The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
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- Create Date：2021-06-22 07:55:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Brad Stone
- ISBN：0316377554
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Amazon。com's 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， and his book is the first in-depth， fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon。 The Everything Store is the book that the business world can't stop talking about， 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。
（from back cover）
Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members， and his book is the first in-depth， fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon。 The Everything Store is the book that the business world can't stop talking about， 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。
（from back cover）
Reviews
Edward Young
，
Well done history of the early Amazon years。
Pranav Jagdish
，
The Everything Store was the second "company" book I've picked up from my dad's bookshelf。 The first was Big Billion Startup and I really liked that one so I decided to read about the OG。 This book covers the rise of Amazon and Jeff Bezos both and it does so in a way without excluding the other。 It starts from the very beginning of Bezos' D。E Shaw days and works it's way through the entire company history。There are a lot of things I liked about this book。 Each chapter is simultaneously dense but The Everything Store was the second "company" book I've picked up from my dad's bookshelf。 The first was Big Billion Startup and I really liked that one so I decided to read about the OG。 This book covers the rise of Amazon and Jeff Bezos both and it does so in a way without excluding the other。 It starts from the very beginning of Bezos' D。E Shaw days and works it's way through the entire company history。There are a lot of things I liked about this book。 Each chapter is simultaneously dense but easy to read and it's genuinely engaging to see the growth of Amazon and compare it's current structure to what it was in the early days。 However， I'd classify this solely as a business book。 There's no real "conflict" or "tension" in the Amazon story， whatever Bezos wants he inevitably gets。 It doesn't read like a story， more like a bunch of well written chapters just lined up chronologically。 Reading about Bezos' temperament and all the tactics used by Amazon as it became a Goliath in the retail space， I wonder if there can be any founders who can earn enormous amounts of wealth while also not exploiting a large group of people。 Customer obsession is a constant theme throughout Amazon's rise and this mantra almost always ends up hurting either Amazon's employees or it's suppliers。 Even competitors don't stand a chance if Amazon has its eyes set on them。 Quidsi and Zappos are two such examples， where Amazon acts like a company with no morals， just a couple of business rules to adhere to and ruthlessly pursue。 I always found it odd that in popular culture， there were no other names associated with Bezos when talked about Amazon。 Even reading this book， names like Jeff Wilke are firsts for me。 Both played an instrumental role in the rise of Amazon and Wilke's supply chain philosphy helped expedite the shipping process by a huge factor during a time where most companies couldn't figure it out。 This inevitably led to Prime Shipping which is a big reason why Amazon crosses 100 billion in sales。 Maybe this is how Bezos likes it， as if he's one general comandeering his troops。 They all have their days but the inevitable success is always credited to the leader。 It's hard to point out one genius move that Amazon's done because pretty much everything in the online retail space has come straight out of the Amazon playbook。 The part I loved the most was when Amazon decided to revolutionize the e-book industry with Fiona， knowing that it'll eat into their short term profit goals。 I think that required tremendous foresight and Bezos has this knack of always thinking long term even when the tide is against him。 I also particularly liked Amazon's pivot into being a tech company， with the rise of AWS。 On the whole， I'd definitely recommend this to anyone curious about Amazon's story。 Brad Stone does no wrong here。 。。。more
Infosoph
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A little too anecdotal。 But overall good intro to the first 15 years of Amazon and its founder's background。 A little too anecdotal。 But overall good intro to the first 15 years of Amazon and its founder's background。 。。。more
Brad
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This is a great dive into the creation and evolution of one of the most powerful companies in the world。 It’s also a great look into how Jeff Bezos became the richest man in the world
Maarten
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Jeff Bezos as seen by his biggest fan。 Still a fascinating read。
Jack
