#159 Andy Grove (Intel)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets. They're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high. So I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today. And I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. I was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1936 By the time I was 20, I had lived through a Hungarian fascist dictatorship, German military occupation, the Nazis' final solution, the siege of Budapest by the Soviet Red Army, a period of chaotic democracy in the years immediately after the war, a variety of repressive communist regimes, and a popular uprising that was put down at gunpoint. This is the story of that time and what happened to my family and me.
Before I tell my story, it may be helpful to provide some historical context. When I was born, Hungary was governed by the right-wing dictatorship aligned with Nazi Germany. During the early years of World War II, Hungary maintained a policy of armed neutrality. However, when Hitler's Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, Hungary abandoned that policy and declared war against the Allies.
For all intents and purposes, this meant declaring war against the Soviet Union. By 1943, the Soviet Army had the Germans and their Hungarian allies in retreat, and the front began to work its way through Hungary toward the capital, Budapest. The Germans occupied Hungary in March 1944, and in October, installed an extreme fascist government.
Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann, who oversaw the implementation of the Nazis' final solution, took personal charge of the deportation and extermination of Hungarian Jews.
Within four months, virtually all Hungarian Jews living outside of Budapest had been deported. The great majority of them were killed in concentration camps.
Before the process could be extended to Budapest, the rapidly deteriorating military situation, the Soviet forces were advancing on Budapest, and the Western Allies had successfully landed in Normandy and Italy, forced a halt to the deportations.
In January 1945, after street to street and house to house fighting, the Soviet army pushed the Germans out of Budapest and by mid-April out of the rest of Hungary as well. Instead of a German occupation army, there was now a Soviet occupation army.
The Communist Party gained more and more influence and finally consolidated its position in 1948
Persecution intensified during the last few years of the life of the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, with purges, arrests, imprisonment and deportation affecting the lives of broader and broader circles of people.
Stalin died in March 1953 and a gradual relaxation of totalitarian controls took place.
Over the next few years, this process accelerated until it culminated in a rebellion against the Communist government, which was known as the Hungarian Revolution of October 1956 That revolt lasted for 13 days and was then put down by Soviet armed forces. Many young people were killed. Some 200,000 Hungarians escaped to the West.
I was one of them.
That was an excerpt from the book that I'm going to talk to you about today, which is The Autobiography of Andy Grove, and it's called Swimming Across. So over the years, several listeners have recommended this book to me. A few weeks ago, I was reading Walter Isaacson's book The Innovators, and Andy Grove is one of the characters in that book. And he quotes, Isaacson quotes from the opening of this autobiography where Andy is detailing all the different regime changes that he lived through for his first 20 years of life. So I immediately ordered the book, and I'm glad I did. It's one of the best books I have ever read. I stayed up late because I didn't want to go to bed without knowing what happened. I woke up early to try to finish the book. It was absolutely amazing. So let me go ahead and jump into it. I want to fast forward. He's five years, five to six years old.