Outsider's fascinating insight into Intel CEO

Dec. 24--As a business historian, Richard Tedlow usually writes about people who are dead. His new book, "Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American," is a departure for this renowned Harvard Business School professor, since Grove, the former CEO of Intel, is alive and kicking.

Tedlow was able to interview his subject extensively over 3 1/2 years and write what he calls "the first draft of history." The result is a fascinating window into Grove, who was one of the driving forces behind the evolution of Silicon Valley, the computer industry and the information revolution for decades. Grove was so successful as a survivor, one observer cited by Tedlow notes, that he will be remembered as the "man who made paranoia respectable."

Tedlow interviewed more than 90 people and cites nearly a hundred pages of sources in the notes for the book. Among the details that expose the man behind the legend: We learn about how Grove fought off cancer and faced a new diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Tedlow tackled this story even though he knew that Grove was one of the most documented CEOs in history and was himself a prolific author. In an interview, Tedlow said he knew he could bring a fresh perspective as a Silicon Valley outsider.

The first 66 pages of Tedlow's book recast Grove's 2002 autobiography, "Swimming Across," which chronicles his Hungarian childhood during the Holocaust in World War II and his escape from communist Hungary in 1956. Tedlow sheds light on the historical context surrounding Grove's childhood.

In the remaining 400 pages, Tedlow breaks a lot of new ground. His firsthand accounts include a description of the apartment in Hungary where Grove grew up. Tedlow also captures the differing accounts of meetings between industry giants, such as when Grove met with IBM's former CEO, Lou Gerstner, for the first time. Grove recalls giving Gerstner the sound advice that IBM should shift into the services business. Gerstner, meanwhile, remembered only that Grove wanted IBM to abandon its PowerPC chips and focus solely on Intel microprocessors.

The book is full of praise for Grove. I'm as prepared to call Grove brilliant as anyone else. Having met Tedlow, I think he's brilliant as well. But there are divergent views of Grove throughout Silicon Valley, and this is where the book fails to tap enough sources.

For instance, Tedlow doesn't examine whether Grove or Intel ever behaved in a monopolistic fashion, a reasonable question to ask since Intel faces an antitrust suit. He says that Grove isn't out to win popularity contests and that there are plenty of sore losers. Regardless, there are few interviews with Intel's foes.

Jerry Sanders, the former CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, was Grove's nemesis. They fought for eight years over AMD's right to clone Intel's microprocessors, a costly legal battle that Grove initiated by deciding to end a second-source manufacturing agreement with AMD. Yet Sanders' view of Grove isn't there, and Tedlow refers to the "always complaining" AMD. He admits toward the end that he isn't always a neutral observer, and he slams Tim Jackson, the author of "Inside Intel," which Tedlow calls "anti-Intel."

The word Itanium, which has come to represent Intel's most controversial chip project, doesn't even appear in the book even though Grove is the one who struck the crucial alliance with Hewlett-Packard to get Itanium started. I'm aware that even a long book can't cover everything. But Grove's best decisions get a lot of air time. His worst ones ought to as well.

Overall, the effect is to elevate Grove's stature while bringing down those around him, such as Grove's successor, Craig Barrett, and Intel's founder, Bob Noyce. This serves as a reminder that Tedlow is an outsider in Silicon Valley. Grove got along well with Tedlow over the years and even gave him a cubicle at Intel's Santa Clara headquarters. At the same time, Tedlow didn't let Grove screen the draft.

Tedlow and Grove alike acknowledge that parts of the book are "academic." A biography lends itself to narrative form, but Tedlow's academic digressions often interrupt the narrative flow. He discusses the fascist government of Hungary during World War II in great detail, and he has a section that explains why e-mail is important to major corporations.

I tolerated these passages as a reader because I believe that no one, aside perhaps from Andy Grove himself, has made such a sweeping analysis of Intel, its history and Grove's life as Tedlow. His access to the inner circle around Grove reveals, for instance, that Grove was the pig-headed decision-maker who didn't want to replace the flawed Pentium chips for free in 1994. In contrast, his then-lieutenant Barrett suggested early on that Intel replace the chips free of charge.

In certain parts, Tedlow lifts his academic veil and reveals his soul. During the writing, Tedlow's wife died of ovarian cancer. The dedication of the book to her is touching. And when he broaches Grove's struggle with prostate cancer, he writes with authority about what it feels like when someone informs you that you have cancer.

Overall, this book is fascinating and ought to be required reading for anyone who wants to understand Silicon Valley, even if it is written by someone outside the neighborhood. Thanks to people like Grove, we live in a global village.

ANDY GROVE:

THE LIFE AND TIMES

OF AN AMERICAN

By Richard Tedlow

Portfolio Hardcover,

576 pp., $29.95

Contact Dean Takahashi at dtakahashi@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5739.

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Copyright (c) 2006, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

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