Made in America

This book was quite amazing. It’s funny that there are people like Sam Walton, who decided to leave some heritage and write a piece like that.

It’s probably one of the top 10 business books which I’ve read and really liked.

The book starts with Walton reaching a problematic moment of realizing he’s the no. 1 on the list of the richest American, and news rumoring about him leaving fairly modest life in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walton then backtracks his life from the beginning, by starting from the beginning - on how he was born and raised in pretty typical family, in times of great depression, where every penny counted.

Married early on, he seemed to be a true family man. His store started from the loan he got from his father-in-law. The loan paid back in 2 years started a chain of stores which later were destined to become what we now know as Wal-mart.

Book explains problems and issues Walton experienced over duration of the Wal-Mart. He presents what his mission was and how he persued business. He presented himself as a man of great integrity, who seems to have taken lots of care about the business ethics (at least in the final Wal-Mart: he makes a remarks he himself didn’t come up with employee compensation program, but his wife did instead).

Wife and family is an important part of the book. Basically it shows Walton as a person who started to be a bit “into the mood” of growing Walmart. One of the most interesting moments in the book is wife confession that she at some point realized there will be no way to stop Sam from growing their family’s fortune by expending the store’s chain.

If you want to learn the background and the history of one of the world’s largest corporations.

Must read for anybody interested in entrepreneurship.