Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut

We all know Amazon.com as the leader of e-commerce, but we forget about the early days as the little guy that could;  a struggling online bookstore. James Marcus, employee #55 and one of Amazon's first editors, provides a well-written, witty account of his daily duties and watching the company grow behind closed doors. He has a very humanist point of view and can't always feel quite comfortable in corporate culture but he reminds us of the early days; the DIY attitude, where everyone was encouraged to try different things. As Amazon grew, the culture changed to what James calls the "culture of metrics," in which everything connected to the site could be measured in ways unprecedented in business and history. And as Amazon added more and more products, the importance of content slipped away. James was most satisfied in the early years, even if that meant picking and packing books during the holidays. Don't let the price tag fool you, this book is quite a gem.