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The idea for Amazon came to fruition in 1994. Over 20 years later the company employs over 90,000 people and has become one of the most well known businesses on the planet. The visionary of this corporation was a gifted child and he’s evolved into a driven CEO, who with the help of the internet has created a single store that sells nearly everything. His name is Jeff Bezos. Early in his career he showed many leadership qualities. He was charismatic, persuasive and confident.

Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography was written in two parts, the first was composed as a letter to his son. The second half was penned several years later and was ultimately never finished.

Glenn Greenwald is a former law and civil rights attorney. He is now a journalist and author. His first communication from Edward Snowden was on 1st December 2012. At the time Snowden did not reveal who he was, simply signing off emails as ‘Cincinnatus’. Cincinnatus was the Roman farmer who was appointed dictator of Rome, defeated all her enemies before voluntarily giving up all power and returning to farming.

Elon Musk has long since entered the consciousness of the general public. Back in early 2012 people started to take notice. One of his companies had just built and delivered an all-electric car. Another of his companies had just flown a capsule to the International Space Station and back. He was being lauded as an entrepreneur on a par with the likes of Steve Jobs. However, whilst Jobs had succeeded in achieving similar feats in two different industries at the same time, Musk has since achieved it in three of them.

Before I begin with my book summary, I’d like to start with a disclaimer. Rather than just watching this summary, I would highly recommend reading the book discussed to fully benefit from it. Unlike most of the other books I’ve reviewed, the greatness of this book comes from ‘how’ it’s written, not just ‘what’ it is written about. Some of the attention to language and detail is remarkable. Rather than a traditional autobiography, each chapter is a short story about a period of Nabokov’s early life, beautifully written and collectively described as a masterpiece by the literary world.

Malcolm Little was born on 19th May 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother was born in Grenada in the West Indies and his father was a Baptist minister whose preaching caused the family problems with the Klu Klux Klan. Malcolm was one of 8 children. He also had two step-sisters and a step-brother. As a young child, two white men burnt down their family home. His father built a new four room house himself. His father then died when he was six. The family began to struggle to put food on the table without a father figure and he began to steal food.

Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace on 30th November 1874. His father was an English politician, however despite eventually having the same job, Churchill got most of his prominent characteristics from his mother, as his father was at first too busy and then struck with illness, passing away when Churchill was 20. Churchill and his American mother were both full of energy, ambition and courage, with a passion for adventure. Don't know much about #Churchill? Watch this animated short video on his life and accomplishments. #History https://t.co/WckTxv4rdz— The Churchill Centre (@ChurchillCentre) February 21, 2016

Sam Walton built a business which now has over 11,000 stores in more than 28 countries. How did he build the world’s largest company in terms of revenue, in the world? Founded over 50 years ago, Sam had many personal traits that helped Walmart grow from a single store to the largest retail outfit there is.

Jerry Weintraub was an actor, producer, promoter and agent: a true self-made philanthropist. His book “When I stop talking, you’ll know I’m dead” documents several entertaining stories from his life. There are insights into his friendship with politicians such as George Bush and Jimmy Carter and anecdotes with world famous actors on the sets of some of the blockbuster films he produced such as The Karate Kid and the Oceans 11 trilogy. He’s done his fair share of work with musicians as well: from building and promoting John Denver’s career to staging Frank Sinatra’s comeback.

Edward Bernays persuaded women to smoke. He convinced the public that bacon and eggs were the true all-American breakfast. He also facilitated the successful overthrow of a democratically elected Guatemalan president. How did one man achieve these remarkable accomplishments? The methods used to accomplish these astonishing events are explained in his book, ‘Propaganda’. @OEudaimonia you did an amazing job with a complicated subject. the guatemala episode was awful. it's left a wound in me that doesn't heal.— anne bernays (@Anne_Bernays) October 28, 2015