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Snapshots From Hell: The Making Of An MBA
Peter Robinson’s Snapshots from Hell is a hilarious and enlightening insider’s answer to the paramount question every prospective student asks: what is business school really like? During his frenetic first year at Stanford Business School, Peter Robinson began keeping a journal of his day-to-day impressions which evolved into this book. From his harrowing days at ‘maths camp’ through the dizzying phalanx of core course, the frenzy of the exam week, the pitfalls and triumphs of the interview process (including a surreal interview with Robert Maxwell!) to being wined and dined by some of the most prestigious companies in the world, Robinson’s story is witty, candid and people with a remarkable cast of characters. Snapshots from Hell is a fast-paced, first-hand account of the nightmare world of getting a top business school MBA, one of the glittering prizes of the ‘90s.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
32 people are currently reading
643 people want to read
About the author
Peter M. Robinson
12 books24 followersPeter M. Robinson is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's vidcast program, Uncommon Knowledge™.
Robinson is also the author of three books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life (Regan Books, 2003); It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, (Warner Books, 2000); and the best-selling business book Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA (Warner Books, 1994; still available in paperback).
In 1979, he graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he majored in English. He went on to study politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University, from which he graduated in 1982.
Robinson spent six years in the White House, serving from 1982 to 1983 as chief speechwriter to Vice President George Bush and from 1983 to 1988 as special assistant and speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan. He wrote the historic Berlin Wall address in which President Reagan called on General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"
After the White House, Robinson attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. (The journal he kept formed the basis for Snapshots from Hell.) He graduated with an MBA in 1990.
Robinson then spent a year in New York City with Fox Television, reporting to the owner of the company, Rupert Murdoch. He spent a second year in Washington, D.C., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as the director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research. Robinson joined the Hoover Institution in 1993.
The author of numerous essays and interviews, Robinson has published in the New York Times, Red Herring, and Forbes ASAP, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review Online. He is the editor of Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover Institution Press, 1995).
In 2005, Robinson was elected to serve as a Trustee of Dartmouth College.
Robinson lives in northern California with his wife, their children and their dog, Crusoe.
Robinson is also the author of three books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life (Regan Books, 2003); It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, (Warner Books, 2000); and the best-selling business book Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA (Warner Books, 1994; still available in paperback).
In 1979, he graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he majored in English. He went on to study politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University, from which he graduated in 1982.
Robinson spent six years in the White House, serving from 1982 to 1983 as chief speechwriter to Vice President George Bush and from 1983 to 1988 as special assistant and speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan. He wrote the historic Berlin Wall address in which President Reagan called on General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"
After the White House, Robinson attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. (The journal he kept formed the basis for Snapshots from Hell.) He graduated with an MBA in 1990.
Robinson then spent a year in New York City with Fox Television, reporting to the owner of the company, Rupert Murdoch. He spent a second year in Washington, D.C., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as the director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research. Robinson joined the Hoover Institution in 1993.
The author of numerous essays and interviews, Robinson has published in the New York Times, Red Herring, and Forbes ASAP, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review Online. He is the editor of Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover Institution Press, 1995).
In 2005, Robinson was elected to serve as a Trustee of Dartmouth College.
Robinson lives in northern California with his wife, their children and their dog, Crusoe.
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May 23, 2012
I read this book in those times when I did not have GR in my life.
I, being a fresh admit in college, was enjoying the privileges that are being bestowed on the once rare specie of a PG student, in a decent college, getting ready to leave some new prints on the corporate history.
I used to read books and move ahead. Some books leaving me permanently scarred, some with that sweet smell which leave you stumped for a few moments and there were those which I read and forgot.
With GR happening late in life, time to time I stumble on books which happen to affect my life for long. Either they have those unforgettable memories attached to them or they are referred so often that I am forced to think of the time when I read them and the way I felt.
Now coming back to the book in hand
Now being an MBA holder myself, I am considered(often mistakenly) qualified to tell the story of the life of an MBA in the making. Sometimes when in the mood to reminisce, I indulge my listener in some stories or crucial incidents from those 2 years.
But often I ask them to read this book. And knowing the reluctance of the people around me in buying a book much alone reading it, I get few vain moments, gloating over their ignorance.
So, what does this book has in offer for you?
It's a detailed story of a student in Stanford Business School, right from when he got into the college to his convocation.
He being a writer when he got admitted in the school provides you with the perspective of a man who is not a blue blooded mathematician/statistician.
Why should a non-MBA or someone who has no connection whatsoever with an MBA read it?
Many times when we read in the newspaper about the hefty salaries that are being paid to the freshly minted MBA graduates, the lucrative jobs with pretentious titles being offered to these high fliers, it makes many of us wonder at the qualities or skills that these people learn which makes them so indispensable to the business.
If you are interested in knowing the life they go through to be prepared for the corporate world, this book will be a good start.
We all should accept it by now, this MBA fad is here to stay.
We have to meet and live with these species all our life.
Interaction with them, be it official or social, would be easier if we know where they are coming from.
