Everything on the Consumer Mind, Opened by the Age of Amazon

The Everything Store, Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Brad Stone

3/5

I found this book outside of a professor’s office at my university. Currently enrolled in a leadership course, I felt that it might be a free and interesting read for one of the book review assignments that we had. (Our instructor believes that reading the stories and perspectives of other leaders will help us to perfect our personal reading styles, which I’m not yet convinced of. I think our leadership comes from practice, but our awareness and absorption of positive traits and skills definitely can be informed by our reading habits).

This story was highly engaging, as it was told in a way that was understandable, entertaining and filled with characters in a revolving door. True to Bezos’ character, the plot is fast moving, and Brad paints an interesting picture of the CEO and founder of Amazon clearly. Understanding the growth of Amazon as a company is highly inspiring, especially as a young student looking to start her own business one day, the foundational approach and story of tireless tunnel vision on an idea is beneficial and entertaining to read.

However, the pitfall of this book, I felt, was its lack of agency in providing potential criticisms of the brand. We view Amazon as a giant of industry, without considering the numerous downsides that the fast rize of a brilliant CEO can have. While recognizing the point of the novel to detail such success, the author is never critical of the fact that so many players constantly are falling to the wayside, because working at Amazon burnt them out, or the questions of recent light which wonder whether CEO wage disparities and Amazon labor questions are ethical. In some descriptions, these problems are highlighted, but receive little discussion under the opinion of Bezos or the author.

Looking at the novel for its purpose: to inform us of Bezos’ incredible story, and explain the workshop of Amazon as a business model and its evolution, The Age of Amazon is a highly compelling novel. If you are a college student, professional or person living in the literal age of Amazon, it can be helpful to take a critical look at one of the largest retail businesses in the world to better question your involvement as a consumer in the cog of a much larger wheel.