The Everything Store

Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

By: Brad Stone

Narrated by: Pete Larkin

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 readers 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.

Critic reviews

Winner of the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award

Chosen as a Best Book of the Year by the Washington Post, Forbes, The New Republic, The Economist, Bloomberg,and Gizmodo, and as one of the Top 10 Investigative Journalism Books by Nieman Reports

"Mr. Stone tells this story with authority and verve, and lots of well-informed reporting.... A dynamic portrait of the driven and demanding Mr. Bezos." -- Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"Engrossing.... Stone's long tenure covering both Bezos and Amazon gives his retelling a sureness that keeps the story moving swiftly." -- New York Times Book Review

"Jeff Bezos is one of the most visionary, focused, and tenacious innovators of our era, and like Steve Jobs he transforms and invents industries. Brad Stone captures his passion and brilliance in this well-reported and compelling narrative." -- Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs

"Stone's account moves swiftly and surely." -- New York Times Book Review, "Editor's Choice"

"The Everything Store is a revelatory read for everyone--those selling and those sold to--who wants to understand the dynamics of the new digital economy. If you've ever one-clicked a purchase, you must read this book." -- Steven Levy, author of Hackers and In the Plex

"A deeply reported and deftly written book.... Like Steven Levy's "In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives," and "Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry -- and Made Himself the Richest Man in America" by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews, it is the definitive account of how a tech icon came to life." -- Seattle Times

"Stone's book, at last, gives us a Bezos biography that can fit proudly on a shelf next to the best chronicles of America's other landmark capitalists." -- Forbes

"Stone's tale of the birth, near-death, and impressive revival of an iconic American company is well worth your time." -- Matthew Yglesias, Slate

"An engaging and fascinating read.... An excellent chronicle of Amazon's rise.... A gift for entrepreneurs and business builders of the new generation." -- Business Insider

"Outstanding.... An authoritative, deeply reported, scoopalicious, nuanced, and balanced take that pulls absolutely no punches." -- Adam Lashinsky, Fortune

"Fair-minded, virtually up-to-the-minute history of the retail and technology behemoth and the prodigious brain behind it.... Stone's inside knowledge of a company ordinarily stingy with information is evident throughout the book.... Stone presents a nuanced portrait of the entrepreneur, especially as he sketches in Bezos' unusual family history and a surprising turn it took during the writing of the book. His reporting on the Kindle's disruption of traditional publishing makes for riveting reading. A must-add to any business bookshelf." -- Kirkus

One of my favorite books - you should read it...

I loved The Everything Store... I learned so much about Amazon and Jeff Bezos that was interesting... I loved the research that Mr Stone put in talking to the people around Jeff Bezos, yet it wasn't an autobiography so you got the "warts and all" version... It was just a well-told story on all fronts...

Going in, I had no idea of the warrior mentality at Amazon caused by Mr. Bezos. Jeff Bezos was one of the jerkiest people around, but damned if he weren't one of the smartest and ambitious people ever to walk the planet. I still don't know if I love or hate the guy, but I have complete respect for him... He is up there with Steve Jobs as a person who changed the world...

While I was doing the audiobook version on my commute into work, I would be telling people around me what cool or arrogant thing Jeff did during my commute time reading... And more than one person picked up the book afterwards.

Great book - you should read it

Cancel Prime membership?

Jeff's actions of strong-arming the little guys makes him hard to respect. His frugality and abuse toward his staff is repulsive as well. Elon Musk is notches above in the respect and admiration category.

interesting insight

great book interesting read
I'm glad mr Bezos authorized it. Helps me navigate through the world with confidence.

Excellent Book

Excellent Narration! Excellent Book. Good book for those who are interested in business strategies. Gets more interesting from second half.

A facinating story

An impressive man, with a drive and perseverance that is admirable on many levels.
The book mad me mad at tmes, and inspired me at times. Jeff Bazos is a one of a kind man who has made the world a better place for millions.