That's all I am trying to do here. Trust me! :D
I, being a fresh admit in college, was enjoying the privileges that are being bestowed on the once rare specie of a PG student, in a decent college, getting ready to leave some new prints on the corporate history.
I used to read books and move ahead. Some books leaving me permanently scarred, some with that sweet smell which leave you stumped for a few moments and there were those which I read and forgot.
With GR happening late in life, time to time I stumble on books which happen to affect my life for long. Either they have those unforgettable memories attached to them or they are referred so often that I am forced to think of the time when I read them and the way I felt.
Now coming back to the book in hand
Now being an MBA holder myself, I am considered(often mistakenly) qualified to tell the story of the life of an MBA in the making. Sometimes when in the mood to reminisce, I indulge my listener in some stories or crucial incidents from those 2 years.
But often I ask them to read this book. And knowing the reluctance of the people around me in buying a book much alone reading it, I get few vain moments, gloating over their ignorance.
So, what does this book has in offer for you?
It's a detailed story of a student in Stanford Business School, right from when he got into the college to his convocation.
He being a writer when he got admitted in the school provides you with the perspective of a man who is not a blue blooded mathematician/statistician.
Why should a non-MBA or someone who has no connection whatsoever with an MBA read it?
Many times when we read in the newspaper about the hefty salaries that are being paid to the freshly minted MBA graduates, the lucrative jobs with pretentious titles being offered to these high fliers, it makes many of us wonder at the qualities or skills that these people learn which makes them so indispensable to the business.
If you are interested in knowing the life they go through to be prepared for the corporate world, this book will be a good start.
We all should accept it by now, this MBA fad is here to stay.
We have to meet and live with these species all our life.
Interaction with them, be it official or social, would be easier if we know where they are coming from.
That's all I am trying to do here. Trust me! :D
April 30, 2011
This easy-to-read book is entertaining and miserably frustrating. The author decided to quit his job of being one of Reagan's speechwriters to go to Stanford to get an MBA, and this book tells the story of his first year. Like most of his classmates, his has had a few years of real-world experience; unlike most (but not all) of them, he has very little technical background in math, accounting, finance, etc.
The book is written well and gives interesting insight into a group of people that I'll hopefully never have to deal with in real life. So what makes it frustrating? The people. The author's perspective is slightly different from the classmates that have had business experience, but he shares most of their worst traits: greed, a sense of entitlement, some misplaced idea that their goal is somehow noble, and perhaps most annoying of all, a warped perspective that lets them view themself as a victim.
Yes, somehow these poor, poor people, who have had the opportunity to attend one of the highest-rated business schools in the country and chosen to accept it -- people who have decided to dedicate years of their life to achieving degrees that a professor in the book calls "union cards for yuppies", for the sole purpose of expanding their personal fortune -- can't help but decide that they are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, that's right: failing a midterm, and then feeling some guilt over their poor performance, clearly is the exact analogue of innocent hostages who feel some positive feelings for their captors.
Almost worse than the bizarre self-pity is the way that the people in the book embrace the idea that they're looking out for #1, with no concern for anyone else. The author repeats a statement from one of his professors that the MBA motto is "I'll tread on you". Instead of refuting the idea, or striving to overcome it, the author and his classmates sometimes seem to perceive it as a challenge: Can we be as much as a jerk as people think we are?
The view into the lives of these people is fascinating -- if you want some idea what makes them tick, this book is well worth reading.
The book is written well and gives interesting insight into a group of people that I'll hopefully never have to deal with in real life. So what makes it frustrating? The people. The author's perspective is slightly different from the classmates that have had business experience, but he shares most of their worst traits: greed, a sense of entitlement, some misplaced idea that their goal is somehow noble, and perhaps most annoying of all, a warped perspective that lets them view themself as a victim.
Yes, somehow these poor, poor people, who have had the opportunity to attend one of the highest-rated business schools in the country and chosen to accept it -- people who have decided to dedicate years of their life to achieving degrees that a professor in the book calls "union cards for yuppies", for the sole purpose of expanding their personal fortune -- can't help but decide that they are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, that's right: failing a midterm, and then feeling some guilt over their poor performance, clearly is the exact analogue of innocent hostages who feel some positive feelings for their captors.
Almost worse than the bizarre self-pity is the way that the people in the book embrace the idea that they're looking out for #1, with no concern for anyone else. The author repeats a statement from one of his professors that the MBA motto is "I'll tread on you". Instead of refuting the idea, or striving to overcome it, the author and his classmates sometimes seem to perceive it as a challenge: Can we be as much as a jerk as people think we are?
The view into the lives of these people is fascinating -- if you want some idea what makes them tick, this book is well worth reading.
Read
June 5, 2023Peter Robinson hosts the Uncommon Knowledge interview series published by the Hoover Institute, which is a conservative think tank at Stanford University. I became acquainted with his work through the eye-opening video series with Dr. Thomas Sowell on youtube (do take a look) back in college. During those days I had never thought that I'd pursue an MBA, as my interests and inclinations laid elsewhere. But later I was led, as if by an invisible hand, to a business school after all. Funnily, Peter has written a book about it. His MBA journey, I mean.
