Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant That Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech by Geoffrey Cain

Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant That Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech Reviews

• 
  Chip Huyen

  Geoff is one of my oldest friends and mentors. I read the book proposal 4 (or maybe 5?) years ago and my first reaction was: “I want to read this book. Now.” Even though I grew up in Vietnam and not South Korea, Samsung was visible in many aspects of my adolescence, yet I somehow knew very little about the company’s history and culture.
  
  I can’t think of a better person to write this book than Geoff. For almost a decade, I saw how hard Geoff worked. He uncovered many of Samsung’s secrets, wove them into a suspenseful story, and distilled the story into business lessons.
  
  There are many subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the way Asian people do business that not many westerners appreciate. I’m tired of having to explain to people our complex relationship with nepotism, bribery, authority. Geoff not only understands them -- he was able to contextualize them with insightful and often humorous observations. There are moments, including dad puns like “Seoul searching”, that make me chuckle.
  
  My only complaint is that I wish I had seen more of Geoff in the book. He’s so much fun to be around, but the book seems a bit formal, but maybe all business books are supposed to be formal.
  
  I’d recommend the book if you’re interested in learning more about one of the largest corporations in the world that nobody talks about, Asian business culture, technology, or if you’re just bored quarantining at home looking for a good read.
• 
  Jonathan Mckay

  42nd book of 2020: scraping the bottom.
  
  I've probably read too many books about business in the tech industry, but reading so many allows me to confidently place Samsung Rising at the bottom of the heap. This should be a fascinating read, considering the company's history: a chaebol that has survived in the era of smartphones and grown amidst competition from the world's fiercest competitors. Samsung is the only company that I've directly worked with and rolled my eyes at due to their many quirks, yet somehow they are responsible for the construction of my favorite building (Burj Dubai), the Android phone in my pocket, the flash memory in my iPhone, the washing machine in my home and many other things I probably don't even know about.
  
  The book had zero narrative about the broader Samsung company beyond hints of corruption scandals and strange behavior of its ruling family. I was hoping for a Samsung version of Alibaba's World or Kochland, but the author keeps the focus on tech-press coverage over the last 5 years, missing what I think is the more interesting story.
  
  Even within this myopic view of Samsung, the author misses the boat. Cain's chapters weave in and out of Samsung's scandals, but 90% of the book is bitter white dudes complaining about Samsung. I would have loved to understand more about how Samsung adopted Android, why they became such a brand powerhouse even by the time the S3 rolled around, and when they started finding product market fit. Between 2008 and now, the smartphone industry has been fascinating, but if you want a book about adapting in the iPhone era, read Losing the Signal. If you want a book about culture clashes and advertising at big hardware companies, Console Wars is better.
• 
  Yong Kwon

  The book begins with a robust narrative of Samsung's founding and the author adds interesting details about some of the company's organizational challenges here and there. However, it loses the central theme deeper it gets into the book. When one finishes the book, it is unclear what implications the reader are supposed to take away about Samsung.
• 
  Patrick Pilz

  I mean if you work in tech and read so much about Apple and its crimes against humanity, you may as well read up about the Republic of Samsung and its rise.
  
  I deduct some points, because this book is essentially the soap opera that used the smartphone and a common thread through the book, but hardly manages to tell the rest of the story. It feels a little bit incomplete as a business bio of the Korean giant, but quite interesting for those that like tech stories - and soap operas/family crime dramas.
• 
  Syed

  Mostly a negative commentary.
  
  The book tried to project as if Samsung is the worst company in the world, which is corrupt, hegemonic & a total outlaw.
  
  This Inside story, didn't tell anything positive or good happening in Samsung.
  
