“Inside Amazon” is Gisela Hausmann’s story of the good, the bad, and the in-between that she experienced while working with Amazon. It is her personal account of the support Amazon provided for her as an independent authors and the lack of it that she found while working in logistics. Her story unfolds in a casual narrative, as if chatting with a long lost friend, sharing recent personal events.
Hausmann wrote a children’s book and discovered the solution to every self-publishing author’s biggest problem: an Internet bookstore named Amazon.com. When people asked “Where is your book available?” She replied, “Nationwide at Amazon.com.” She shared her writing journey including finding reviews and reviewers, adding Kindle books, marketing and all the ups and downs of being an Amazon-published author.
Hausmann eventually went to work for Amazon in their warehouse. It was hard work in a time when Amazon was experiencing growing pains and general logistics problems. There was an enormous volume of work behind those thousands of tractor trailers, featuring “moving billboards” with the Amazon arrow on the side. Unfortunately, she found that many warehouse employees were not accustomed to loading and handling boxes efficiently or correctly. The Covid-virus restrictions exacerbated problems and many workers did not follow protocols or take proper precautions.
“Inside Amazon” is not a not an Amazon “hit piece.” It is a reflection on her personal experiences. She was careful to not violate non-disclosure agreements, and included the improvements that have been made since she left her position in the Amazon warehouse. I received a review copy of “Inside Amazon: My Story” from by Gisela Hausmann, Educ-Easy Books, and Independent Book Publishers.

This is certainly informative enough re the topic(s) of some aspects of publishing a book, & working conditions inside an amazon warehouse. The author is quite detail oriented, & yet has made this a readable format, even though filled with a lot of numbers & statistics. I guess I'm not any surprised at anything I read. The book isn't really 'bragging' about amazon, nor is it 'trashing' amazon.......it's just telling 'this is what it is'..... it offers a window of sorts, inside the amazon machine. Reading this didn't change my opinion of amazon.
I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from Educ-Easy Books via NetGalley, in return for reading it & posting my own fair/honest review.

I did enjoy reading the author's experience on the work conditions of Amazon and how for many years they have treated their employees badly, underpaid and no valuable sick or vacation time, etc. We have all heard this and we still buy from Amazon. Maybe if everyone will read a chapter or two of this book, they will think twice before ordering from Amazon and buy from local business. Not saying you cannot buy from Amazon, just buy local too. Check to see if the price and products are better.

I am amazed by the Amazon “machine”. The technology and human-power it takes to do what they do blows my mind. I order something from my chair in the middle of Michigan and it arrives to my door the next day. How is that possible? Additionally, I’m disgusted by the disregard for employees in these huge fulfillment centers and while Bezos has more money than anyone morally should. This book, written by an employee at Amazon was illuminating in that she gave real examples of life inside a fulfillment center including things that don’t make sense from her perspective as well as what works well. Some of the details got a bit muddled in the details but I still found it interesting. A quick read that hit the spot as I find this all fascinating. Thanks to Educ-Easy Books for the copy for review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Both good and somewhat bad.
On the good side, I admire the author for her resilience. And for her easy readable writing style. She is obviously an intelligent, thoughtful, and dedicated person.
On the downside. She comes across as a bit of a downer. You know, that one employee who always thinks they are smarter than everyone else, the one who is always complaining about the work yet cannot fathom why they do not get promoted.
It's been well established that Amazon warehouses are the modern day equivalents of the old fashioned sweatshops. You go in, you work like a dog, and you go home. Not something one would want to make a career out of. Perhaps an entry-level job, or a second job to make some extra cash. No one wants to spend 30 or more years standing on their feet sorting packages!
While I admire the author for trying to suggest improvements, it's the manner she went about it that was the problem. I know that in my career supervising many people, I would dread it when that one know-it-all employee would be constantly complaining to me. Or about me.
I just don't know. On the one hand, I understand her points. The workplace could, and should, be improved. Always. On the other hand, it was just her manner that soured me on her. In the end, I think she found herself in a position that she was overqualified for, and it irked her that she could not get promoted up the ladder. Perhaps she could use some training in inter-personal skills.
All in all, it was an informative read. A good look behind the curtain at the behemoth that has become Amazon.

The good: I appreciate Ms. Hausmann's resilience during difficult times in her life when her husband suddenly died.
Her story about becoming a self published author in the early days of Amazon/Kindle was interesting and insightful and I liked the Hausmann telling this part of the story.
Then the story veers into her time working for Amazon's warehouse.
At this time, the writing takes a turn and Hausmann seems like a narcissist and a complainer. Her ideas to make things easier/more productive go unheaded, and finally, she walks off the job after many signs that she should have left earlier.
Sad to say, this is not just an Amazon problem. It's a problem in all large corporations and non profits. And large corporations/NP are in the ear of the government, pushing small businesses out of the way. In a distant future, we will all be working for corporate government. Journalists have long stopped actually caring about stories. Perhaps Ms. Hausmann should move on focus on starting her own Insider Magazine and report on the inside of corporations. Sometimes authors are so passionate (and frustrated) about their subject matter, they don't realize how they are coming across in the book (annoying, narcissist, etc.) I give it one star for that aspect. I couldn't stop reading it, so I give it five stars. For anyone looking for a book on the inside of Amazon, I'd give it 4 stars, For all other readers, 1 star. I'd love to see an edit on the second half of the book where Hausmann perhaps is more conversational and relatable. Appreciate the work that went into the book. Thank you for the opportunity to read Inside Amazon: My Story.

Crazy but believable story. Why do I still love Amazon?!!

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't quite what I expected.

While I absolutely respect Hausmann's experience, I was also surprised by this book. As someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest and has had their fair share of Amazon experiences this book felt like sucking up to Jeff Bezos.

I enjoyed reading about Hausmann's experience as a fledgling author trying to get her book noticed when the internet was still new. The book takes a sharp turn when Hausmann starts working in the warehouse. To me the book comes off as Hausmann believes she was so smart and such a great employee and the best worker and just couldn't understand why she wasn't getting promoted despite all her knowledge. This assumption makes less sense when you look at it from the perspective of it's not that decision makers don't know what's going on in the warehouses, but they just don't care. Hausmann applauds Amazon at times and shockingly says that the conditions that people work in are fine, despite the recent deaths of several Amazon warehouse employees and terrible experiences we know are real. Hausmann goes so far to even not that she doesn't see the reason to go to the bathroom during her shift, which is a very pro-Amazon take that doesn't account for the reality that workers are humans that should be able to go to the bathroom. It's an especially confusing take because Hausmann also notes that she didn't want to do overtime when asked because of the conditions of said overtime. Also a very petty peeve is she refers to the bookstore in Portland as Powell instead of Powell's which jumped out at me as an odd mistake for someone who spent so much time talking about the importance of branding and professionalism and doing everything the best you can.

I recognize I'm probably not the demographic for this book and it wasn't for me.