The Everything Store

Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

By: Brad Stone

Narrated by: Pete Larkin

Length: 13 hrs

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Business/Educational, 2014

The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos.

Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of relentless ambition and secrecy that's never been cracked. Until now.

Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members, giving listeners the first in-depth, fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon. Compared to tech's other elite innovators - Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg - Bezos is a private man. But he stands out for his restless pursuit of new markets, leading Amazon into risky new ventures like the Kindle and cloud computing, and transforming retail in the same way Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing.

The Everything Store will be the revealing, definitive biography of the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read.

©2013 Brad Stone (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critical

Necessary listening if you're going to understand not only the future of e-commerce, but our global economy.

Inspiring and Amazing

Where does The Everything Store rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely among the top ones

What did you like best about this story?

It was very detailed but not boring at all. Sometimes biography's digress a lot from the main subject and start talking a lot about other people around the main character. This was not the case at all with this. Other characters were explored only as much was the requirement.

What about Pete Larkin’s performance did you like?

Voice modulation and tone was perfect

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several incidents regrading Jeff's conviction about making Amazon the leader in unexplored areas.

a real story

I loved it. it really takes you on a walk of Jeff's journey. from humble beginnings, to struggling but talented entrepreneur, to "suddenly I'm a billionaire." everything happens so slowly, but eventually Amazon owns so much.

Fascinating look into the creation and growth of Amazon

Very interesting read. Behind the scenes stories behind Amazon's various, diverse services and how they came to be.

Book's a few years old now, so not totally up to the minute. Sometimes felt a little disjointed.

Amazing history

Big history about a visionary guy that is not only a genius, but a truly hard worker.

similarities between bezos and jobs

nice read. useful. amazon is the largest river in south america and an internet service of the digital age

Wasn't a fan of the audio...

There were parts of the audio that sounded like it was cut a spliced at different times, you can hear the readers voice distinctly change - very distracting. I also found the readers voice somewhat droning at times. Otherwise the story and book itself was fine. Not my favorite tech bio but interesting nonetheless.

Outstanding

Incredible story equivalent to Shoe Dog and The Wright Brothers showcasing the genius of Jeff Bezos

Amazon for the Win

What made the experience of listening to The Everything Store the most enjoyable?

Awhile ago, while watching some business interviews on Youtube, I came across one Jeff Bezos. After hearing Jeff tell stories about Amazon's early days, its cliff-hanger moments, and Amazon's exponential acceleration, I needed to know more about this interesting individual and his vision.

What other book might you compare The Everything Store to and why?

It reminds me of Arnold's book: my unbelievably true life story. I can't deny that I enjoy a good rocket-to-success story. While Jeff and Arnold pursued different goals, the highly competitive, do what it takes, long-term thinking, don't let setbacks stop you attitude is present in both of the people, and, thus, both of their books.

What about Pete Larkin’s performance did you like?

Excellent narration. Very good pronunciation and voice tone.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's in my top three favorite biographies. I'll listen to it many more times.

Any additional comments?

Be careful when listening to biographies; it's easy to get sucked into the mentality that what worked for them will work for you. For example, excessive expansion/growth at any cost in anything you do.

Interesting Story About Amazon

What did you love best about The Everything Store?

I enjoyed some of the early details about Amazon that I hadn't heard about before.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Sell Everything