  It's difficult to digest for the western world, that any Asian Company can totally demolish the market, prestige & ego of western companies, but this happening & this will happen more often in future. I am looking forward for many more books of such sort!
• 
  Budd Margolis

  Delving deep into the mindset of the Samsung corporate empire, Geoffrey Cain reveals how one Chaebol thinks, acts and reacts. Layer upon complex layer of the family relationships and political intrigue is revealed while the super supplier and developer crafts a path to control the Korean economy, system and soul. This is not a complete thesis on the company but it provides a good introduction into many issues we have read about but in compression form a better viewpoint. Between the covers, I learned more about Korea than 6 visits. What is revealed is a corporate goliath that will do whatever is required to accomplish the impossible and to drive people so hard they are bound to make mistakes as well as amazing products. The Apple vs Samsung War, the fall of the Korean leader, the cultural gap between the USA & Korean are all revealed. Those who own iPhones should remember that much of their mobile device owes its existence to Samsung parts. For every iPhone, Samsung makes about $110. I have owned several Samsung mobile devices, and still do, and admire them but this has no influence on my opinions of the book or the nation of Korea which I respect and admire.
• 
  Karolina

  Paskudne.
  Fanka urządzeń, hejtetka firmy.
  
  Dawno się tak bardzo nie wynudziłam.
  Spodziewałam się ciekawostek, a nie suchych niepotrzebnych informacji. Nic mi nie zostaje w pamięci. Nie polecam.
  
  I would give you a zero but is not possible so I give u a one
• 
  Rick Wilson

  There’s some interesting parts, and I definitely learned a lot about Samsung and how entwined it is with the South Korean government.
  
  But as a whole this book felt like a disjointed collection of news clippings. The chapters whiplash between one idea and another. It seemed like the author favored telling a story about “corruption“ or “nepotism” over painting a wholistic picture of the company. It seems like sometimes the facts and core mechanisms are secondary to whatever portrait the author already had in his head. After describing the failure of the note 7 and all of the adjacent technology failures and neglects that likely lead to their batteries exploding, the author as an afterthought acknowledges that Samsung, a year later, has the highest profits they’ve ever had.
  
  I was left with the impression that the author favor sensationalism and punchy blurbs over a compelling and holistic picture. Undoubably corruption and nepotism are parts of Samsungs story but my opinion is that they were oversold here at the expense of writing a good book.
• 
  Cedric Chin

  This reads like a Korean drama, but you learn something useful about the world. This book is a great sideways introduction to South Korea, to Samsung's place in South Korea, to chaebols and zaibatsus, and to conglomerates in the Far East. Recommended.
• 
  Dariusz Nawojczyk

  Tak się powinno pisać książki o firmach i metodach ich działania. Autor jest w niektórych krajach nawet persona non grata poprzez ujawnienie sekretów Samsunga – czegoś, co w sumie trudno nazwać firmą w ogóle. Jeśli chcecie się dowiedzieć, jak się naprawdę robi biznes na szczytach, zachęcam do lektury.
• 
  Yen Nguyen

  This is a surprisingly interesting book that I have to read for my Korean Organizations and Management class. I learned a lot about Samsung's structure and Korean culture throughout the book. I really loved the humor and the sarcasm of the author. Gotta write a response paper for my class now, all in all, highly recommended!
• 
  Karen

  Interesting read. I'd forgotten about the Note 7 debacle (where the phone would spontaneously combust) and The Next Big Things ad series (
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWnun... ).
• 
  Ксеня Шпак

  Вражає любов корейців ходити строєм - якщо не державним, то корпоративним. А ще всі вже давно пожартували про модель смартфону Самсунг, яка вибухала, а я тільки-но дізналася :D
  Самсунг починався як крамничка хавки.
  Очільники Самсунг постійно мають трабли через хабарництво політикам.
  Але працювати у Самсунг все одно офігенно, ти типу всього досяг, якщо ти там.
  Треба бути дуже вірним корпорації, в походи ходити, влаштовувати на день народження корпорації приблизно те, що китайці на свої криваві комуняцькі свята, тобто флешмоби з сотнями учасників, які репетирують у вільний час.
  Хитрий Джобс хотів запатентувати прямокутну форму планшета тільки для себе, але не вийшло.
  А так Епл і Самсунг постійно судяться, в Америці зазвичай виграє Епл, у світі - ні.
  
• 
  Ania

  A must read for anyone interested in the Asian culture and companies originated from there. This is a story about one of the biggest tech and consumer electronics companies in the world and how Samsung became a company that's responsible for around 20% of GDP in South Korea. Its also a story about bribery, nepotism and hierarchy vs the western corporate culture. Both entertaining and scary.
  