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I am a DevOps Engineer， so I spend a lot of my day using various AWS tools either directly or indirectly。 Although I very much enjoyed this book， I was troubled about the lack of time spent on Amazon Web Services （AWS）。 Perhaps they didn't want to get bogged down in technical terms and language， they merely briefly touched on how ubiquitous the technology is and how it's used by so many companies， but didn't really touch on the development or story behind it at all。 Hoping that the Amazon Unboun I am a DevOps Engineer， so I spend a lot of my day using various AWS tools either directly or indirectly。 Although I very much enjoyed this book， I was troubled about the lack of time spent on Amazon Web Services （AWS）。 Perhaps they didn't want to get bogged down in technical terms and language， they merely briefly touched on how ubiquitous the technology is and how it's used by so many companies， but didn't really touch on the development or story behind it at all。 Hoping that the Amazon Unbound "followup" by the same author touches on this more， but more time was spent on not only the Kindle （hardware）， but also on Amazon Marketplace （if you include the auctions discussions previously）。Interestingly enough。。。 I finished this book yesterday （Sunday） and upon starting my day on Monday， what do I find？ An email from a recruiter at AWS。 Previously I would have entertained the though of working at Amazon， they're a huge company and build the platform that I use day in and day out。 After reading this book though？ I very confidently said that I wasn't interested。 Although previously I keep wishing that I was able to "divorce" myself from shopping at Amazon （and even working with AWS） so much， but living in a fairly small city makes it difficult; however this book， made me want to stop even more so。Despite this book showing the dark underbelly of a major corporation， and primarily it's leader/owner/CEO。。。 it was a very entertaining read。 It goes really in depth on Jeff Bezos's life both before and after starting Amazon。 The book has a very good pace and narrative。 It goes into the history of Amazon and it's struggles and tribulations well and in an entertaining fashion。 Was eye opening to see the extent that Bezos goes to seek his mission。Although the book makes me want to distance myself from Amazon more。。。 it is an entertaining read。 。。。more
David Chabot
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I was eager to learn more about the amazing rise to greatness of Amazon's and its CEO， Jeff Bezos。 What we learn is how driven Bezos is， but also how uncompromising he can be on things he believes in。 As a manager， he implemented a hostile， winner-takes-all mentality in his organization， values than a normaly frowned upon in managerial references， but that seems to work okay for him。。。 The story in itself is exciting enough， but the book could have been a better support to the narrative。 It focu I was eager to learn more about the amazing rise to greatness of Amazon's and its CEO， Jeff Bezos。 What we learn is how driven Bezos is， but also how uncompromising he can be on things he believes in。 As a manager， he implemented a hostile， winner-takes-all mentality in his organization， values than a normaly frowned upon in managerial references， but that seems to work okay for him。。。 The story in itself is exciting enough， but the book could have been a better support to the narrative。 It focuses a lot on the people who were running the many divisions of the growing company， but the thinking， the challenges and the solutions implemented receive less-than-needed attention。 Sure， stories are told and it's an interesting read， but it's dry at times and less exciting than it should。 Overall， it's a recommended read， but you have to be in learning mode to enjoy the book。 It covers the history of Amazon from its humble beginnings to about 2014。 。。。more
Ron Turner
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A great look at Jeff Bezos and the origins of Amazon。 He's basically a Bond villain。 Maniac with daddy issues from being abandoned。 I don't think he ever really cared about the company itself。 He just wanted a vehicle to pursue his real interests。 Immortality and space travel。 A great look at Jeff Bezos and the origins of Amazon。 He's basically a Bond villain。 Maniac with daddy issues from being abandoned。 I don't think he ever really cared about the company itself。 He just wanted a vehicle to pursue his real interests。 Immortality and space travel。 。。。more
Lilia
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Той випадок， коли історію компанії， переплетену з біографією СЕО написали так захопливо， ніби перед тобою сага про Гаррі Поттера， а не бізнес-література :）
Christopher J Finlayson
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Incredible reporting The Everything Store has emerged as the definitive profile of the early days of Amazon。 The book resembles an extra long magazine feature， rife with stories and anecdotes that bring the company to life。 Stone portrays Amazon has a reflection of the personality of Bezos， for better and worse。 Strong in his convictions， Bezos proved doubters wrong and pushed his people to the brink。 I’m eager to read Stone’s latest book to see how the company has changed in the interim。
Emil Andreasson
