Really interesting background on Jeff Bezos and Amazon. His world really jumped off the page and brought me back to my college days ordering text books from Amazon and watching the company grow as a customer.

There is a big learning lesson in this book and it is to be customer obsessed vs competition obsessed. In the real estate world it is so easy to focus on others and forget about your goals and mission. This books illustrates the power of focus in a fun and easy read. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed these words of wisdom. Great having everything gathered in one place. Great for a a business book lover.

unfortunately I missed the archive date, did not download in time, and will not have a chance to review this title..

The introduction by Walter Isaacson was excellent and I'd be happy to read a biography of Bezos written by him.
The rest is a good way to understand how Bezos changed the world of e-commerce and what a visionary he is.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have been wanting Walter Isaacson to do a biography of Jeff Bezos for a long time. Well, this isn't quite that but it's the next best thing, and I'm glad that he wrote the introduction. I found myself engrossed in the stockholder letters written by Jeff Bezos. It was fascinating to learn how Amazon has evolved over the years and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it all from Jeff's own words. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is business-minded or just downright curious about the man and the company. I'm giving this book 5 stars!

I was a bit ambivalent about this book, but I also had very high expectations. Yes, Jeff Bezos is a powerhouse, but I hoped to see a bit more personality from this book and not like reading a bunch of business memos. But there's great insight as well. Just a bit hard for me to get into, and stay into.

INVENT AND WANDER

There are three parts to Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’ new book, Invent and Wander.

Beginning at the end, the last part is a compendium of Bezos’ writings on a number of subjects, ranging from his recollections growing up on a farm to the rationale for striking out on his own with Amazon or developing any number of Amazon’s offerings today (such as Prime or Amazon Web Services). Whether culled from speeches or prepared remarks, these represent Jeff Bezos in his own words, and provide readers with a measure of the world’s richest man.

The central portion of the book is a collection of Bezos’ letters to Amazon shareholders throughout the years and right up to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, much of it is corporate pablum to put into context the company’s financial performance from the immediately preceding year and which therefore sometimes feels like one hand clapping absent the corresponding financial statements to complement them. Still, and notwithstanding the requisite PR spin inherent in such statements, these provide fascinating snapshots of Amazon’s evolution throughout the years as well as the maturing e-commerce landscape that the company arguably made possible.

Certainly, Bezos’ and Amazon’s critics would rightly point out that much of Amazon’s success owes to practices deserving of more scrutiny. Among them: Amazon doesn’t pay the taxes the brick and mortar businesses it upended did and continue to do, not to mention the working conditions Amazon fulfillment center employees experience as a direct result of the company’s exacting standards of operational efficiency. Nonetheless, the shareholder letters collected in Invent and Wander clearly articulate Bezos’ vision for the company, the corporate culture necessary to make that vision a reality, and the strategic cornerstones that drive the company’s decision-making (to wit: an unrelenting obsession with the customer on the one hand, and “it’s still Day One” on the other).

Finally, in the first part of the book Bezos gets the Walter Isaacson treatment, with the famed biographer contributing a send-up on Bezos based largely on the materials in the aforementioned sections. It’s a relatively short piece, neither as comprehensive as Isaacson’s work on Steve Jobs nor as attention-catching as Brad Stone’s The Everything Store, but certainly demonstrates why Isaacson is in a class of his own. For those still in need of convincing, reading about Bezos in Isaacson’s words leaves one with little doubt why Bezos deserves to be among the world’s top business executives, having been the right person to seize upon a once-in-a-generation opportunity at the right time and in the right way.

Walter Isaacson has written biographies of many of the world’s great innovators, including Einstein, Da Vinci, and Jobs. This time, he simply makes the introduction and lets the innovator, Jeff Bezos, do the rest. It’s not a biography, but it still illuminates a life and a philosophy.

Part one compiles Bezo’s annual letters to shareholders. To read these all in one sitting is to take a trip down memory lane in the growth of Amazon from its beginnings to its dominance today. But even as the product lines have changed, the core message and strategy has remained consistent.

It’s always Day 1.
A few big wins pay for many small failures.
Obsess about customers, not competition.
Take the long perspective.

The thing that struck me most was the consistency of Bezo’s approach, even as Amazon itself has changed and evolved.

No matter what you think about getting caught up in Amazon’s growth flywheel, there are lessons to be learned here about consistency and commitment.

My thanks to Harvard Business Review Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

I enjoyed reading this book. The first part of the book contains the collection of letters to shareholders which documents the history of Amazon under Bezos’ leadership. This introduction part is written by Walter Isaacson. I loved it. It is concise and very engaging. I was fascinated by reading Bezos' history and story and learn more about him beyond Amazon.

The rest two parts of the book are written by Jeff Bezos. These two parts contain the shareholders' letters and the personal life of the founder himself. It was great to read the ideas and stories behind the success of Amazon straight from Jeff Bezos himself! He has done a wonderful job of communicating the foundational philosophy that brought Amazon to its success. From his first letter to shareholders, you can sense his overwhelming obsession with customers and Amazon, its business philosophy, success, failures, and the overall vision.

As a reader, I got to know Jeff Bezos not just as the founder of one of the largest e-commerce platform, but also as a human being and his philosophies in life, This book is a wonderful source of wisdom for anyone who wants to find success professionally and personally.

