Idea Man

A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft

By: Paul Allen

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

By his early 30s, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire - and that was just the beginning.

In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor - combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives - have literally changed the world.

In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this classic memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors - both the triumphs and the failures - and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life.

The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real.

©2011 Paul Allen (P)2011 Penguin

Good inspirational book.

Paul Allen tell his story of his life before and after Microsoft. it's a very inspirational book that shows not only what to do but what not to do in business and in life.

Comprehensive excellence

I loved this book. It’s comprehensive, i learned a lot and Paul Allen was a great guy.

The part about Microsoft is good

Any additional comments?

Great account of Microsoft's early years. Too bad it is only a third of the book. The rest is about Allen's other activities, which are not so interesting.

Aspirations in action

It is a warm hearted look into Paul Allen’s aspirations coming to fruition. He rolls with the good times and bad. A life well lived.

More than just Microsoft

If you could sum up Idea Man in three words, what would they be?

Empathetic, insightful, intriguing

What did you like best about this story?

It was more than just Microsoft. It gave you insight into what seemed like the human side of Microsoft as well as other parts of Paul Allen's life.

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

...more than code.

Any additional comments?

A good read to learn about the cofounder of Microsoft and many other companies, foundations, and ideas.

Engaging, biographical and technical

Describes the mix of technological conditions, skills and opportunity that led to the inception of Microsoft. Paul Allen was certainly on par to Bill Gates. The narrator does a superb job in this audiobook.

Pretty good

This biography was a mixed bag. The parts about Allen's relationship with Bill Gates before Microsoft, and about his time working at Microsoft, were great. It really makes you realize how intergel Microsoft was at the time. They were involved with so much, listening to Allen talk about it was almost like reading Fire In The Valley. It was like hearing a complete early history of personal computers. When Allen finishes talking about Microsoft he gives his take on the computer industry, and it's pretty awesome to hear his perspective on the industry today. I really enjoyed these parts of the book. With that said, the beginning, before Allen meets Gates, and the parts about owning a basketball team and the non-tech investments he made after Microsoft were incredibly boring. I couldn't take it and ended up skipping these chapters. Finally near the end he starts talking about his tech investments. This part wasn't bad, but his involvement with his tech investments are never as interesting as his involvement with Microsoft. It really makes you wonder if he was as passionate about these investments as he was about Microsoft. Overall I'd say if you're into tech like I am then reading this is a no-brainer... you'll just end up skipping the boring parts like me. The parts I mentioned that were interesting are well worth the price tag.

Great Book

This was a great book and Paul Allen was a good man! This book was a good telling of the history of the Personal Computer and Paul's life.

Never knew I had so much in common

Great listen. I liked him before and now I think we were brothers from a different mother.

Fascinating, but I got bored by the end

I loved the story in this book. There were many facts about the origins of Microsoft I didn't know, which were very interesting. However, as Mr. Allen's life kept morphing into different phases, the story became a little long in the tooth, and I have to say I was happy when I reached the end! Not so much as a sign of accomplishment, but rather of relief!!