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

by Rob Reid

Enter the high-powered, high-pressure, high-caffeine world of the most prestigious MBA program in the country in this real-life account of a typical student's first year at Harvard Business School. Robert Reid had spent two years working for a major consulting firm before enrolling at Harvard. Once there, what he found was a combination of country club-like settings and sometimes draconian academic traditions that combined to make Harvard's MBA one of the most sought-after and potentially lucrative advanced degrees in the world. From the grueling application process and the anxiety surrounding classroom seating assignments, to the fierce jockeying for professors' attention and the bizarre courtship rituals leading businesses use to lure Harvard enrollees, Reid chronicles the heady and exhausting experiences that every HBS student faces. Along with his own story, Reid follows other students, showing us what HBS offers to its increasingly diverse student body: women, foreign students, the star performers, and the strugglers. The threat of being challenged into class discussions by professors, the demanding daily preparation of case studies, and the occasional sharklike behavior of fellow students alternate with the pampering of a spalike athletic facility, meetings with legendary business world figures, and expensive nights on the town with corporate recruiters. HBS's highly paid and influential faculty appear in all their glory and humanity, surrounded by awed students and occasional controversy about their teaching styles and business theories - as well as their grading policies and uncompromising rules about class attendance. For anyone interested or involved in the world of business, Year One gives you an inside look at the breeding grounds where many of America's most powerful and influential business figures get their real start.

Genres: Fiction, Business, Education

331 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Rob Reid is a writer and technology entrepreneur based in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. He's the author of "Year Zero" (Del Rey, 2012) - a novel about aliens with a mad passion for human music. He also wrote "Year One" (William Morrow, 1994), a memoir about student life at Harvard Business School; and "Architects of the Web" (Wiley, 1997), which chronicles the rise of the Internet as a commercial medium. His other writings have included a cover story for Wired Magazine, as well as prominent features in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Business 2.0, and the Gilder Technology Report. He has also written for countless websites, including Ars Technica, Wired.com, and Spinner.com.

Rob was the founder, CEO, and Chairman of Listen.com, the online music company that developed the Rhapsody music service. Listen was the first online music company to secure full-catalog licenses from all of the major labels. Rob sold Listen to RealNetworks. Viacom's MTV Networks division later bought half of Rhapsody, and in March of 2010 it was spun out as an independent company. Rhapsody now has over a million paying subscribers.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a good thing that i'd never be able to get into harvard business school, because from this first hand account i am entirely positive i would be miserable there. robert reid does a fantastic job of portraying the experience of attending what is arguably the most exclusive business school in the country. it certainly takes a certain kind of individual- a driven, high energy, and extremely self-motivated human being- to survive the cutthroat competition.

the last third of the book drags on a bit (hence the 4 stars instead of 5), but this is definitely a recommended book for anyone who, like myself, had no idea what goes on at business school but wanted to find out. robert reid might just save you two years of your life that you wouldn't get back.

[Jon Derbyshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic writing style. Enjoyed every page!

[Kate Millin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the information about hownthe courses work (which was refreshingly frank) very interesting. I had to grit my teeth through the fraternity bits as I do not like the attitudes and behaviours exhibited when doing skits or drinking to exces- but that is no different to how I was when iwas at university! I had thought of doing a business MBA in the past, this book has stimulated my wish to go back to learning as I used to love doing case studies and having stimulating debates. All in all an interesting read, but a style and world that I find too selfish to ever want to enter.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lets you see into the world of a what a Harvard Business School student experiences. Beginning with the difficult application process through the bizarre classroom structure and hierarchy. Everything has meaning in HBS. It's gives you the feel of an entirely different world of academia than most of us are used to. I highly recommend it.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

"An accurate, detailed look at the first year at HBS. Gets a little dull reviewing all the classes and interviews, but well seasoned with classic B-schools stories. Much more interesting for anyone who has, or will, attend HBS."

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have preferred more depth. The best part were the job interviews.

I disliked his lack of a solution for the case-studies. The case study is the essence of HBS. He would give the details of a case, but he wouldn't provide his thoughts on a solution, nor anyone else's thoughts in the class.

[Enrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a criticism on modern day copyright law and the overall legal complex monsters it has created.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some clever story lines and jabs at the recording industry. Not on the Pratchett/Adams level though.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

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