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This book is a good detailed history about the rise of one of the most valuable corporations ever。 Stones explains how Amazon went from a small online bookstore to the "everything store"。 Jeff Bezos is， of course， the main character and his sometimes brutal， but efficient leadership seems to have been vital for the survival and development of Amazon。 One must wonder where all the money came from。 Amazon got through both the dot com bubble and the financial crisis even tough many of their investm This book is a good detailed history about the rise of one of the most valuable corporations ever。 Stones explains how Amazon went from a small online bookstore to the "everything store"。 Jeff Bezos is， of course， the main character and his sometimes brutal， but efficient leadership seems to have been vital for the survival and development of Amazon。 One must wonder where all the money came from。 Amazon got through both the dot com bubble and the financial crisis even tough many of their investments failed terribly， and they barely made any profit at the beginning。 I would have wished that even more of the book was devoted to Jeff Bezos。 It can be quite hard to keep track of all the managers and workers that are introduced throughout the book。 I also felt that it was quite hard to follow the timeline sometimes。 All in all I would definitely recommend this book if you want learn more about the history of Amazon and its infamous founder。 。。。more
Andrew
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I thought this was well written。 It’s one of the most fascinating stories I have read and would recommend it to anyone。 Great for people interested in business， Bezos， or Amazon。
Anshupa Patel
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Story of the man who have such a strong footprint in our lives from Amazon to Prime video， from Goodreads to Kindle。 I can't even imagine my everyday routine without these。 Everyone should read Bezos's journey once in their lifetime。 A man who can be admiring and detesting at the same time。 Story of the man who have such a strong footprint in our lives from Amazon to Prime video， from Goodreads to Kindle。 I can't even imagine my everyday routine without these。 Everyone should read Bezos's journey once in their lifetime。 A man who can be admiring and detesting at the same time。 。。。more
Kay
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Super interesting， but honestly got kind of uncomfortable。 Lots of brutal honesty about Jeff Bezos's temper， how the company was run， how the company strategically applied pressure to competitors （Walmart， Zappos， the publishing industry）， and how they treated and viewed employees。 As an avid kindle fan （I read this on kindle！）， the backstory of kindle was particularly interesting of the push to get kindle out the door and to customers。I respected how the book really tried to strike a balance be Super interesting， but honestly got kind of uncomfortable。 Lots of brutal honesty about Jeff Bezos's temper， how the company was run， how the company strategically applied pressure to competitors （Walmart， Zappos， the publishing industry）， and how they treated and viewed employees。 As an avid kindle fan （I read this on kindle！）， the backstory of kindle was particularly interesting of the push to get kindle out the door and to customers。I respected how the book really tried to strike a balance between acknowledging and appreciating Jeff Bezos's genius while also acknowledging the harm Amazon has done to other companies， industries， and their own workers。A lot of the book emphasizes Amazon's frugality in order to pass savings on to customers and that's their main attraction as a company。 While I agree price is a major deal breaker for shoppers， I think the future of shopping consumers will be much more selective about what they choose to buy based on a variety of factors including ethical sourcing， environmentally friendly， etc， and shoppers wanting more unique items from smaller providers。 （Of course， this assumes a certain level of privilege that you can afford to make choices other than the cheapest option） 。。。more
alex baur
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I found this book while listening to the Business Wars podcast: Amazon vs。 Walmart。 I really enjoyed learning about the story of Amazon and was very excited for this book。 I think that the book was very well written and had a good amount of detail throughout。 The book definitely conveyed how big an impact Bezos has had on Amazon。 I enjoyed learning about the hardships Amazon went through as well。 The way the company approaches their hardships is very appealing because they tackle the problem hea I found this book while listening to the Business Wars podcast: Amazon vs。 Walmart。 I really enjoyed learning about the story of Amazon and was very excited for this book。 I think that the book was very well written and had a good amount of detail throughout。 The book definitely conveyed how big an impact Bezos has had on Amazon。 I enjoyed learning about the hardships Amazon went through as well。 The way the company approaches their hardships is very appealing because they tackle the problem head on。 I believe that being the first company to try a new form of retail is extremely difficult because everyone likes to follow tradition。 This book depicts how often Amazon was the first to do something and I commend Amazon for this quality。 Overall， I recommend this book to anyone who has big ideas and is hesitant to break with social norms。 。。。more
Jason L。