In the last legs of my own MBA degree, I find myself ratifying the observations made in this book. I identify with Peter's day-to-day experiences, his struggles and elations, constraints and incentives, and the larger picture that he paints placing the MBA in a socio-politico-economic context. Composed of fictionalized characters based of off his actual peers and professors, the narrative presented a dense portrayal of the (thick) academic and (slight) social life of the students in a business school. Also included is a broad survey of the course curriculum with snippets of theories, cases, and word problems (solutions included). Such a rich account qualifies this book to be a must read for those who intend to pursue an MBA in the future. And it serves as a reminiscence for MBA degree holders equally well.
But seriously, the similarities are uncanny. I didn't anticipate this degree of sameness owing to the fact that the book was published in 1994 and Peter had graduated in 1990. That's more than three decades ago. And even then all of it is all too relevant. I swear I could have written this same book, had I had the vocabulary, aptitude or the patience. And it is not the content of the courses. It is the parties, the break-ups, the cut-throat-ness, the cynicism, feelings of despair, and threats of pain and ruin that match up. The certitude of what works (clarity i.e. knowing what one wants) and where most falter (confusion i.e. not knowing what one wants) rings true even today. The book proudly proclaims that there is nothing to learn in a graduate management institute, that the degree is a "union card", a "signalling device", a means to an end. All these realizations I made for myself. This book corroborated them.
In conclusion, I must say that I expect to concur with the conclusions of this book as well. Peter said in the epilogue that he did not regret those two years of his life. And although his learnings were only skin deep the degree did prove to be valuable in several unexpected ways. My learnings are shoddier than his, on account of my MBA program being conducted on an online platform. But I hope I too have no regrets in the end.
In the last legs of my own MBA degree, I find myself ratifying the observations made in this book. I identify with Peter's day-to-day experiences, his struggles and elations, constraints and incentives, and the larger picture that he paints placing the MBA in a socio-politico-economic context. Composed of fictionalized characters based of off his actual peers and professors, the narrative presented a dense portrayal of the (thick) academic and (slight) social life of the students in a business school. Also included is a broad survey of the course curriculum with snippets of theories, cases, and word problems (solutions included). Such a rich account qualifies this book to be a must read for those who intend to pursue an MBA in the future. And it serves as a reminiscence for MBA degree holders equally well.
But seriously, the similarities are uncanny. I didn't anticipate this degree of sameness owing to the fact that the book was published in 1994 and Peter had graduated in 1990. That's more than three decades ago. And even then all of it is all too relevant. I swear I could have written this same book, had I had the vocabulary, aptitude or the patience. And it is not the content of the courses. It is the parties, the break-ups, the cut-throat-ness, the cynicism, feelings of despair, and threats of pain and ruin that match up. The certitude of what works (clarity i.e. knowing what one wants) and where most falter (confusion i.e. not knowing what one wants) rings true even today. The book proudly proclaims that there is nothing to learn in a graduate management institute, that the degree is a "union card", a "signalling device", a means to an end. All these realizations I made for myself. This book corroborated them.
In conclusion, I must say that I expect to concur with the conclusions of this book as well. Peter said in the epilogue that he did not regret those two years of his life. And although his learnings were only skin deep the degree did prove to be valuable in several unexpected ways. My learnings are shoddier than his, on account of my MBA program being conducted on an online platform. But I hope I too have no regrets in the end.
July 16, 2013
This is a book a lot of my friends had been talking about during my MBA days. When I saw it at the bookstore of my company, I finally decided to give it a read. I wasn’t disappointed.
There is a line on the cover which sums up the whole book, “The making of an MBA”. Now my MBA was quite ok compared to my engineering, which was my hell. And believe-you-me, it was much more of a hell than Mr. Robinson can ever imagine. In fact, it reminds me of a line in the popular TV Series (my favorite) F.R.I.E.N.D.S, in which Phoebe gives Rachel a piece of her mind, shouting, “Yeah, mine was a real problem, while yours is some high school drama…” Well, but I know what it feels like to feel like in hell. And it’s never the quantum of problems that make life, or a place, hell. It’s just the existence of problems, and not knowing how to get around them. So while I’d like to believe that my problems in engineering were a lot greater than Peter’s (I somehow can relate to the author so well, that I feel I am on a first name basis with him) problems, as I am sure every person believes that his problems are greater than his peers, I do understand the mental and the emotional state Peter, and all of his classmates were going through.
And that is quite the brilliance of the book. To convey what exactly was hellish about what the 333 students in the Stanford Class of 1990. It’s not melodramatic. It is not about getting abducted by a gang of fundamentalists or the operations of a secret anti-normal-pro-weird cult or a heart rending romantic tragedy or raining-bullets action or any such thing. Actually, it is what every single troubled student would go through in his academic course. Which is why everyone can relate to the book and enjoy it, and not enjoy it sadistically, enjoy it the way we would look at our troubled past and smile at it, silently applauding ourselves that we got through it. And you can relate to the “Snapshots from hell” even more if you have done, or are doing, MBA, which was the case with me. Of course my MBA was very, very different than what Peter went through. Any present day autobiography of a modern day MBA would be laden with “Google”, “MS Word”, “ppt”, “laptop/computer” etc. They are conspicuously absent in Peter’s MBA during late 80s.
