The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond

by Peter G. Peterson

Book Overview

With insight and refreshing candor, Peter G. Peterson describes his remarkable life story beginning in Kearney, Nebraska as an eight-year-old manning the cash register at his father's Greek diner through his "Mad Men" advertising days, to Secretary of Commerce in Nixon's paranoid White House, to the tumultuous days of Lehman Brothers, and to the creation of The Blackstone Group, one of the great financial enterprises in recent times. In The Education...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446556033
• ISBN13: 9780446556033
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Twelve
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Read!!

If you are of Greek descent like myself this book should be required reading! However once you dive into to it and because of today's economic climate this book is spot on and will be a great read for everyone! Especially once you find out that Mr. Peterson was once CEO of Lehman Bros, and was able to save them from a certain collapse 30yrs ago!

Fascinating story of an over achieving Forest Gump!

I loved this book! His is the life I've been envisioning for myself (except for the couple of divorces) even before I knew who Pete Peterson was. It is a candid biography and a look at his successes and failures and the role of being at the right place at the right time even when some of the events could be construed as unfortunate. If his life story were to be made into the movie, the movie pitch would probably be "A Super Achieving Forrest Gump". The list of people that he's crossed paths with and befriended from his childhood to now, front seats at major events some of which had changed the course of history is just astonishing. I couldn't beleive that I haven't heard of him, but a quiet life surrounded by friends and family is what I had envisioned for myself as well. My first exposure to him was on Charlie Rose. His sincerity and integrity during his interview came through. [...] Peter Peterson's fascinating journey from marketing and business to politics, starting up the Blackstone Group to philanthropy will leave you yearning to meet Mr. Peterson in person. Colin

A Monument to his ego

Buy this book if you hate money. This book in his attempt to suggest that he has been guided by a moral compass. He sold his interest in Blackstone by going public at $30.00 and now the stock in $10.00 in two years. Reads great until you take the time to learn about his reality. This is the first book that I deleted from my Kindle. He talks about his upbringing in Nebraska and then his being thrown out of MIT for cheating as a childhood error. On to the Nixon administration, president of Lehman Brothers for a while and then formed his partnership with Schwartzman which enabled him to receive $1.8 billion when they went public. Now he has set up this foundation of One billion dollars as a monument to his "Financial Success", but committed to "making the financial system better". This is the same system that enabled him to amass this money. But he is going to do it by working with Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Henry Kissenger to give back. He should give the money to Bill Gates who would do a much better job quietly. Peterson has an ego bigger than Donald Trump, except he has the delusion of thinking that he lived by a moral compass. His Tax free foundation will figure out a way to avoid taxes, while he builds his monument

Smart, Insightful Read

Born to Greek immigrants and raised in Kearney, Nebraska in the 1930's, Peter Petersen learned the meaning of thrift and hard work from his father, who ran a 24-hour diner. From a young age, Peterson practiced his sales skills by selling meal cards to the diner's patrons; he did exceptionally well in his studies and set his sights on something bigger than the small town of Kearney. After a short stint at MIT and figuring out that he was not cut out for engineering, Peterson enrolled at Northwestern University. His first post-college job was arguably the only dud of a job in Peterson's career, and he quickly realized that his "comparative advantage" did not lie in retail. What followed was a string of positions that led to Petersen being labeled as the "wunderkind" and the "economic Kissinger", among others. He was the youngest Vice President of an advertising company McCann-Erickson at age 27, the genius CEO at Black Bell & Howell, the commerce secretary under Nixon, CEO of Lehman Brothers, co-founder of the Blackstone Group, served on numerous boards and foundations and advised presidents on a variety of topics. What sets Peterson apart is his lack of "preachiness". He does not pretend to know everything about building a career and he is the first to admit that he had no plan for his own. Throughout the book, he often refers to his promotions and achievements as just "dumb luck". What Peterson does do is bring attention to many worthwhile issues - some of the discussions sprinkled throughout the book focus on economic foreign policy, Cold War, U.S.' relationships with hostile countries, the Nixon administration and most importantly, U.S.' burgeoning budget deficits. Peterson is a strong believer that unless we make significant changes, our fiscal irresponsibility and the country's growing debt will significantly jeopardize future generations. His commitment to this issue has led to his latest project, the creation of the Peter G. Peterson foundation, to which he donated $1 billion of his own money. If you're never picked up an autobiography before and even if you're not really interested in business and politics - try this book anyway. I doubt you will regret it. Peterson's candid writing interspersed with stories about his parents, his wives (he had three) and children (five) is very personal and enjoyable. His life is very compelling and there are many lessons to be learned in "The Education of an American Dreamer". If nothing else, you will appreciate the story of a true American dream, of pulling oneself up from meager beginnings to a position of influence and privilege.

Extremely Relevant Book to Read Right Now

Pete Peterson's "The Education of an American Dreamer" is a summer reading book with extreme relevance to the worlds of business, finance, and public policy in the summer of 2009. One of the last true "lions of Wall Street," and one of America's most concerned public citizens, Peterson here tells his life story with serious introspection and often searing candor. From his origins in a Greek immigrant family in Nebraska, to becoming a billionaire with the success of The Blackstone Group, Peterson has never lost his ethical and moral bearings. For anyone thinking about the major issues faced by American business and by the Obama administration as we rebuild the American economy and the American dream, this is required reading. For any young person thinking about a career in finance or in government, this is a book that should be read before you go to your next interview.