What do you think?
Rate this book
The House that Cheese Built: The Unusual Life of the Mexican Immigrant who Defined a Multibillion-Dollar Global Industry
A quintessential American dream story from a Mexican entrepreneur who shares the tale of building a multi-million-dollar business from scratch, complete with both success and failure, and always a vision of hope.
Leal came to the US penniless as a teenager, speaking almost no English; he literally slept in the boiler room of a Wisconsin cheese factory for months before he was caught. Through hard work, grit, and ingenuity Leal would go on to launch his own business. He is widely credited with introducing Mexican cheeses to the US market and grew his company to a multi-million-dollar success story that defined an industry.
Yet, like many successful entrepreneurs, Leal's great successes were matched by personal the end of a marriage; trouble with law enforcement; and the deeply felt sense that there must be something more to life than great wealth. Leal's memoir, The House that Cheese Built, is both a quintessential immigrant success story—one that beautifully illustrates the immigrant isolation, fear, and ambition for a better life and assimilation—as well as a thoughtful personal account of entrepreneurship and all its benefits and costs.
Leal came to the US penniless as a teenager, speaking almost no English; he literally slept in the boiler room of a Wisconsin cheese factory for months before he was caught. Through hard work, grit, and ingenuity Leal would go on to launch his own business. He is widely credited with introducing Mexican cheeses to the US market and grew his company to a multi-million-dollar success story that defined an industry.
Yet, like many successful entrepreneurs, Leal's great successes were matched by personal the end of a marriage; trouble with law enforcement; and the deeply felt sense that there must be something more to life than great wealth. Leal's memoir, The House that Cheese Built, is both a quintessential immigrant success story—one that beautifully illustrates the immigrant isolation, fear, and ambition for a better life and assimilation—as well as a thoughtful personal account of entrepreneurship and all its benefits and costs.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 6, 2023
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 27, 2024
I enjoyed hearing the story of Miguel Leal’s life and business ventures. It was insightful and intriguing hearing how a person totally unlike me found success. The last few chapters took a surprising turn that kept me more engaged. Many of the lessons learned had me saying “YES” out loud. I would recommend to anyone else that enjoys nonfiction and business related content, and perhaps would be a good choice for someone interested in exploring entrepreneurship.
October 6, 2025
Awful. This story is all over the place. I skimmed and skipped pages. Poorly written. It was supposed to be inspiring as to how he started this company and offer sound advice to others. He was a hot mess and I would never take advice from him. What a waste of my time.
Don’t read!
Don’t read!
January 10, 2025
Can't remember how I came across this book but I wanted to knock if off my to be read list and finally found a used copy (for some reason none of my local libraries ever had it). The title had be interested and I wanted to know how this multi-billion corporation was built. This is the biography of how he worked his way up in factor jobs and suffered multiple hardships to become incredibly successful.
Leal gives us his life story, from growing up with an abusive, unfaithful father and decides to make a living for himself. He comes to the US, works lots of menial jobs and has to really work his way up in life. But these menial, hard jobs eventually give him the ideas that will help him become a successful businessman. But unfortunately it is not without a price: within a very short time he loses his wife, passport and freedom and goes to prison.
And it is clear this came at a cost. Even though he learned a lot through these experiences, it is clear that this was not without a toll: he has had to rebuild/work on his relationships with his children and found that his immediate family only saw him as a piggy bank. To be clear, it is probably worth remembering that we only have his side of the story and do not know how his children viewed him as a father, how his family saw him as a brother, son, etc. But all the same the sense of alienation was not a surprise to me, either.
Overall, it was an interesting story and he has a compelling voice. I did think that this was a book that could have used better editing though, and found this ultimately skimmable. I also can't say I found the cheese/entrepreneurial parts interesting either but that is more of a personal preference than anything else.
I did think that this was worth a read and something I did need to read right now. Without some of the highly negative rhetoric about immigrants, it is a good reminder that many go through years and even decades of toil and hard work and never even see even 1% of the same success that Leal has had. This isn't meant to be a criticism of those immigrants or Leal or to set anybody up against each other, but it made me wonder what it would be like if the system was a little different and what sort of success we could see if we gave more people the means and removed the stigma of things like being an immigrant.
I liked this and would have preferred to have been able to find this as a library borrow but did not mind buying it as a used book. If you have specific interests in him, his story and how he got to where he is today, etc. this might be a good read but otherwise it's probably skippable for a lot of people.
Leal gives us his life story, from growing up with an abusive, unfaithful father and decides to make a living for himself. He comes to the US, works lots of menial jobs and has to really work his way up in life. But these menial, hard jobs eventually give him the ideas that will help him become a successful businessman. But unfortunately it is not without a price: within a very short time he loses his wife, passport and freedom and goes to prison.
And it is clear this came at a cost. Even though he learned a lot through these experiences, it is clear that this was not without a toll: he has had to rebuild/work on his relationships with his children and found that his immediate family only saw him as a piggy bank. To be clear, it is probably worth remembering that we only have his side of the story and do not know how his children viewed him as a father, how his family saw him as a brother, son, etc. But all the same the sense of alienation was not a surprise to me, either.
Overall, it was an interesting story and he has a compelling voice. I did think that this was a book that could have used better editing though, and found this ultimately skimmable. I also can't say I found the cheese/entrepreneurial parts interesting either but that is more of a personal preference than anything else.