Another achievement of the book is that it captures the aspirations of the fellow MBAs very accurately. The desperate struggle for grades, the summer jobs, the final jobs, dating scene, all of it… the frame of mind of the student is very accurately captured. And the best thing about the book is that it is a very, very candid, something stronger… honest, shall I say, expose of the MBA grads. The slumbering in the class, the getting through MBA with the help of partial-credit-for-partially-correct-answers in exams… yeah… the MBAs who get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, indulge in all of that. One of my friends, who is doing an MBA in IIM-A, the most prestigious B-School in India, says that IIM-A grads can’t bend spoons with their minds. They are just humans. Well they are humans in Stanford as well. And Peter makes that point.
It is a delightful read, and I would recommend it highly to people who have anything to do with an MBA. I would handcuff people, gag them and forcefully read the book to the people who have airs of being a superhero because of an “MBA” from a prestigious B-School. Just to remind them to get real. And lastly, MBA is no requisite for happiness. You need to be doing what you like for a living. As Peter has taken up what he enjoys best even after his MBA… writing. And am I glad he took up writing. Because otherwise, the book would never have been born.
There is a line on the cover which sums up the whole book, “The making of an MBA”. Now my MBA was quite ok compared to my engineering, which was my hell. And believe-you-me, it was much more of a hell than Mr. Robinson can ever imagine. In fact, it reminds me of a line in the popular TV Series (my favorite) F.R.I.E.N.D.S, in which Phoebe gives Rachel a piece of her mind, shouting, “Yeah, mine was a real problem, while yours is some high school drama…” Well, but I know what it feels like to feel like in hell. And it’s never the quantum of problems that make life, or a place, hell. It’s just the existence of problems, and not knowing how to get around them. So while I’d like to believe that my problems in engineering were a lot greater than Peter’s (I somehow can relate to the author so well, that I feel I am on a first name basis with him) problems, as I am sure every person believes that his problems are greater than his peers, I do understand the mental and the emotional state Peter, and all of his classmates were going through.
And that is quite the brilliance of the book. To convey what exactly was hellish about what the 333 students in the Stanford Class of 1990. It’s not melodramatic. It is not about getting abducted by a gang of fundamentalists or the operations of a secret anti-normal-pro-weird cult or a heart rending romantic tragedy or raining-bullets action or any such thing. Actually, it is what every single troubled student would go through in his academic course. Which is why everyone can relate to the book and enjoy it, and not enjoy it sadistically, enjoy it the way we would look at our troubled past and smile at it, silently applauding ourselves that we got through it. And you can relate to the “Snapshots from hell” even more if you have done, or are doing, MBA, which was the case with me. Of course my MBA was very, very different than what Peter went through. Any present day autobiography of a modern day MBA would be laden with “Google”, “MS Word”, “ppt”, “laptop/computer” etc. They are conspicuously absent in Peter’s MBA during late 80s.
Another achievement of the book is that it captures the aspirations of the fellow MBAs very accurately. The desperate struggle for grades, the summer jobs, the final jobs, dating scene, all of it… the frame of mind of the student is very accurately captured. And the best thing about the book is that it is a very, very candid, something stronger… honest, shall I say, expose of the MBA grads. The slumbering in the class, the getting through MBA with the help of partial-credit-for-partially-correct-answers in exams… yeah… the MBAs who get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, indulge in all of that. One of my friends, who is doing an MBA in IIM-A, the most prestigious B-School in India, says that IIM-A grads can’t bend spoons with their minds. They are just humans. Well they are humans in Stanford as well. And Peter makes that point.
It is a delightful read, and I would recommend it highly to people who have anything to do with an MBA. I would handcuff people, gag them and forcefully read the book to the people who have airs of being a superhero because of an “MBA” from a prestigious B-School. Just to remind them to get real. And lastly, MBA is no requisite for happiness. You need to be doing what you like for a living. As Peter has taken up what he enjoys best even after his MBA… writing. And am I glad he took up writing. Because otherwise, the book would never have been born.
August 29, 2021
Peter Robinson's recounting of his two years in Stanford business school getting an MBA
I read this book because I saw a comparison to Scott Turow's "One L" (his story of getting a law degree). This is the equivalent of that for an MBA. Being a scientist, I've sometimes wondered what a business degree would be like - what is this 'marketing/high finance/etc.' of which you speak? I have a solid idea now of what they are like. And I am so glad I never thought of trying this path! I got A's in every math class I ever took, up to and including calculus. The only thing that ever stumped me was word problems (man, I hated word problems!) And business school is apparently 90% word problems and statistics. My eyes glazed when Robinson gave some sample questions from a few of his class sessions. The book itself was very entertaining and interesting though! I won't re-read it like I have "One L" but I'm glad I read his story.
