Review by Booklist Review
Mattioli, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative journalism for her work on Amazon, delivers an expose on that company's drive for domination. Amazon, valued at $1.5 trillion, is a powerhouse seller, a web service provider, and logistics magnate. This book walks readers through the company's history to current times, including the 2023 antitrust lawsuit filed against them by the Federal Trade Commission--one of the largest antitrust lawsuits this century. Mattioli has interviewed hundreds of people, from small businesses to Amazon executives, providing readers with rare insights into their retail landscape. She investigates, for example, how Amazon uses its massive troves of data from third-party sellers when formulating private labels that usurp the competition's market share. Chapters also cover tax evasion and how that has led to the closing of 30 percent of America's stores and malls. The COVID-19 lockdown only made Amazon stronger. Readers will be drawn into the well-researched narrative that details how Amazon has reshaped our daily lives and economy, while still growing. This book will appeal to those interested in business and the behemoth that is Amazon.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wall Street Journal reporter Mattioli debuts with a blistering exposé of how Amazon used its "size, leverage, and access to data across industries to choke competition." According to Mattioli, Amazon's enormous growth since the late 1990s was fueled by a business model that dominated industries by introducing low prices (even when it meant operating at a loss) to lure customers away from competitors, who rarely had the resources to outlast Amazon's steep discounts. Once rivals had been bankrupted or bought out, Amazon would raise prices again. Mattioli's impressive reporting--which draws on internal documents and hundreds of interviews with employees, senior executives, and government officials--recreates the company's conquests in disturbing detail. For instance, Mattioli recounts how Amazon lost $200 million in one month selling discounted diapers to force Quidsi, parent company of Diapers.com, to the bargaining table, and threatened to give diapers away if the company didn't capitulate to Amazon's takeover bid (Amazon acquired Quidsi in 2010). Mattioli also delves into Federal Trade Commission chairperson Lina Khan's lawsuit against Amazon for "maintaining an illegal monopoly," presenting Khan as a heroic underdog for suing over the objections of her risk-averse colleagues at the FTC. Mattioli spins the legal wrangling into surprisingly riveting reading, and the meticulous accounts of Amazon's nefarious practices outrage. This is investigative journalism at its finest. Agent: Eric Lupfer, UTA. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A compelling study of the tech behemoth's bid to control whatever it touches. Amazon has infiltrated our lives, and the U.S. economy, to a degree that no other company ever has. Mattioli, a Wall Street Journal reporter who has covered Amazon since 2019, brings great expertise to her first book. She readily acknowledges that the company provides convenience, product range, and low prices to shoppers, but she believes that it is now doing more harm than good. There are already several books and a wealth of articles explaining how Amazon overpowers small companies through unfair practices, manipulates the tax system, and abuses its employees, but Mattioli examines some new aspects through interviews with former and current employees. Many of her sources requested anonymity, which is understandable given Amazon's penchant for retribution. The real value of this book, however, is in the chapters about regulating the corporation. Legislation stalled in Congress, but a lawsuit has been brought by the Federal Trade Commission, which aims to break the giant into separate entities, working on the principle that much of Amazon's power stems from its domination of numerous connected sectors. For its part, Amazon argues that it constantly works to benefit consumers, but the focus of the FTC case is its anti-competitive market operations. The case is still underway, and while Mattioli is a supporter of the lawsuit, she points to the massive lobbying power of Amazon, as well as its legion of lawyers and PR specialists. Another lawsuit involves the Prime program, claiming that "Amazon purposefully signed up consumers…without their understanding and made it very hard to cancel." Even if there is no firm conclusion, Mattioli has done much to reveal the snarl behind the smiley-face logo. Mattioli tears away the Amazon curtain and finds a culture of ruthlessness, greed, and disdain for the law. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
