The Story of Amazon.com

November 1, 2012

Gr 5-9-Solid resources for students needing information for reports or just curious about how successful businesses are built. Gilbert imparts succinct and informative details within the pages of these slim volumes. Both titles begin with a brief introduction about the early days of creating the company, then present significant steps in its growth and progress in chronological order. In Amazon, the author recounts how Jeff Bezos started with his business idea, his entrepreneurial spirit, and a move to Seattle to begin his company. Its fast growth, coupled with the desire to provide attractive features for customers, led to struggling financial stability. The introduction of the Kindle helped drive Amazon's success. In Facebook, readers see how Mark Zuckerberg, a computer whiz at Harvard, took his skill and hobby of computer programming coupled with an idea for networking students on campus to arrive at the early development of Facebook. Chapters include the challenges of running and maintaining his growing business and finding investors. Though following different trajectories, both histories relate similar paths in terms of struggles, setbacks, successes, and growth, with similar formatting, high-quality glossy photos.Susan Shaver, Hemingford Public Schools, NE

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2012
Grades 5-8 The Built for Success series explains to kids how certain businesses achieved their known-around-the-world status. Once drawn in by the tall, slim format and attractive full-page photos, readers will find themselves going into some depth about the faith and hard work it took to put these companies on the map. When founder Jeff Bezos left New York in 1994 for Seattle to start a business, he didn't know what it was going to be. But the Internet was growing, and it seemed like a good place to sell books. Amazon.com follows the company's spectacular growth, despite early financial meltdowns. Highlighted are expansion moments, including the push past books to devising products like the Kindle. That one talented author has written all four volumes gives this a cohesiveness and standard of excellence often lacking in series books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)