By Sheila Orysiek
SAN DIEGO –Founder, President, CEO and Chairman of…..INTEL….
If you don’t recognize the name Andris Grof, perhaps you’ll recognize Andrew S. Grove. And if you don’t recognize that name, think “Intel Corp.” a hugely successful innovative company which Grove helped to found and served as President, CEO, and Chairman.
In his memoir, Swimming Across, Grove tells of his birth in Hungary, his childhood under the Nazis which, as a Jew, placed his family at special risk. His father was shipped off to a deadly labor camp while he and his mother faced the Nazi occupation alone. Rescued by the victorious Russian Army, they soon came to realize that such a rescue did not translate into the freedom for which they longed.
After the Hungarian uprising and the return of Russian tanks, Grof decides he must leave the country which he does by walking through the wintry forests to Austria. All through these threatening events and as well as some major physical challenges, he prevails; eventually coming to the United States, continuing his education, rescuing his family and achieving success in his adopted country.
The memoir ends as his road to success begins but he gives the reader enough information to know what happened. One suspects that to him it is more important to know what lay behind the happy ending than to explore the ending itself. As in the lives of most people who survive such challenges, though some luck is involved, it is their persistence and initiative – an affirmative approach to overcoming disaster – which enables them to succeed.
This is an engaging and well-written book.
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Orysiek is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via sheila.orysiek@sdjewishworld.com