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Idea Man

A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft

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About this listen

 By his early thirties, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire-and that was just the beginning.

In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the hundred most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor-combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives-have literally changed the world.

In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this classic memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors-both the triumphs and the failures-and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life.

The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real. Business Business Development & Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Professionals & Academics Science & Technology Technology Memoir Witty Software Artificial Intelligence Biography Computer Science Software Development
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Paul Allen was a great man in his field who also contributed so much in many other areas, too. This is his well-narrated story of how he rose to such great heights alongside Bill Gates at Microsoft, as well as achievements elsewhere. This is a
really nice audio book which I enjoyed. He will be greatly missed.

A great man

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Idea Man is de autobiografie van Paul Allen, mede-oprichter van Microsoft. Het boek schetst zijn jeugd in Seattle, de vroege samenwerking met Bill Gates, de oprichting en groei van Microsoft, en zijn latere carrière als investeerder, filantroop en visionair in uiteenlopende domeinen zoals ruimtevaart, biotechnologie, sport (Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks) en cultuur.

Allen gebruikt het boek om niet alleen zijn zakelijke successen te delen, maar ook de spanningen met Gates, zijn strijd met ziekte (Hodgkin-lymfoom), en zijn visie op hoe technologie en innovatie de wereld vormgeven.

Geeft een zeldzaam kijkje in de beginjaren van Microsoft en de relatie tussen Allen en Gates.

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I came to this book anticipating most of it to be about Microsoft, the subject I got the book for. I wanted a perspective on its start from the other co - founder. This was engrossing as Mr Allen kept diaries so had great detail of the very early days programming late at night but it skimmed over fairly quickly his involvement in the company's latter days as he grew apart from Bill Gates.

The second half of the book I didn't know what to expect as I didn't know about Paul Allen's other interests and achievements. The starting chapters to this second half, post the big topic of Microsoft, about sports ownership failed to grab me much but the chapters on music, the mind (the ultimate computer has he says), space flight, the start of cable internet and exploration by yacht went together very well. These were equally engrossing and showed what Paul Allen's many other legacies were that had developed from his post Microsoft business investments.

If you just came to this book about Microsoft you will really like its start up story but please hang around for the bigger picture of a private but engaging man.

Much more than just microsoft

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Excellent, loved it, RIP Paul Allen. Software is eating the world now and many have benefited from their rise.

i could not stop listening

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A compelling memoir by Microsoft’s cofounder, offering a rare glimpse into the conversations, challenges, and ambitions that shaped both the rise of modern computing and Microsoft’s success. I was particularly struck by the reference to Artificial Intelligence as part of the vision for computing from the very beginning. While some of the technical details were complex, the overall narrative remained insightful and rewarding. Highly recommended.

Insightful and honest

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