I did think that this was worth a read and something I did need to read right now. Without some of the highly negative rhetoric about immigrants, it is a good reminder that many go through years and even decades of toil and hard work and never even see even 1% of the same success that Leal has had. This isn't meant to be a criticism of those immigrants or Leal or to set anybody up against each other, but it made me wonder what it would be like if the system was a little different and what sort of success we could see if we gave more people the means and removed the stigma of things like being an immigrant.
I liked this and would have preferred to have been able to find this as a library borrow but did not mind buying it as a used book. If you have specific interests in him, his story and how he got to where he is today, etc. this might be a good read but otherwise it's probably skippable for a lot of people.
August 9, 2023
“The House that Cheese Built: The Unusual Life of the Mexican Immigrant Who Defined a Multibillion-Dollar Global Industry” by Miguel A. Leal is a sterling memoir that illustriously depicts an immigrant’s experiences, and how, despite endless hardships created his life path to eventually build a billion-dollar cheese company. The text also offers a broad exposition of the general entrepreneurship field and its provisions, and hopefully, readers will gain new perspectives and soak up some inspiration about the vocation.
Prosperity and satisfaction are within anyone’s grasp as the author looks to demonstrate. Having survived cruel beatings and a near-death catastrophe at the hands of his father, Leal would stay determined to attain success in the face of very demoralizing occurrences. As readers will come to realize, Leal’s heart-wracking woes had seen him sink into a very unfamiliar world after losing his freedom, passport, and wife, all in one week. Through breath-taking narration, he convincingly allows his audience into his intimate ventures, through which he discovered how to make cheese, as well as how to keep learning from failures just as one would from successes.
This text tells a lot about the author’s low-paid and hourly factory jobs from where the idea of beginning his cheese enterprise was bred. It is therefore a perfect guidebook for new and aspiring entrepreneurs who may want practical guidance on how to start their businesses. It has been designed to educate and inspire, and by the end of it, readers will not only be able to set small and incremental goals that are realistic to achieve but will also be able to view every obstacle on their way as a learning opportunity.
“The House That Cheese Built: The Unusual Life of the Mexican Immigrant Who Defined a Multibillion-Dollar Global Industry” is a title that inspires with its timeless appeal for intrepidity. Miguel A. Leal’s story is riveting and will inspire entrepreneurs to put together products that people will enjoy, to test the perimeters of invention, and to become entrepreneurial gurus with business plans that can challenge prominent world industries.
Prosperity and satisfaction are within anyone’s grasp as the author looks to demonstrate. Having survived cruel beatings and a near-death catastrophe at the hands of his father, Leal would stay determined to attain success in the face of very demoralizing occurrences. As readers will come to realize, Leal’s heart-wracking woes had seen him sink into a very unfamiliar world after losing his freedom, passport, and wife, all in one week. Through breath-taking narration, he convincingly allows his audience into his intimate ventures, through which he discovered how to make cheese, as well as how to keep learning from failures just as one would from successes.
This text tells a lot about the author’s low-paid and hourly factory jobs from where the idea of beginning his cheese enterprise was bred. It is therefore a perfect guidebook for new and aspiring entrepreneurs who may want practical guidance on how to start their businesses. It has been designed to educate and inspire, and by the end of it, readers will not only be able to set small and incremental goals that are realistic to achieve but will also be able to view every obstacle on their way as a learning opportunity.
“The House That Cheese Built: The Unusual Life of the Mexican Immigrant Who Defined a Multibillion-Dollar Global Industry” is a title that inspires with its timeless appeal for intrepidity. Miguel A. Leal’s story is riveting and will inspire entrepreneurs to put together products that people will enjoy, to test the perimeters of invention, and to become entrepreneurial gurus with business plans that can challenge prominent world industries.
April 19, 2025
The House That Cheese Built by Miguel Leal
The House That Cheese Built is an inspiring story of grit, humility, and unwavering purpose. Miguel Leal takes readers through his journey from humble beginnings, confronting life’s challenges with a character rooted in authenticity—one that never wavered, no matter how high he rose.
His path to achieving the American dream is powerful, yet what stands out most is his realization that true success lies in discovering one’s purpose. While business triumphs brought him to the highest levels, they also brought difficult moments—where success turned sour. Still, Miguel remained resilient, stayed true to who he was, and ultimately found vindication by returning to his roots.
One of the most moving takeaways from this story is the quiet reminder that life has a way of putting good people in your path—if you choose to believe. This book is more than an entrepreneurial story; it’s a testament to resilience, commitment, and staying grounded in what truly matters.
The House That Cheese Built is an inspiring story of grit, humility, and unwavering purpose. Miguel Leal takes readers through his journey from humble beginnings, confronting life’s challenges with a character rooted in authenticity—one that never wavered, no matter how high he rose.
His path to achieving the American dream is powerful, yet what stands out most is his realization that true success lies in discovering one’s purpose. While business triumphs brought him to the highest levels, they also brought difficult moments—where success turned sour. Still, Miguel remained resilient, stayed true to who he was, and ultimately found vindication by returning to his roots.
One of the most moving takeaways from this story is the quiet reminder that life has a way of putting good people in your path—if you choose to believe. This book is more than an entrepreneurial story; it’s a testament to resilience, commitment, and staying grounded in what truly matters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2023
Come for the intriguing autobiography, stay for the compelling business and life strategies.
August 28, 2024
Interesting story but too much cussing.
October 30, 2025
This book was very poorly written
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews