The Everything Store
Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
by Brad Stone · first published 2013
34% recommend65% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Factual, interview-based history of Amazon's culture, strategy and flywheel from day 1, told as a narrative. Suits founders and anyone wanting to understand Bezos's thinking, even if the prose is plain.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This book is 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 Ama
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…Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life 14. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World 15. Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity 16. Sapiens 17. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon 18. If you like space: Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery 19. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike 20. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World…
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗…Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard Zero to One by Peter Thiel Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
on “Bezos: A CEO Who Can Write” ↗…Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything - Crossing the Chasm - The Richest Man in Babylon - Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Europe: A History - The Penguin History of Europe - The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Every of the books was awesome. The only thing is that I haven't finished Europe: A History from Norman and read The Penguin…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson - amazing book about US criminal justice system. Read it. The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt - a management novel. Oddly engrossing and educational at the same time The Everything Store by Brad Stone - about Amazon's history, culture, businesses (None of these books was written in 2018. I just read them in 2018)
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗…Randomness, 2E _________ (2010) Black Swan: Impact of the Highly Improbable, 2E BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT / ENTREPRENEURSHIP / INNOVATION Christensen, Clayton (1997) Innovator's Dilemma Stone, Brad (2013) Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon Wallace, James and Jim Erickson (1992) Hard Drive: Bill Gates and Making of the Microsoft Empire Walton, Sam with John Huey (1992) Sam Walton: Made in America Wilson,…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…like I need a morale boost. There isn't an audible version for this book, but there is a summary-type version on Audible "Screw it, Let's do it"- does a good job curating the exciting parts. 2. The Everything Store (Brad Stone) -AMAZON and the man leading the massive team behind it. Jeff Bezos is quite easily one of the most important and influential people in the world. His relentless pursuit to build Amazon (&…
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗I just finished reading The Everything Store a few weeks ago, an eye-opening book that deep dives into the history of both Amazon and Bezos. I don't think there's any chance that Bezos and crew haven't done the math on this part of their business.…
on “In-N-Out managers earn triple the industry average” ↗Flywheels aren't a new concept. I first encountered them in Brad Stone's excellent book about Amazon, The Everything Store, which I believe was published in 2014. Stone explained how Bezos and crew discovered their flywheel in 2001: > Bezos and his lieutenants sketched their own virtuous cycle, which they believe powered…
on “Why Marketing Flywheels Work” ↗A couple that were quite entertaining for me were: 1) Hatching Twitter 2) The Everything Store (Amazon Story) 3) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success --This one was particularly interesting when thinking about employees and recruiting and what to look for in people that you are working with.…
on “Ask HN: Inspirational books on entrepreneurship” ↗If you haven't read this book, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, and you want to know how Amazon has worked from day 1, it's a good place to go. It straight up tells you the culture at Amazon, starting from day 1. I'll even include…
on “Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture” ↗Read The Everything Store. It is clear the only relationship you want with Amazon is as a customer. Everything they do is to drive lower prices to the customer in order to take as much marketshare as possible.
on “Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture” ↗Another couple books for inspiration. I read them one after another (huge contrast in a way to run a company): - Brad Stone's "The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon" [1] - Richard Branson's "Everything I Know About Leadership The Virgin Way" [2] [1] http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Store-Jeff-Bezos-Amazon/dp/... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Everything-About-Leadership-Virgin-Har...
on “Ask HN: What are the best books on startups that discuss failure?” ↗Unfortunately this type of behavior is not uncommon with Amazon's business practices. The book "The Everything Store" by Brad Stone was a very good book. But it also shows how Amazon deploys these types of business practices. With the huge market share Amazon has, it has crushed many smaller business just by selling…
on “Got a Hot Seller on Amazon? Prepare for Amazon to Make One Too” ↗…recently. If you really think it was as easy as "Amazon was spending money purchasing real things so they were actually accumulating value, compared to Uber", you should read this book https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Store-Jeff-Bezos-Amazon-eb... There were so many points in Amazon's history where everybody mocked them and criticized them just like you're doing right now for Uber. For example at one point everyone thought…
on “Unicorns Watch in Horror as Uber Careens Towards a Down Round” ↗with the exception of six or seven titles, this forms my reading list as well ! Anyone interested in business and following kevindeasis recommendations should start with The Everything Store and Shoe Dog
on “Ask HN: Which books are you reading in 2017?” ↗