I read this book because I saw a comparison to Scott Turow's "One L" (his story of getting a law degree). This is the equivalent of that for an MBA. Being a scientist, I've sometimes wondered what a business degree would be like - what is this 'marketing/high finance/etc.' of which you speak? I have a solid idea now of what they are like. And I am so glad I never thought of trying this path! I got A's in every math class I ever took, up to and including calculus. The only thing that ever stumped me was word problems (man, I hated word problems!) And business school is apparently 90% word problems and statistics. My eyes glazed when Robinson gave some sample questions from a few of his class sessions. The book itself was very entertaining and interesting though! I won't re-read it like I have "One L" but I'm glad I read his story.
September 28, 2019
This book is older than me and yet it felt topical reading it. Peter Robinson has written such an intimate account of an MBA grad student's life that I'm equal parts stunned and equal parts enamoured by that life.
I really loved his writing style though. The book is not just full of anecdotes of a Stanford student's life but it makes it a point to give insights with actual case studies that happened in those classes. The writing too never feels jarring. It's concise and yet light-hearted. Gives a complete 360° perspective about this lifestyle. An enjoyable read overall.
I can see why it's such a pull for MBA students.
I really loved his writing style though. The book is not just full of anecdotes of a Stanford student's life but it makes it a point to give insights with actual case studies that happened in those classes. The writing too never feels jarring. It's concise and yet light-hearted. Gives a complete 360° perspective about this lifestyle. An enjoyable read overall.
I can see why it's such a pull for MBA students.
July 27, 2009
Didn't read this one too closely, kind of flipped through it and absorbed his general freak-out. He seemed pretty stressed out the entire time. He got his MBA in the 80s so it all seemed really dated, and the classwork amazingly irrelevant. I think probably too long ago to be much use to someone considering business school now...
January 20, 2016
One of my favorites. Must read before you decide to do that so talked about MBA. MBA is great but one needs to understand if he or she fits into it and not do it just out of peer pressure. A great Story establishing the fact that MBA is a lot about learning from your class so choose that and not only a big school name. One needs to fit in.
April 30, 2007
its all about what a perfect B-school experience should be. a must read for everyone - aspirant B-school student, B-school passout and those who have decided not to visit one.
June 8, 2024
The book revolves around the paramount question of how life looks inside a management school.
It is an honest, first hand account of Peter Robinson’s life at Stanford. He, a former presidential speechwriter in his thirties felt that the situation for him had grown irksome (given his friends were cracking big deals and buying houses) and hence decides on going for a different and more lucrative career of an MBA.
Wickedly funny, ”Snapshots from Hell” briskly takes us through the business school subjects, discussing problems and case studies, and later through the author’s impressions on surviving it through. From feeling like a wimp in the Math camp to being afflicted by a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome (where a hostage falls in love with a captor), from exams robbing his appetite to being wined and dined by some of the best minds in the world, from being inflicted with agony to a sense of exhilaration at the thought of what he had been through, Peter Robinson, I must say, has done a fantastic job!
Some conversations/statements he presented has opened up a door of epiphanies for me.
Such as this one,
“How are we supposed to get any studying done?”
“You thought you were here to study? Wrong-o. You’re here to get a job.”
And then this,
“It just sort of makes me wonder. Maybe you don’t need to be poor yourself to do good. Maybe you can make money and enjoy yourself and do good all at the same time. What a thought.”
“This is especially for artistic, intellectual, or left-wing students, because for them business school could represent a spiritual and emotional crises. They might see business school as both a seduction and a threat and later struggle in its embrace.”
An important lesson for him (hoping to be mine too, for I felt a sense of relief reading it) — Business school did not just attract drones and nerds but gifted, creative people.
Later on, the book also touches on the subject of finding love. Oh yea! A lady who got in, hoped of finding someone at the business school. I later find her lamenting, “But you know what? The guys here just aren’t into it. What MBA men are in love with is their careers.” (To the few guys out there, please don’t feel called out)
The book leaves us with a few questions around putting our personality through a flux, “Would business school imbue me with harsh attributes of aggressiveness or competitiveness? Would it harden me?”
For those of you who have come this far reading it, and is considering an MBA, go get this book for yourself. I can assure, you will not regret it.
It is an honest, first hand account of Peter Robinson’s life at Stanford. He, a former presidential speechwriter in his thirties felt that the situation for him had grown irksome (given his friends were cracking big deals and buying houses) and hence decides on going for a different and more lucrative career of an MBA.
Wickedly funny, ”Snapshots from Hell” briskly takes us through the business school subjects, discussing problems and case studies, and later through the author’s impressions on surviving it through. From feeling like a wimp in the Math camp to being afflicted by a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome (where a hostage falls in love with a captor), from exams robbing his appetite to being wined and dined by some of the best minds in the world, from being inflicted with agony to a sense of exhilaration at the thought of what he had been through, Peter Robinson, I must say, has done a fantastic job!
Some conversations/statements he presented has opened up a door of epiphanies for me.
Such as this one,
“How are we supposed to get any studying done?”
“You thought you were here to study? Wrong-o. You’re here to get a job.”
And then this,
“It just sort of makes me wonder. Maybe you don’t need to be poor yourself to do good. Maybe you can make money and enjoy yourself and do good all at the same time. What a thought.”
