Book Review

pwk_logoPublishers Weekly - Nonfiction Book Reviews: 10/19/09

The Road to Someplace Better: From the Segregated South to Harvard Business School and Beyond Lillian Lincoln Lambert, with Rosemary Brutico. Wiley, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-470-40166-8

This is an old-fashioned rags-to-riches story that traces Lambert's upbringing as the daughter of God-fearing Virginia subsistence farmers to becoming the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Business School, in year 1969, and later attaining success as a Maryland entrepreneur. Told in straightforward, no-nonsense prose, Lambert's memoir begins backward, from the shocking anecdote about arriving for a meeting of a group of powerful businesswomen in New York City in 1986 and being ushered to the kitchen. In fact, Lambert née Hobson worked as a maid when she first arrived in New York City in 1958, fresh out of high school from Ballsville, Va. (Her 1976 startup of a janitorial service in Maryland provides another irony.) Although her mother, a rare college graduate back in the rural South, wanted her daughter to go to college, Lambert resolved to support herself instead, faking references to get a job at Macy's, for example. After working as a clerk-typist in Washington, D.C., she finally applied to Howard University, where her marketing professor, H. Naylor Fitzhugh, one of the few black graduates of Harvard's business school told her she was “Harvard material” and should apply. She was accepted and in the fall of 1967 at 27 years old, she found herself homesick, overwhelmed by the work, but determined not to quit. Her account captures a historic epoch and offers some business strategies. (Jan.)
 

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Alisa L. Griffin, Business Analyst II
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield

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Angela B. Creech, JD
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

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Donna Rominiecki, Partner
Vmeals (Point & Click Meals, LLC)

"Lillian Lambert tells a compelling story of her rise from humble origins to making history as the first African-American woman to earn an MBA from Harvard. Her strength of character, sage advice, coupled with her no-nonsense delivery, will resonate on some meaningful level with everyone in the audience."

Bill Bussey, Provost
Noble and Greenough School

"Lillian's guiding principles are solid, inspirational and motivational. Her resume is impressive. Overcoming all kinds of obstacles, she has achieved success - academic (MBA - Harvard) and entrepreneurial. She embodies her principles. Excellent presentation!"

Dr. Clark Scanlon, Retired
Baptist International Board

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Mary Foley, Woman In Charge
Bodacious! Ventures

"Thank you, Lillian! At about 4:30 this morning, I finished reading your book. What a great, inspiring story! I’m really in awe of you and of all you’ve accomplished. You’re a wonderful role model, not only for African-American girls, but for all young people, regardless of gender or color! I’m honored to be able to call you a friend."

Charles O. Heller
Former Member, Dingman Center
University of Maryland

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Jill F. Reynolds, Business Owner
Party Perfect

"I just finished reading your book. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I loved reading about your family, your hard work to get through Howard and Harvard and the beginning and growth of your business. But it was the chapters on leadership that I wish I had been able to have in front of me when I was a manager."

Janice Robinson
Federal Government Manager

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Darnell Glass
Mount Sinai Rehabilitation

"I met you last week at James River High School and purchased your book. I finished reading it over the weekend and I must say I Loved your book. Thank you so very much for sharing of yourself to the world. I was very inspired by your testimony and I'm sure the book only touched the surface of all you endured on your journey to success."

Teshia Wright, Broker
Ivy League Realty, LLC

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Alison W. Eckis, Employee Benefits Specialist
Straus, Itzkowitz & LeCompte

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Gayle Taylor, Vice President
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"Excellent presentation! As a 'very late bloomer', I am inspired to keep reaching, keep planning and enjoy the journey."

Rose Boeckman
Virginia Cooperative Extension

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