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I was curious about this book when I heard even Andy Jassy himself wrote a scathing review of this book on amazon。com， as well as many of the ‘s’ team （senior leadership team）。 I found this book to be a pleasant read during my commute， and it increased my admiration for Jeff and what he and his team have accomplished。 Certainly， we all hear of the negative publicity of the company and how Jeff Bezos himself can be rude， brutal， and difficult to work with。 Through the rundown of the company， we g I was curious about this book when I heard even Andy Jassy himself wrote a scathing review of this book on amazon。com， as well as many of the ‘s’ team （senior leadership team）。 I found this book to be a pleasant read during my commute， and it increased my admiration for Jeff and what he and his team have accomplished。 Certainly， we all hear of the negative publicity of the company and how Jeff Bezos himself can be rude， brutal， and difficult to work with。 Through the rundown of the company， we got to see that side of him， but I also got the know the other values he exhibits， like determination， customer obsession and drive for excellence， all of which are important and if lacking in any company， are unlikely to be wildly successful today。 I know just how hard it is to get thousands of people moving in the same direction without ruffling any feathers。 And some of the changes that Jeff had to make to the company direction required enormous determination and force of will。 My chief beef about the book is that it skimped on some of the big management lessons from Amazon。 While it did cover the 2-pizza team structure and the 6 pagers write up for any meetings， I wish there are more being covered。 For instance， how does it manage a distributed team that can update its website code every few seconds throughout the year， probably the company with the most frequent iterations ever？ Though I understand due to the limited access the author has and the deep technicalities that may involve for a casual bedtime read， it is decent job for a good coverage。 I’m looking forward to reading his sequel on this， “Amazon Unbound”！ 。。。more
Eli Lipson
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I would give this 6 stars if i could。
Andreas Tovefalk
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It is intriguing to read about amazon and Jeff Bezos， about his personality。 It seems like his is charing the traits of Steve Jobs， Elon Musk and Bill Gates， that people is something you can replace。 The are expendable， when you have burn them out you just replace them with new smart people。 It seems like that he has no social skills or empathy for people around him， as long he feels like the smartest person in the room。 Bezos is smart， but seems to lack in so many areas and missing the ability It is intriguing to read about amazon and Jeff Bezos， about his personality。 It seems like his is charing the traits of Steve Jobs， Elon Musk and Bill Gates， that people is something you can replace。 The are expendable， when you have burn them out you just replace them with new smart people。 It seems like that he has no social skills or empathy for people around him， as long he feels like the smartest person in the room。 Bezos is smart， but seems to lack in so many areas and missing the ability to have a connection or an healthy relationship with friends or colleagues。 All these relationships ends， when he feels that he has no use for them。 I learned a lot from the book， how good amazon is to try to understand the costumer and always trying to invent new ways to be the best at customer services。 They are doing many mistakes on the way and using their size and strength。 I am not sure if they can go on that track and if it is sustainable， it feels like the business model is not working and they can not make it profitable。 It is to many variables that cost and are hard to control。 。。。more
Huw Evans
，
Biographies are hard。 They have two components—the underlying reality， and the way that it’s told （or really， three， if you include the biographer’s access to that underlying story）。I liked The Everything Store， but I’m not sure if it’s a super well-told story。 Most glaring was the intrigue section about Bezos’ parenthood （but， knowing what Brad Stone personally contributed to that story， how could he avoid including it？）， but also the general story lacks a bit of structure that’s hard to pin do Biographies are hard。 They have two components—the underlying reality， and the way that it’s told （or really， three， if you include the biographer’s access to that underlying story）。I liked The Everything Store， but I’m not sure if it’s a super well-told story。 Most glaring was the intrigue section about Bezos’ parenthood （but， knowing what Brad Stone personally contributed to that story， how could he avoid including it？）， but also the general story lacks a bit of structure that’s hard to pin down。 Is it Stone’s fault， or is it that the story of Amazon itself is hard to pin down？ Bezos himself advises Stone against the narrative fallacy at the start， and this undoubtedly factors into how Stone tells the story。Regardless， I found it gripping， and Stone provides unprecedented access to sources to make the story whole。 There’s not too much bias throughout—he takes particular care to be factual about Amazon’s various lawsuits and labour disputes—but there’s definitely a lean toward the ‘Bezos is genius’ narrative。Is it valid？ What caught me throughout reading the book was that every time Bezos is deified， we’re not given specifics about what he actually did。 It’s usually some variation of Bezos micromanaging in an area he has no expertise in and succeeding， but we’re supposed to trust for ourselves that the awe-stricken employees relating the tale aren’t exaggerating。Overall， though， even if you believe Stone is framing it badly， the story of Amazon shines through。 You learn a lot about the particular zeal Bezos approaches the world with， and you understand a lot more about Amazon’s peculiar choices over the years。 So I’m pretty happy with it。 。。。more