“This is especially for artistic, intellectual, or left-wing students, because for them business school could represent a spiritual and emotional crises. They might see business school as both a seduction and a threat and later struggle in its embrace.”
An important lesson for him (hoping to be mine too, for I felt a sense of relief reading it) — Business school did not just attract drones and nerds but gifted, creative people.
Later on, the book also touches on the subject of finding love. Oh yea! A lady who got in, hoped of finding someone at the business school. I later find her lamenting, “But you know what? The guys here just aren’t into it. What MBA men are in love with is their careers.” (To the few guys out there, please don’t feel called out)
The book leaves us with a few questions around putting our personality through a flux, “Would business school imbue me with harsh attributes of aggressiveness or competitiveness? Would it harden me?”
For those of you who have come this far reading it, and is considering an MBA, go get this book for yourself. I can assure, you will not regret it.
January 18, 2025
This is a well-written book, that tells the life of an MBA. I believe every MBA enthusiast must read this book.
I read this book during my MBA and it helped me to get focused also tells the importance of learning all the subjects which we have in our MBA. It Tells us that networking is important and how we need to manage both parties and study during the course of MBA.
This is about Peter Robinson who worked at white house as speechwriter to then President Reagan. He left the presidential office in 1988 to pursue MBA from "Stanford business school"
'. He started as poet as he was weak in
quantitative skills. He started his journey with the first class of maths camp. He took a house in Portola valley with joe and Phillipe. The fall term was like a punishment for peter as he doesn't understand statistics, computer, micro and accounting. He was ranked th in statistics among 333 students (from the bottom) and got "H" in OB in mid-term result. During the winter term lots of poet had become uneasy about what business school was doing to them. For summer job peter gave the interview at McKinsey and got rejected then he applied for an investment bank and got selected in it. He has done few case studies like: P & G and south-west airlines and met his founder Rollin king and presented his case in front of him.
The book is well written and tells the value of an MBA degree.
Book might be boring in beginning for people not from math background as it starts with few complex concepts of math but eventually it great and a must read book for every MBA enthusiast.
I read this book during my MBA and it helped me to get focused also tells the importance of learning all the subjects which we have in our MBA. It Tells us that networking is important and how we need to manage both parties and study during the course of MBA.
This is about Peter Robinson who worked at white house as speechwriter to then President Reagan. He left the presidential office in 1988 to pursue MBA from "Stanford business school"
'. He started as poet as he was weak in
quantitative skills. He started his journey with the first class of maths camp. He took a house in Portola valley with joe and Phillipe. The fall term was like a punishment for peter as he doesn't understand statistics, computer, micro and accounting. He was ranked th in statistics among 333 students (from the bottom) and got "H" in OB in mid-term result. During the winter term lots of poet had become uneasy about what business school was doing to them. For summer job peter gave the interview at McKinsey and got rejected then he applied for an investment bank and got selected in it. He has done few case studies like: P & G and south-west airlines and met his founder Rollin king and presented his case in front of him.
The book is well written and tells the value of an MBA degree.
Book might be boring in beginning for people not from math background as it starts with few complex concepts of math but eventually it great and a must read book for every MBA enthusiast.
November 9, 2020
I first read this book in 1994, and re-read it in 2020. It was great read then, and even better now. It has truly stood the test of time, and I can’t count the number of young people to which I have recommend they read this book before embarking on getting an MBA. Peter Robinson is a fantastic writer, and was, indeed, a speechwriter for Vice President Bush and then Ronald Reagan. He wrote the Berlin Wall speech Reagan delivered in 1987. Herein he explains what it is like to be an MBA student at Stanford (he attended 1988-1990). Being an English major, Stanford called students like him “poets.” This is a rollicking read, and if you know anyone contemplating the value of an MBA, make them read this book first. Peter might not regret having done it, but as one the professors tells him, the MBA is a “union card for yuppies.” There’s probably better ways to invest your time and money to learn business. One way is just to read everything Peter Drucker has ever written. Thank you, Peter, for a great read!
January 9, 2018
A book you should read if you are an MBA aspirant or a MBA degree holder. It portraits a series of character quite maticulously and gives you a choice of what part you would like to play upon joining the MBA course yourself. Except for the high dose of technical questions that author encountered, it's a wonderful book that will give you titillation at some points.
May 25, 2017
obsolete. inaccurate. and not for any person who aspires to go for MBA. The MBA world has changed a lot since the book.
April 28, 2019
Humorous
August 5, 2019
A brilliant book on the author's experiences at Stanford... As I stand on the verge of joining a prestigious b-school, this book served as a great indicator of what I have signed up to.
November 25, 2025
Okay. I liked it. Good story of elite self discovery cast in an MBA program. I wish this writer had produced more works
October 27, 2025
basically peter robinson can't do math
June 20, 2019
Highly recommend it to every ‘poet’ out there, who’s thinking of pursuing an MBA! 😄 For those of you who don’t know, poet’ is someone from a creative field, who is not very comfortable with numbers. This book will speak to you as it did to me, for a number of reasons:
1) You will associate with the author’s pains and fears when it comes to number crunching. I was hooked onto the book with its first page, he invokes Dante and his famous lines at gates of the inferno!