Thank you, PublicAffairs, Harvard Business Review Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed reading these investor letters and it really shows how visionary Jeff was with his obsession with customers. Building trust in a time where e-commerce was not where it is today, seeing the different challenges and sometimes dissapointments of products not meeting market fit. I found myself researching what was going on with amazon during those different years to get a deeper context to what Amazon had to face during those years. I would recommend this to any leader for inspiration and customer obsession!

Walter Isaacson's introduction to the book does an excellent job of noting what sets Jeff Bezos apart from the rest of the entrepreneurs of our time, and, according to Issacson, places him in the same categories as Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, and Albert Einstein. The keys are to have an endless and passionate curiosity; to love and to connect the arts and the sciences; to have a reality distortion field (the ability to think different"; and to retain a childlike sense of wonder. Reading Issacson's short biography of Bezos gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the man behind Amazon and so much more.

The remaining sections of the book were written by Jeff Bezos himself and broken down into two parts. Part I The Shareholder Letters are exactly that, business reports on the philosoply, successess, and failures of Amazon as a company, and where they were/are heading in the future.

Part 2 Life and Work shows readers a bit more of the personal man, what he values, what he prioritizes, what he hopes his life means.

All in all this is a very interesting and informative read about a man who has not only influenced but forever changed the business culture of our times. Oh the places he'll go next!!

My thanks to NetGalley and Public Affairs and Harvard Business Review Press for allowing me to read a review copy of this book. Publication is set for November 17, 2020. All opinions expressed here are my own and given freely.

I enjoyed the introduction by Walter Isaacson. It was interesting to read the shareholder letters in order, all in sequence like that, but I didn't realize that was part of "collected writings" and was a little tedious to get through.

This collection could be valuable to someone who is trying to understand the mindset of Bezos and how he runs Amazon. There is much to admire about his philosophies, including the ongoing developments in becoming more environmentally friendly, supporting charitable causes, and providing customers the things they don't even know they need yet. At the same time, I weigh the choice of Amazon and other sellers each time I purchase.

I would love to see an biography of Bezos written by Isaacson. Perhaps that would give some space to the issues Amazon has had with their treatment of employees.

I received a review copy through netgalley, thanks to the publisher.

I really enjoyed Walter Isaacson's introduction part. It was concise but very engaging. I wish it was bit longer.
The rest is the collection of letters from Jeff Bezos. After reading, I wanted read full version of Bezos' biography written by Isaacson.

Also, netgalley only provided pdf for this particular book. I wished it was possible for readers to read it in kindle. Reading on my computer was not particularly great experience for me.

It is great to read the ideas and stories behind the success of Amazin straight from the founder himself. Jeff Bezos does a wonderful job of communicating the foundational philosophy that brought Amazon to its success. From his first letter to shareholders all the way up to the present, you can sense his overwhelming obsession of customers.

Another thing readers can get from this book is how resilient Amazon is. Despite the dynamics in the marketplace and criticism from Wall Street for them to focus on traditional financial metrics, Amazon stayed through to its timeless principles.

This is a remarkable book. It brings together the most important ideas of the richest man in the world in just one source. This is truly worth my time.

The best part of this book was Walter Isaacson’s intro, which summarizes what you will read in the Amazon shareholder letters and selected writings/speeches by Jeff Bezos. After reading through Part 1 (the shareholder letters), Part 2 (the writings/speeches) seems quite redundant. I gave 3 stars due to the intro, but the rest is just a reprint of the freely available shareholder letters and some of Jeff’s writings and speeches..

Thank you PublicAffairs, Harvard Business Review Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Whose life has not been affected by Amazon? The shares form a welcome part of my retirement fund - most of my reading is done via Kindle but for a treat I wlll order a hardback from Amazon Prime. I suspect that Amazon has kept the cost of living down and I welcome not having to stand in line in dull shops, even when it's safe.
Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, is not as well known as his company and this book sheds a lot of life on him and he is an interesting character and the book is intriguing in parts.
The best bits are fantastic. One part really impacted on me and I am still trying to process the implications of the text but it is likely that it will change my outlook. It relates to his address to Princeton graduands..
For me, the book was a bumpy ride. Walter Isaacson's l;lengthy introduction did not resonate with me and some of the listing of Amazon's products and services had as much appeal as a cloying corporate video..
OK, I have got that off my chest. The good parts are really good.

< Pedantry note: In trigonometry the term is 'cosine' - in the book it is 'cosign >.'

I just reviewed Invent and Wander by Contributors Jeff Bezos and Walter Isaacson. #InventandWander #NetGalley. Its a great collection of wisdom and advice, laid out in simple to understand and follow. Great book on those wanting some tips on how to execute and deliver results.

It is book about man who owns the biggest book shop on the face earth and who stared his endeavour with book selling.
It is about Jeff Bezos.
First part is his letters to investors of Amazon. Then second part contains his autobiographical writings.
I liked second part as it is written with sensitive and carefree simple prose. It provides glimpse into the mind of genius.
Initial introduction by Walter issacson is too long and contains summary of almost whole of the book
A very good short read to learn life philosophy of richest man on planet earth..
I liked to read about Amazon Web services and blue origin. Also it was fresh knowledge to know about whole foods and Washington Post aquisition.
A must read for Amazon lovers.

The first part of the book contains the collection of letters to shareholders which documents the history of Amazon under Bezos’ leadership. The next part contains speeches given by Bezos at various events. Lastly. It closes with various future efforts that Bezos plans to undertake. It was a worthwhile read and Bezos is a visionary not afraid to fail. I would describe it as a hopeful. It’s no wonder people get behind a vision of a future that evolves for the better and look to what he’ll do next.