  It's an enjoyable read, although later on the author focuses mostly on the mobile phones and the competition between Apple and Samsung. I would love to read more about other products offered by Samsung, such as televisions, vacuum cleaners, fridges and its military part. Still a great read as it gives you a glimpse to the South Korea world, its society and politics.
• 
  Ammara

  Gifted to me by the lovely Michelle!
  
  I was completely taken in by this incisive ride through Samsung's dramatic and trouble ridden history and their incredible rise to one of the top tech companies around today. The book is extremely well-researched and covers the Lee dynasty and their controversial influence on South Korean politics...Samsung's wars with Sony, Google and Apple as well as the cumbersome in-fighting amongst the Samsung Men.
  
  While the book doesn't give you any specific takeaways, you can't help but wondering, what's next for the Koren tech giant?
• 
  Dan Bourne

  Samsung is such a inbiquious brand with a fascinating rise to success story. It was very interesting to read into the history, corporate culture and politics of Samsung. I also liked finding out how the name Samsung came about. I never realised or thought much about how powerful the company is in South Korea, or how inter-dependent a country can be with one company that contributes so much to the economy.
  
  Being passionate about technology, I would have loved to learn more about the variety of consumer products it sells, the evolution of its technology and innovations its had, and more insight into where they might be heading in the future. Understandably, the focus was on its most prominent product line the Galaxy smartphone. Overall I found this a great read. Very well researched and written.
• 
  Jenny K

  In one part of the book, Miky Lee, one of the founding father's descendants who went into entertainment (and was on stage during Parasite's Oscar win, BTW) noticed, when she attended Harvard, that no one was taking Korean; students either chose Japanese because they admired the culture, or Chinese for utility. This bothered her greatly. It reminded me of one of my professors in Japanese history who said, I actually wanted to study Korea, after being in the Korean war, but there were no classes, no research, no demand, and no jobs in it.
  
  I loved languages, and I studied Japanese and Chinese (plus Russian, French, Esperanto, and Spanish). Korean probably would've been way down there on the list, somewhere after Sanskrit. But in recent years, Korean culture has burst onto the global consciousness, in music, in comics, in movies, in TV, in automotive industry, in politics, in tech, in so many ways. And boy do I wish now I had learned some Korean when my brain was more plastic! Miky Lee and her generation has succeeded in making the world curious about their culture.
  
  So I decided to read this book as an intro to business in Korea, and an intro to Korea too. That is does very well. Samsung is a huge brand, you see it everywhere, but not much is known; this book cracks the door open. The subtitle is accurate, most of the book will focus on the mobile phone industry and Samsung's competition w/Apple. The stories told are limited by who would (or could) open up to the author (e.g. quite a bit on the marketing campaigns in the West, which, as an ops gal, I did roll my eyes a bit on their effectiveness). As a result, it does feel like a collection of articles, in-depth in a few areas, tantalizing in what might be missing (hey, I care about construction and kitchen appliances too!). Nonetheless, this is one of the first, easily accessible, easily-readable books on Korean business, easy for the Western reader, and I highly recommend it.
• 
  Martin, I stand with ISRAEL

  This book certainly was a history of Samsung. The author managed to fill the book with the most minute details and obsequious pictures of people. Neither did justice to this over worded book.
  
  Samsung is South Korea and South Korea is Samsung. If you are part of the ruling family of Samsung you can pretty much get away with murder.
  
  The other point is the desire to beat Apple’s iPhone. Samsung was able to beat Apple despite its many missteps. It took some smart Americans to help them.
  
  I rather have my iPhone.
• 
  Zee Nguyen

  I was excited to get started on this book, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. The book is too much like a k-drama plot. It lacks narrative and is poorly written. Overall, it just seems like a summary of tech news over the year (felt like I was reading wiki) sprinkled with drama and corruption. And the way the author often ends a chapter so abruptly drove me nuts.
  Anyhow, 2 stars cuz I guess I learned a thing or two.
• 
  Sabeeha Rehman

  When a journalist writes a book, expect it to be packed with details. A glimpse into the rise of Sansung, the corruption, the role culture of the land plays in corporate Korea, is fascinating and disconcerting.
• 
  Alok Kejriwal

  An absolutely riveting, unputdownable book that will set your heart beating & mind racing. An amazing effort by Geoffrey Cain !
  
