Book Review - Snapshots from Hell

[Pratima Jayaram]

One of the nice(st) books on the B-school experience, that I have read recently.

We all agree that a B-school education (or an MBA) is a tough and grueling experience that places huge demands on the individuals embarking on this challenge. 'Snapshots from Hell' is one such book which answers “What is life in a B-school like”? This book authored by Peter Robinson, who was a speech writer at White House, describes his experiences at one of the country’s elite business schools - Stanford GSB, in the most interesting and hilarious way...

Poets, in a B-school lingo (as the author wishes to refer) are those few people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds such as English majors or track-jumping corporate types according to the author. In a B-school, the poets compete against Chartered accountants, Investment bankers and consultants who are already familiar with the concepts such as discounted cash flows, stocks, options and other quantitative and cryptic stuff. Overfed with jargon and number crunching, Robinson always felt under prepared, uninspired and inundated while tackling the compulsory core subjects during his first year. He struggled to understand the supply-and-demand curves, decision trees and influence diagrams and also discovered his classmates' appalling unawareness of economic philosophy- be it Adam Smith or Karl Marx....

A very well written book, which captures the essence of an MBA brilliantly, with humor and reality in all aspects described. Every B-school student will be able to relate to – random “cold calls” by professors in class, impossible exams, competition, and camaraderie. I highly recommend this book to every MBA student – current or prospective! It is a very quick and light read, covers both personal and professional experiences of the author at Stanford that are compelling enough to interest and entertain the readers.

[bhargav trivedi]

yeah. i read the book recently..very well written and articulated. well read.