Jeff Bezos’ Wife Slams Amazon Book

Jeff Bezos’ wife slammed an Amazon book titled The Everything Store. MacKenzie Bezos openly criticized the biography as “a lopsided and misleading” portrayal of her husband and his retail website.

Most ironically, the criticism was posted on the Amazon site under reviews for the book. The review is titled “I wanted to like this book,” and was verified as authentic by an Amazon representative.

The biography was written by Brad Stone, who is a senior writer for Bloomburg Businessweek. The book chronicles the beginning and steady growth of one of the most popular online retail providers. As a journalist, Stone’s articles have explored internet giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo.

While the book is currently number five in Amazon’s Business & Investing category and number 14 under Biographies & Memoirs, Jeff Bezos’ wife is not impressed.

In her scathing review, MacKenzie said that she found “way too many inaccuracies” in the biography, leading her to question “every episode in the book.” She said that although the book is advertised as heavily researched, the end result was inaccurate and one-sided.

MacKenzie also criticized Stone’s portrayal of her husband’s motives. Although Stone makes repeated assumptions about what Bezos was thinking and feeling, Jeff was not interviewed for the book.

She continues her review, admitting that Stone may have embellished and left things out to create a more interesting and sensational book. However, she contends that a book labeled as non-fiction should contain facts, not speculation. She said Stone was “obliged to find a suspenseful story arc that doesn’t rely on mischaracterizing or avoiding important parts of the truth.”

Despite the controversy, The Everything Store is currently rated 4.4 out of five stars, with 52 customer reviews. The 384 page book was published by Little, Brown and Company. Interested readers can purchase the hardcover for $16.80, the paperback for $14.29, or the Kindle version for $10.99 at Amazon.com.

Jeff Bezos’ wife suggests that the book should be marketed as “a story based on true events.”

[Image via Wikimedia]