Overview

An engrossing, insider's account of how a teacher built one of the world's most valuable companies--rivaling Walmart & Amazon--and forever reshaped the global economy. In just a decade and half Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings who started out as an English teacher, founded and built Alibaba into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend. Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the largest global IPO ever. A Rockefeller of his age who is courted by CEOs and Presidents around the world, Jack is an icon for China's booming private sector and the gatekeeper to hundreds of millions of middle class consumers. Duncan Clark first met Jack in 1999 in the small apartment where Jack founded Alibaba. Granted unprecedented access to a wealth of new material including exclusive interviews, Clark draws on his own experience as an early advisor to Alibaba and two decades in China chronicling the Internet's impact on the country to create an authoritative, compelling narrative account of Alibaba's rise. How did Jack overcome his humble origins and early failures to achieve massive success with Alibaba? How did he outsmart rival entrepreneurs from China and Silicon Valley? Can Alibaba maintain its 80% market share? As it forges ahead into finance and entertainment, are there limits to Alibaba's ambitions? How does the Chinese government view its rise? Will Alibaba expand further overseas, including in the U.S.? Clark tells Alibaba's tale in the context of China's momentous economic and social changes, illuminating an unlikely corporate titan as never before.

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9781504697040

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Reviews

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the present China and the heartbeat of a great entrepreneur. -- Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and Draper University Narrator Jim Meskimen brings an unassuming charm and perfect timing to his performance of this engaging book about the Chinese ecommerce hub Alibaba. Alert to every nuance in the writing-he's a longtime associate of Jack Ma-Meskimen delivers this fast-moving narrative with appealing authority. -- AudioFile A fascinating new book. -- Economist (London) A clean and compelling narrative...[Clark] tells the story with flair. -- Wall Street Journal This book provides excellent insight into the world of Jack Ma...Definitely on the short list for those who wish to understand the Chinese economy today. -- Ken Wilcox, chairman emeritus, Silicon Valley Bank Jack Ma is part Bill Gates, part Steve Jobs, part Larry Page, part Sergey Brin, and part Mark Zuckerberg, all rolled into one. -- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP This absorbing and well-written portrayal of Ma's character and his role in Alibaba's development will appeal to a wide range of readers. -- Library Journal A must-read for anyone hoping to navigate China's new economy. -- Financial Times (London)

This book provides excellent insight into the world of Jack Ma...Definitely on the short list for those who wish to understand the Chinese economy today. -- Ken Wilcox, chairman emeritus, Silicon Valley Bank This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the present China and the heartbeat of a great entrepreneur. -- Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and Draper University Jack Ma is part Bill Gates, part Steve Jobs, part Larry Page, part Sergey Brin, and part Mark Zuckerberg, all rolled into one. -- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Narrator Jim Meskimen brings an unassuming charm and perfect timing to his performance of this engaging book about the Chinese ecommerce hub Alibaba. Alert to every nuance in the writing-he's a longtime associate of Jack Ma-Meskimen delivers this fast-moving narrative with appealing authority. -- AudioFile This absorbing and well-written portrayal of Ma's character and his role in Alibaba's development will appeal to a wide range of readers. -- Library Journal A must-read for anyone hoping to navigate China's new economy. -- Financial Times (London) A fascinating new book. -- Economist (London) A clean and compelling narrative...[Clark] tells the story with flair. -- Wall Street Journal

Author Information

Duncan Clark, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and fluent Mandarin speaker, has lived and worked in China for over twenty years. He heads a team of more than one hundred at BDA China, the investment advisory firm he founded in Beijing in 1994. An expert on China's Internet sector, Clark is a former visiting scholar at Stanford University, where he welcomed Jack Ma onstage as a keynote speaker, along with the leaders of other leading Chinese Internet firms including Baidu, Sina, and Tencent. Jim Meskimen is a stage, film, and television actor who has appeared in many well-known movies and television shows. He acted in Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon for director Ron Howard, both of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. His television appearances include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Friends, Lie to Me, Criminal Minds, and Parks and Recreation. He is also a painter, award-winning audiobook narrator, and audiobook director for Galaxy Audio.

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