2) He paints an actual picture of what getting an MBA entails - the good, the bad and the ugly. Though it was written in 1994, a lot of it still holds true - yes, even in the Indian context.
3) This book is not a fairy tale, as is life - constant struggle is a recurring theme in the book. Each time you think the author has finally achieved something, or finally tamed the beast, you soon realise what a slippery slope life is.
I really enjoyed reading the book and have given it four stars. It is a hilarious yet very serious read on MBA life, and maintaining that precarious balance is no easy task.
1) You will associate with the author’s pains and fears when it comes to number crunching. I was hooked onto the book with its first page, he invokes Dante and his famous lines at gates of the inferno!
2) He paints an actual picture of what getting an MBA entails - the good, the bad and the ugly. Though it was written in 1994, a lot of it still holds true - yes, even in the Indian context.
3) This book is not a fairy tale, as is life - constant struggle is a recurring theme in the book. Each time you think the author has finally achieved something, or finally tamed the beast, you soon realise what a slippery slope life is.
I really enjoyed reading the book and have given it four stars. It is a hilarious yet very serious read on MBA life, and maintaining that precarious balance is no easy task.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2017
The book is a an idealist guy's view of the grueling years at Stanford Business School for someone who has a non financial and non mathematical background. These students are referred to as poets, while those with financial backgrounds are referred to as non-poets. The book is a detailed thorough undertaking of how a person felt at Stanford, how his classmates handled it, the difference in experiences of everyone. It's an overview of how a business school can change a person, change the opportunities, the relationships and how much it can make you learn and gain new perspectives. How different people will gain differently from a class on the basic context which they already have. The poets have a better go at the macro view subjects like organizational behavior, public sector economics , ethics etc. while the non poets go better in deep data analysis subjects like finance, accounting etc.
A very engaging book which keeps you involved right from the start to the end.
A very engaging book which keeps you involved right from the start to the end.
July 18, 2015
Peter Robinson decides to give up his job as speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan so that he can attend Stanford School of business in 1988. From the start, he has his doubts as to whether he has made the right decision. I am sure that this is a feeling most MBA students, especially those who are leaving a job to go back to school, would have had. I sure did. Such people have to shell out not just the high tuition fees at B-School, but also forego the opportunity of making money on the job (the so-called opportunity cost). But then, Robinson tries to justify to himself that there is no growth opportunity in his present career and the market for a presidential speechwriter is limited. He mulls over other career options, such as law and journalism, and asks friends with MBAs for their advice. having finally made up his mind, he packs his bags to go to San Francisco.
Having little trace of mathematics in his academic background, Robinson is a 'poet' and has to attend a compulsory prep course for mathematics and computers before the Fall term starts and the 'non-poets' arrive. At the beginning, he is clueless about either maths or computers. But, he gets along, meeting friends like Conan from Ireland and Zen from Japan. He also records all his experiences in a journal that he keeps, which eventually helps him write this book. He has quite a few words to say about the teaching faculty. Even at hallowed institutions like Stanford, only a third of the Professors are truly outstanding, the next one-third are OK and the rest are mediocre. The tussle between research and practicality is an ever-present one, and I suppose it applies to all good B-Schools across the world. Robinson makes it to the next term with good-enough grades, with a minor scare in Trees. Winter term is the term of Summer placements. Unlike his flatmates Joe and Philippe who have clear ideas of where they want to be, Robinson is willing to try different options, because he has not figured out what is suited for him. He lands a summers job at investment banker Dillon Read. The elation of the placements week is followed by the gloom of BusinessWeek magazine downgrading Stanford from second position to ninth in the Annual List of Best B-Schools. The students feel betrayed. The authorities try to smooth things over but the students are dissatisfied.
The Spring term is pretty uneventful except for the Marketing classes taught by an awesome professor who brings in people from the field to give students like Robinson the feel of actually doing things on the ground. Robinson and his batchmates then leave for their summer jobs. Two months at Dillon Read convinces him that he is not cut out for this job. For the final placements, he accepts a job with Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp only to be fired a year later due to the recession. Then, he discovers that he can blend his passion for writing with his newfound knowledge of businees. And that's the story of this book.
A very enjoyable read for those who have passed through, are passing through and plan to pass through the rigours and pleasures of a B-School.
Having little trace of mathematics in his academic background, Robinson is a 'poet' and has to attend a compulsory prep course for mathematics and computers before the Fall term starts and the 'non-poets' arrive. At the beginning, he is clueless about either maths or computers. But, he gets along, meeting friends like Conan from Ireland and Zen from Japan. He also records all his experiences in a journal that he keeps, which eventually helps him write this book. He has quite a few words to say about the teaching faculty. Even at hallowed institutions like Stanford, only a third of the Professors are truly outstanding, the next one-third are OK and the rest are mediocre. The tussle between research and practicality is an ever-present one, and I suppose it applies to all good B-Schools across the world. Robinson makes it to the next term with good-enough grades, with a minor scare in Trees. Winter term is the term of Summer placements. Unlike his flatmates Joe and Philippe who have clear ideas of where they want to be, Robinson is willing to try different options, because he has not figured out what is suited for him. He lands a summers job at investment banker Dillon Read. The elation of the placements week is followed by the gloom of BusinessWeek magazine downgrading Stanford from second position to ninth in the Annual List of Best B-Schools. The students feel betrayed. The authorities try to smooth things over but the students are dissatisfied.
