The Story of Amazon.com

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