As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty
As I See It was one of the increasing number of autobiographies I came across through the Founders podcast. I’m always interested to learn more about successful figures both past and present and must admit that I knew little about J. Paul Getty until the podcast introduced me to him.
A lot of people read autobiographies but my general sense is they read ones of people that mean something to their lives either present, from earlier life or are of notable figures they look up to. I seek out any and all autobiographies and biographies on successful businessmen and women, entrepreneurs and pioneers to learn lessons about their success and just to get a better feel for the type of person they were.
As I See It is a mid-length read at just over 300 pages and although it has its slower moving chapters I generally found this to be entertaining and enjoyable. It’s interesting getting under the hood of people who were successful during this period and seeing what made them tick. There are numerous amusing anecdotes along with a continual underlying theme of a somewhat workaholic albeit that’s to be expected given the scale of business J.P Getty created.
His work ethic didn’t however come without its casualties across both marriages and his children with some heart wrenching accounts of some of his unfortunate losses of loved ones. It’s also interesting when reading it with an understanding of economics and especially the nature of global debt since the 1970’s to see how some things have changed with regards to scale yet the practices of government and abuse of funding through debt have stayed the same. Getty makes a few assertions as to the likely outcome and how long the music can go on for during the book and I can only imagine what he would say if he were to find out the trillions in debt the US have racked up today.
As he works through the chapters he interweaves principles on business, success and governance however in general this is a read for something with a curiosity for the lifestyle, habits and experiences of a successful figure of the past less than a book on business.
Who’s it for?
I put this in the casual read section of my library albeit I know that may not be the classification an autobiography of this nature will sit in for all. It’s all down to personal taste but if you’re interested in a biography of a successful businessman who grew an oil empire during this era this is one of the more entertaining and easy reads I’ve come across.