  What captivated me:
  
  - The secret, intricate, details of the 'kingdom’ called Samsung.
  
  - Deep "WHY's": Why does a single company command such an absolute obeisance (abnormal respect); why the business is a murky melting pot of money, power, politics. "Locals referred to South Korea as the “Republic of Samsung.”
  
  - The INCREDIBLE stories of motivation, daring, strength, relentless that would make any entrepreneur shiver. While I never use Samsung, this book made the company a hero to me.
  
  - Lessons for all of us whenever we try & 'overdo' things. Setting unrealistic goals, targets, almost always leads to ruin. (Case of the Samsung exploding phones).
  
  - 'Nunchi' is the Korean art of gauging others’ moods, even if the other person says nothing. This was a must learning at high-level Samsung meetings.
  
  - Frugality at another level. "At meals, he would tear his napkin in half and save the other half for later,” (Samsung Founder).
  
  - MOTIVATION! How Samsung engineers memorised semiconductor designs when they visited Japenese factories.
  
  Read my book notes for the complete set.
• 
  Antonio Stark

  This was one of the most engaging non-fiction books I have read for this year. Immaculately researched and tagged (the references section alone counting 100 pages) Cain offers a pinnacle of investigative journalism into the growth of Samsung. In just a few decades Samsung has grown to employ 300,000+ people and represent 20+% of South Korea's exports, making Korea "the Republic of Samsung." The foray of the Samsung group into all sectors of entertainment, insurance, household appliances, and politics, is a shadow depiction of the growth of Korea itself. Its militaristic business practices, management and subordinate issues, and the vast network of interownership and influences make Korea - and Samsung - one of the most unique business environments/actors in the world. A thrill to read and digest, and a core recommendation to any of my business friends interested in the Korean economy.
• 
  Ver

  A book providing a really good insight into Samsung's development and action. I've learnt a lot and I didn't know much about this company, but definitely it was not my favourite brand. Now it's even less favourite and I'm going to avoid its products, especially smartphones. I always thought they were too expensive and dificult to use but now I know they can be faulty and even dangerous.
  I liked the description of the history of Samsung, which is connected with the history of the country (South Korea) and even politics, so that was quite surprising. There's also lots of details about the company's strategy and its connection with other companies.
• 
  Filip

  A really well-written book, presenting the Samsung corporation from many different angles. I particularly liked the parts describing how closely it is tied to and intertwined with the Korean government and society. On the other hand some parts, mostly those about shares, mergers and so on, went a bit over my head. I'm definitely not an expert. Informative and enjoyable.
• 
  Anna

  2.5
  
  Dużo informacji. Historia południowokoreańskiego konglomeratu, chaebola. Apple rywalizujący z Samsungiem, u którego jednocześnie zamawia komponenty do swoich produktów. Gratyfikacja pracowników (a raczej jej brak) charakterystyczna dla azjatyckiej kultury. Walka z czasem, przekręty, niszczenie dysków i dokumentów. Opowieść momentami nużąca i chyba zniechęcająca do technologii cyfrowych.
• 
  Dominik

  Jeśli książka była nominowana do najlepszej finansowej książki 2020 roku, to nominacja była słuszna. Teraz przydałoby się posłowie z aktualizacją sytuacji Samsunga i rynku między rokiem 2020/2021 a 2023. Bez tego czegoś brakuje.
• 
  Nicky Chalabi

  The book is not bad per se; since, it provides certain insight into company, operational model, management approach and cultural ambience. I found the first part of the book much more engaging and informative due to its description of Samsung's foundation and first generation's obstacles and troubles when edificing the empire. However, down the road the book wraps itself into pessimistic synopsis. The author clearly possesses negative bias against the company, does not display an objective view and fails to grasp cultutal differences. I personally belive that the ending could have been more concrete and conclusive.
• 
  Benjamin Scheerer

  I thought Cain did an excellent job at capturing the intensity at which Samsung did business. Having very little experience with Korean business culture, this was eye opening and very educational. I did not see this book being too dramatic and negative (as past reviewers commented), if anything it painted the entire picture of the Samsung legacy in a format that was an easy read, as well as very entertaining.