The memoir "Inside Amazon" examines Gisela Hausmann's experiences as a small publisher, a top reviewer, an indie author, and a warehouse associate. "Inside Amazon: My Story" is compelling because it is personal.
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Who is this book for? - Every indie author, seller, warehouse professional and customer who wants to know what's going on behind Amazon's "wall of talking points."
Whereas, usually, Amazon's story is told in superlatives, Gisela's memoir offers a ground-level look at Amazon's publishing platform and the operations at a distribution center.
The Austrian-born self-publisher's journey begins in 1997 when she decides to publish her first book in the United States. Conscious of the fact that the traditional book publishing and book selling industry were never easy to work with, she believes that a new Internet bookstore - Amazon.com - will help her to distribute her book nationwide.
It turns out to be the right decision. Amazon exceeds Hausmann's expectations by offering amazing marketing tools previously reserved for authors whose books made the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today, free of charge.
Not surprisingly, Hausmann becomes a fan of Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
But, struck by a personal tragedy, Hausmann must put her publisher's ambitions on hold. She starts working in the transportation industry, where she does well.
A few years later, she is back at Amazon, as the author of award-winning books and a well-ranked top reviewer.
When Amazon's publishing platform experiences "issues" - fake reviews, plagiarism, "book-stuffing"- scams, and more - Hausmann holds on to her belief that Amazon is a highly efficient organization. She assumes that the company focuses on their big and expensive products instead of relatively cheap ebooks.
Irritated with President Trump's economic policies and worried about the potential of a recession, Hausmann is happy to find out that Amazon opened a distribution center in her hometown and starts working there.
However, to her utter surprise, she cannot find any applications of Jeff Bezos' famous leadership principles or his "Day 1"-philosophy. At times, working at the warehouse feels like working for a brand-new start-up.
Things get worse during the Christmas Peak Season.
By the time the Covid-crisis hits, Hausmann knows that the "issues" she sees are systemic but can no longer leave her job. A different kind of recession than the one she worried about has arrived.
Gisela Hausmann ends up working for Amazon Logistics for 468 days.
This is her 23-year story.
The real surprise comes after she publishes her book.