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Alibaba
- The House That Jack Ma Built
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
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Summary
An engrossing insider's account of how a teacher built one of the world's most valuable companies - rivaling Walmart and Amazon - and forever reshaped the global economy.
In just a decade and a half, Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings who started out as an English teacher, founded Alibaba and built it into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend. Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the largest global IPO ever. A Rockefeller of his age who is courted by CEOs and presidents around the world, Jack is an icon for China's booming private sector and the gatekeeper to hundreds of millions of middle-class consumers.
Duncan Clark first met Jack in 1999 in the small apartment where Jack founded Alibaba. Granted unprecedented access to a wealth of new material including exclusive interviews, Clark draws on his own experience as an early advisor to Alibaba and two decades in China chronicling the Internet's impact on the country to create an authoritative, compelling narrative account of Alibaba's rise.
How did Jack overcome his humble origins and early failures to achieve massive success with Alibaba? How did he outsmart rival entrepreneurs from China and Silicon Valley? Can Alibaba maintain its 80 percent market share? As it forges ahead into finance and entertainment, are there limits to Alibaba's ambitions? How does the Chinese government view its rise? Will Alibaba expand further overseas, including in the US?
Clark tells Alibaba's tale in the context of China's momentous economic and social changes, illuminating an unlikely corporate titan as never before.
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What listeners say about Alibaba
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- Amir Anzur
- 29-07-16
great insight to one of the world's smartest men
good read and great insight to a man that has helped so many entrepreneurs. highly recommended!
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8 people found this helpful
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- iLard
- 23-09-16
Rather dull
An interesting story told in a very boring way, like a dry, unchallenging newspaper article. What a shame. Had to listen at x2 speed to get through in double quick, toe-curling time.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Project Manager
- 16-11-16
Very average book
The Chinese pronunciation is really terrible as other listeners have mentioned. The story isn't great either. You never really get to know Jack Ma and there isn't much backing to statements like 'Jack Magic'. It's almost like a Wikipedia article mixed with some hearsay and a few newspaper articles. I'd give Steve Jobs book 5 out of 5. In contrast this book struggles to get 2 out of 5.
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3 people found this helpful
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- At this for too long.
- 02-02-17
Commentary with little insight
Little objectivity.
Didn't get passed chapter 2 before losing the will to listen any further.
Learned little that's not already published in interviews and profiles.
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2 people found this helpful
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- christopher lamph
- 29-12-20
PR nonsense
didn't enjoy this at all. The narrator bored the tits off me and it wasn't about Jack, it was just about alibaba and their steps to success, not what it looks like from the cover. boring didn't get past first couple of chapters.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Raj Chakraborty
- 29-10-19
Not a great book
It was more of read from someone marketing Jack Ma, ratherb than a clean unbiased view!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Alexander
- 24-08-17
Not that interesting - felt biased
Just not that good or informative as other books in the genre. Dissapointed, would recommend to avoid.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Peter Chapman
- 02-08-17
Not a tech startup story
This book isn't a gripping history of Alibaba and its rise. It contains more like a bird's eye view of the Chinese tech scene, and Alibaba's and Ma's place in it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- pargi1988
- 15-07-17
Great read
Great read with a good understanding of how it all started. very insightful and well worth it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- rina
- 19-06-17
uninspiring
Not very objective. Did not inspire at all. Jack comes across as a con man
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1 person found this helpful