The Spring term is pretty uneventful except for the Marketing classes taught by an awesome professor who brings in people from the field to give students like Robinson the feel of actually doing things on the ground. Robinson and his batchmates then leave for their summer jobs. Two months at Dillon Read convinces him that he is not cut out for this job. For the final placements, he accepts a job with Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp only to be fired a year later due to the recession. Then, he discovers that he can blend his passion for writing with his newfound knowledge of businees. And that's the story of this book.
A very enjoyable read for those who have passed through, are passing through and plan to pass through the rigours and pleasures of a B-School.
February 26, 2017
First things first: This author completed his MBA from Stanford in the 80s, so a lot if it will seem dated and irrelevant. My boss’s boss gave this book to me as a gift after he learned that I am quitting the job to pursue an MBA. Incidentally, he is also from ISB – he told me to read it as soon as possible so I’m aware of the (un)rosy parts of an MBA. I am hoping against all hope that my experience at a B-school is nothing like the author’s – The author seems mostly stressed, but he does manage to portray a hilarious and frustrating account of his time at Stanford. The author’s background is unique – He was a speech writer at the White House, and was thus one of the “poets”, a title that refers to students from non-technical background. The book is an account of his experiences at the school, which are mostly everyday struggles and personal events. Not very insightful, but can be a light read and is sometimes funny.
September 26, 2014
The author had been a speech writer for President Reagan and had quit his job to get his MBA from Stanford. He was one of few student who didn't have a technical background, referred to as "poets" in the book. He complains about the grueling work, the outdated professors, and the competitive students. I felt that this book is outdated. He got his MBA in the 80s, and many of the assertions seem unfair or wrong.
I got my MBA in a top 5 business school in the 90s, and my husband is a business school in another top 10 program. I also didn't go to business school with an economics or an engineering degree. The material never seemed as hard as he made it out to be. I didn't see students struggling and without help. Professors were always available for help and consultation. Students were very smart and hard workers but weren't trying to out-compete one another. Yes, some professors were rookies and didn't have much experience teaching, but they were available to work with you and tried hard. I can't imagine Stanford being that different from other top 5 business schools. I didn't see the book as being insightful (though interesting) but rather a memoir of someone who lacked the background and struggled through school.
I got my MBA in a top 5 business school in the 90s, and my husband is a business school in another top 10 program. I also didn't go to business school with an economics or an engineering degree. The material never seemed as hard as he made it out to be. I didn't see students struggling and without help. Professors were always available for help and consultation. Students were very smart and hard workers but weren't trying to out-compete one another. Yes, some professors were rookies and didn't have much experience teaching, but they were available to work with you and tried hard. I can't imagine Stanford being that different from other top 5 business schools. I didn't see the book as being insightful (though interesting) but rather a memoir of someone who lacked the background and struggled through school.
February 6, 2017
A fantastic book. It was ages ago that I read it, so I hardly remember the details, but it was the one thing that helped me feel better about doing an MBA. I related to it particularly because it referred to those better at the 'soft' subjects like Marketing and HR as 'poets'. And, in more ways than one, I am a poet.
February 26, 2016
Book was slightly funny and somewhat informative, but mostly failed to keep me interested.
Seriously, what is with all the constant whining? Every chapter basically says the same thing in different ways : "i reached a level of frustration at which white mice in mazes lie down and die" and more such analogies repeated over and over again.
Seriously, what is with all the constant whining? Every chapter basically says the same thing in different ways : "i reached a level of frustration at which white mice in mazes lie down and die" and more such analogies repeated over and over again.
September 15, 2019
The book details the real life experience of a Stanford MBA in 1988.
The catch is that it comes from the perspective of a man who admittedly grew up honing the skillsets of a poet and only went to Stanford for landing a well-paying job.
Worth a read. It maintains a steady pace throughout and has it's share of interesting social commentary.
The catch is that it comes from the perspective of a man who admittedly grew up honing the skillsets of a poet and only went to Stanford for landing a well-paying job.
Worth a read. It maintains a steady pace throughout and has it's share of interesting social commentary.
September 8, 2008
Pretty interesting read. Gives a great insight to the life of an MBA student in the Bschool though sometimes can get a bit more into details of academic subjects but author himself warns of that right at the beginning.
May 23, 2012
A good read for anyone to get perspective on what is life like at a business school. A bit dated though, and lacks experiences of applying to top notch companies, and rather presents the experience of a "poet".
July 6, 2012
Undoubtedly the best that has been written till date on this subject andin this category .Extremely amusing and fun.Absolutely a must read for all those who liked Five point someone by Chetan Bhagat and such reads.
March 30, 2013
I just finished this book, and it was an entertaining honest exposition of a first year's life at an MBA school. Though all of them can't claim to line up a peer group that Stanford manages to, the blitzy curricula is well the same almost at every good B-School.
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