How Starbucks Saved My Life (2007)

I read this book because I was having one of THOSE Saturday mornings. Have you ever had one of those mornings when you just need something… something to read and since your wife is one of those really wonderfully bookish people you happen to have just stacks and stacks of books handy and can pick something rather randomly and sit down to read it? It’s rather like living in a library staffed by an impossibly sweet and wonderful person who you also happen to get to sleep next to. At any rate, I digress. I picked up this book at random and … well, after a couple of days I can’t say that I’m disappointed in the book itself but I do find myself rather disappointed with the reality therein presented.

It’s worth noting that I am by nature a cynical person and I get that the wealthy in this country are detached from the reality of the less fortunate. I don’t expect them to know how it is “growing up in the hood” but the author of this book seems more hopelessly clueless than one could reasonably imagine. Sure, he grew up in affluence but he seems almost ignorant that there are people in the world who are NOT affluent. His writing style is child-like and his themes, at least from the viewpoint of a lower-middle class person, are obvious and pedantic. There’s no news here.

What is refreshing and inspiring is his view of Starbucks as a corporation. I’m not a coffee-drinker so I’m about as detached from this company as they come. I bought some stock a while back… and then sold it, but that hardly counts as knowing their culture. Admittedly I’m a bit old-fashioned. I want a company (and a job at said company) to be a family. Not a family born out of a common enemy like a U.S. Marine’s drill Sargent, but a family born out of a common goal and a real sense of supportiveness. Gill’s portrayal of Starbucks is exactly that. I’m sure that he’s taken plenty of artistic license with the reality of working at Starbucks, but if even half of what he says is accurate then it’s a step up from the average corporate reality.

To sum up, the book is a unique viewpoint. It’s one that we never think about generally because we assume that nobody’s actually that naïve. Clearly though, there are some that ARE that naïve. One feels for the narrator in the same way one feels for Lenny in Of Mice and Men just before he gets shot in the head. Mercifully, our narrator survives but he does have the same dopey aspect that makes one feel sorry for him nonetheless. ( )

Cute story about a 63-year-old man who finds himself in need of health insurance and a job. And he finds one at a Starbucks in NYC. I started working at Starbucks about a month ago, so I can definitely relate to the struggles Mike goes through. Being a barista is hard work! But it's also A LOT of fun! Good book for everyone...Starbucks employees, customers, and even the skeptics. ( )

(7 1/2 hours) True story of a very accomplished Yale graduate living in New York City, with a very successful career with an advertising agency. He is a man that becomes very hard on himself for not having experienced poverty growing up as if poverty were a badge of honor and more sincere than wealth. The wealthy are depecticed from his perspective as all arragant and maybe even evil. But, this is his life story.
Anyway, at the age of 64, he is fired from the advertising agency, has an affair, discovers he has health problems, his wife divorces him, there is a surprise baby from the affair, and he finally runs out of money. When he realizes he has missed seeing his 4 children grow up from overwork, and his life is in shambles, he knows he is at the bottom. He is sitting in a Starbucks when a manager askes him if he is looking for a job and assumes he is there to apply. He decides to go for it and gets the job. THe story tells of the Starbucks principals of respect, rewarding job opportunities and dignity for all as the reason Michael Gates Gill was able to recover from the disaster he made of his life. A very warm and persoanl account with lessons for all of us in humility. His humor is enjoyable throughout. Narration engaging and easy to listen to. ( )

I read this book because I was having one of THOSE Saturday mornings. Have you ever had one of those mornings when you just need something… something to read and since your wife is one of those really wonderfully bookish people you happen to have just stacks and stacks of books handy and can pick something rather randomly and sit down to read it? It’s rather like living in a library staffed by an impossibly sweet and wonderful person who you also happen to get to sleep next to. At any rate, I digress. I picked up this book at random and … well, after a couple of days I can’t say that I’m disappointed in the book itself but I do find myself rather disappointed with the reality therein presented.

It’s worth noting that I am by nature a cynical person and I get that the wealthy in this country are detached from the reality of the less fortunate. I don’t expect them to know how it is “growing up in the hood” but the author of this book seems more hopelessly clueless than one could reasonably imagine. Sure, he grew up in affluence but he seems almost ignorant that there are people in the world who are NOT affluent. His writing style is child-like and his themes, at least from the viewpoint of a lower-middle class person, are obvious and pedantic. There’s no news here.

What is refreshing and inspiring is his view of Starbucks as a corporation. I’m not a coffee-drinker so I’m about as detached from this company as they come. I bought some stock a while back… and then sold it, but that hardly counts as knowing their culture. Admittedly I’m a bit old-fashioned. I want a company (and a job at said company) to be a family. Not a family born out of a common enemy like a U.S. Marine’s drill Sargent, but a family born out of a common goal and a real sense of supportiveness. Gill’s portrayal of Starbucks is exactly that. I’m sure that he’s taken plenty of artistic license with the reality of working at Starbucks, but if even half of what he says is accurate then it’s a step up from the average corporate reality.

To sum up, the book is a unique viewpoint. It’s one that we never think about generally because we assume that nobody’s actually that naïve. Clearly though, there are some that ARE that naïve. One feels for the narrator in the same way one feels for Lenny in Of Mice and Men just before he gets shot in the head. Mercifully, our narrator survives but he does have the same dopey aspect that makes one feel sorry for him nonetheless. ( )

They say Tom Hunks will play " Mike" in this story. If it come true I'll really be looking forward to seeing the movie! ( )