experience. They also invest heavily in their associates so that their customes get the best service at their stores. At last, they build such strong distribution centers using technology when investing in technology was not really a popular decision back then. This book released in 1993, so the tech invesment was really advance at that time.

In one of the chapter, Sam said that he guessed Wal-Mart will achieve USD 100bio in sales by 2000. It did generate those revenue amount, even 30% higher, in 2000. Nowadays, in 2021, it even achieves more than 3 times of its 2000 revenues. I am really amazed with its growth although we also need to evaluate how it performs compared to Amazon these days.

At last, for you who is looking for business guru, this book can be one of your inspiration. In one of the chapters, you can find 10 business rules stated by Sam Walton. If you're looking for a role model in career and in life, this is the right book for you.

I couldn't find anything I dislike from this book, except that it is quite long, 317 pages, and I couldn't stay put in one book for too long. I have to admit that this book give me a lot of emotion. In the beginning, it brought out the ambitious and idealistic me. In the very end of the book, it led me to contemplate the meaning of life and make a promise to live a without-regret-life. His optimism and willingness to contribute even in deep illness brought me into tears. He is definitely one of my role model in life and career. Finishing this book felt like bidding farewell to a very inspiring mentor, very saddening. Rest well, Sam.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

OCProf

quite a story

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2023

Verified Purchase

How did Wal Mart become so successful? Sam will tell you. Unfortunately this book was written before Amazon pushed them down a few pegs. But by then Sam was gone.

Helpful

Book

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

Very good...

Helpful

Amazon Customer

A Great, Down-To-Earth book that I took a lot away from.

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

"It was a real blessing for me to be so green and ignorant, because it was through that experience that I learned a lesson that has stuck with me through all the years: you can learn from everybody. I didn't just learn from reading every retail publication I could get my hands on, I probably learned the most from studying what John Dunham was doing across the street."
Sam Walton

This book was fun to read. Sam didn't want to write it at all, but John Huey won him over just in time. This book was written while Sam was on his death bed.

Sam Walton: Made In America is written in a way that it feels like Sam Walton is sitting in front of you, telling you everything that happened in his life.

The first two chapters, "Learning to Value a Dollar" and "Starting on a Dime," were great. Since reading them, I have picked up every coin I have seen laying around. At the end of the second chapter, Sam tells you about his Ben Franklin store that was making $250,000 in sales a year, with $30,000 t0 $40,000 of it being profit. After 5 years, his lease was up, and his landlord would not renew it for any price. He bought the store from Sam Walton, and Sam had to completely restart.

I think that most people would have given up in that situation. Working hard and smart for five years to build the best Ben Franklin in the region just to lose it would be tough, but Sam didn't let it stop him. Every one of the biographies I've read has that in common. Sam Walton, Jeff Bezos, Tim Tebow, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conrad Hilton, Jerry Weintraub, etc., all faced challenges that were a lot bigger than most people ever do, and they all overcame these challenges and became extremely successful.

After he talks about his first setback, there are 300 more pages to read if you buy the paperback version for only $6.

While Sam's book taught me how he became successful with Walmart, I learned something even more important from reading it. He taught me the importance of staying humble:

"I still can't believe it was news that I get my haircut at the barber shop. Where else would I get my haircut? Why do I drive a pickup truck? What am I supposed to haul my dogs around in, a Rolls-Royce?" -Sam Walton

At the end of the book, Sam gives a list of 10 rules that helped him become successful. To learn how Sam Walton overcame adversity, how he built Walmart, the value of being humble, and to read his list, buy Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton with John Huey.

This review was originally posted on my website where I write book reviews over biographies, classics, and inspiring nonfiction.
thewrightread.com

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. J Najarian

Great story about an American "all star"

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2010

Verified Purchase

Anyone interested in making a success out of himself--in any endeavor--ought to read Sam Walton's autobiography (another good one is "Straight from the Gut" by Jack Welsh). This book is basically Mr. Walton's life story from A to Z. There are hundreds and hundreds of anecdotes provided not only by Mr. Walton himself, but by his family, close friends, and business associates. Just a few points that I was astonished by:

1)Sam Walton is the ultimate hands on guy--and he was intense: Warren Buffett has written: "Intensity is the price of excellence." Well, Sam Walton would fly his private airplane over "virgin" business territory in order to scout out new sites for stores (can you imagine any other CEO's doing this?). He would fly his airplane to visit the stores personally. He would stop in and study his competitors' stores non-stop. He would hang out with the Walmart truck drivers in the back of his stores and learn from them. Mr. Walton was not one to deligate too much (or relax)--he clearly loved being involved in every aspect of his business.

2)KMART was the king of retail when Mr. Walton was getting Walmart off the ground. This is a really important point. Just because one company possesses market dominance does not assure the persistence of the pecking order. Mr. Walton was relentless in developing a better retail concept, and he did, and it overtook KMART (and everyone else!).

3)The importance of humility. Mr. Walton never flaunted his wealth, although what he created is now worth more than Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett.

4)He answers "yes" to the question of whether or not there is another "young" walmart out there. It's too bad that Mr. Walton died before Amazon.com was born, but I see many similarities between Mr. Walton and Jeff Bezos. Like Walton, Bezos is obsessed with offering the widest selection, at the lowest prices, with satisfaction guaranteed. I think Amazon will ultimately surpass Walmart because it should be able to keep a lower cost structure than Walmart. For example, after reading this book it is clear that Walmart spends an inordinate amount of time and resources 1) opening up stores and 2) keeping those stores well staffed and well stocked. By managing a few warehouses rather than 1000's of stores, I think in time Amazon will be able to offer lower prices on goods.

5)Sam Walton took big risks to make Walmart happen. He borrowed so much money to start Walmart that banks refused to lend anymore to him.

Finally, I had tears in my eyes by the conclusion, when Sam was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and then soon passed away from multiple myeloma. He has left quite a legacy!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

tom

Sam the legend

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

I use to dislike Sam Walton and his corporate executives. I always thought they were bad for small town America. And they are in a way, there hard to compete with because there so big. But I found myself having to learn about retail, and I hated it. But later on I realized how smart Sam was. He just took an idea of lower costs and inflated it like a balloon by selling on volume. While other retailers were stuck in there ways Sam saw an edge and he went for it, and it worked. There's a lot to learn in this book especially if your in the retail business.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Theron Salyer

Regrets

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

I am now 83 years old and have worked for 3 major companies during my career. Knowing what I now know now about Walmart I wish that would have been my first.

Helpful

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Need customer service?

‹ See all details for Sam Walton: Made in America

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

Sam Walton: Made in America

›

Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Sam Walton: Made in America

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Sam Walton: Made in America › Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Sam Walton: Made in America

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Sam Walton: Made in America

›

Customer reviews