Sarah Starr
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Well researched and interesting origin story about Amazon。
Parth Bhatt
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Well reasearched book，must read for anyone who wants to know how Amazon and its founder became what they are today over the years since the inception of this giant organization。
Petr
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Velmi inspirativní。
Sarah
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dude made another book about bezos。。。。。。 does he need professional help
Faheem Ajaz
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What a beautiful book， an easy and hooking writing style by Brad; I would like to rate Brad Stone next level of Walter Isaacson biographer。
Angshuman Bose
，
If you want to know about Jeff Bezos the man， His management style and the journey of Amazon then this is the book。 However this books drags along certain sections。
Davis Parker
，
I picked this one up after listening to Brad Stone discuss his more recent Amazon book on a popular podcast。 From the get-go， Stone's narrative is lively， compelling， and centered on a singular entity - Jeff Bezos。 Bezos is unique amongst tech billionaires in that he doesn't cultivate an identity of coder-cum-CEO like Zuckerberg， Gates， or Page， and I think that leads （or at least led） to the constant underestimation his genius。 There are few if any entrepreneurs on Earth who have his long-term I picked this one up after listening to Brad Stone discuss his more recent Amazon book on a popular podcast。 From the get-go， Stone's narrative is lively， compelling， and centered on a singular entity - Jeff Bezos。 Bezos is unique amongst tech billionaires in that he doesn't cultivate an identity of coder-cum-CEO like Zuckerberg， Gates， or Page， and I think that leads （or at least led） to the constant underestimation his genius。 There are few if any entrepreneurs on Earth who have his long-term vision， dedicated focus， or commitment to constant innovation。 With every anecdote Stone presents， the reader gains a clearer picture of Bezos single-handedly willing Amazon to greatness。 Co-founders and C-suite comrades came and went， but Jeff never wavered。 I don't think I properly appreciated that until now。I think this is a must-read for folks interested in tech/entrepreneurship/Amazon， and I look forward to reading part 2 once my library lets me borrow it for free - Amazon has enough business as it is。。。 。。。more
Shahab Y-achille
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I bought this book because I have a fascination with innovators like Steve jobs ， Jeff Bezos and others that literally changed the way we lived and the global economy 。 I was always curious what was going on inside their heads ， why they were so invested ， how they were thinking etc。。 so it was a no brainer for me to pick up this book 。 The author does a job of guiding you towards this fascinating entrepreneurial journey of Jeff Bezos。 If you like business， entrepreneurship ， starts ups， managem I bought this book because I have a fascination with innovators like Steve jobs ， Jeff Bezos and others that literally changed the way we lived and the global economy 。 I was always curious what was going on inside their heads ， why they were so invested ， how they were thinking etc。。 so it was a no brainer for me to pick up this book 。 The author does a job of guiding you towards this fascinating entrepreneurial journey of Jeff Bezos。 If you like business， entrepreneurship ， starts ups， management this book will be a nice treat 。 。。。more
Silvio Pellas
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Good account Comprehensive account of Amazon's rise。 Learned I lot I did not know。 Wish it had more details about management practices。 Worth reading。 Good account Comprehensive account of Amazon's rise。 Learned I lot I did not know。 Wish it had more details about management practices。 Worth reading。 。。。more
Arjun
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This book is a fascinating insight of a ruthless leader who created this household conglomerate。 The author takes you to a beautiful rollercoaster ride of passion， perseverance， blood shading hard-work of many humans， many cringe-worthy moments and predatory practices of big corporations。 But overall surely portrays the life of a visionary person who fundamentally changed human behavior。 I also read his last annual letter as CEO。 It’s as inspiring as this book。 Surely this book will give a good This book is a fascinating insight of a ruthless leader who created this household conglomerate。 The author takes you to a beautiful rollercoaster ride of passion， perseverance， blood shading hard-work of many humans， many cringe-worthy moments and predatory practices of big corporations。 But overall surely portrays the life of a visionary person who fundamentally changed human behavior。 I also read his last annual letter as CEO。 It’s as inspiring as this book。 Surely this book will give a good perspective on Amazon and Jeff than what we hear in media outlets。 。。。more
Victoria Krasilshikova
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