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.
The Burning Question reveals climate change to be the most fascinating scientific, political and social puzzle in history. It shows that carbon emissions are still accelerating upwards, following an exponential curve that goes back centuries. One reason is that saving energy is like squeezing a balloon: reductions in one place lead to increases elsewhere. Another reason is that clean energy sources don't in themselves slow the rate of fossil fuel extraction.
Tackling global warming will mean persuading the world to abandon oil, coal and gas reserves worth many trillions of dollars - at least until we have the means to put carbon back in the ground. The burning question is whether that can be done. What mix of politics, psychology, economics and technology might be required? Are the energy companies massively overvalued, and how will carbon-cuts affect the global economy? Will we wake up to the threat in time? And who can do what to make it all happen?
The Rough Guide Website Directory is an essential companion to the bestselling Rough Guide to the Internet and will save you hours of online frustration.
This multi-million-selling Internet book is still the ultimate handbook for novices and experts alike. Written in plain English, it covers everything from getting online for the first time to newsfeeds, Internet telephony and advanced tips and tricks guaranteed to turn casual surfers into Net gurus.
Climate change, fair-trade, ethical investment... life can sometimes seem like a moral minefield. Which products and companies should we support or avoid? And which "ethical" claims can we trust? This work answers these and other questions. From tea to trainers and pensions to plane-tickets, it looks at various problems and ethical options.
A guide to Apple's iPhone, a mobile-cum-iPod-cum-PDA-cum-web browser. It offers coverage of the product rolled out from Apple HQ, from powering up the first time to sending pictures as email attachments and hooking up to hi-fis. It presents tips and tricks, from uploading music, google maps and conference calls, to a "first aid" Help! Section.
Provides information on the different variety of iPods and how to select the right model, includes instructions on using iTunes, and shows how to manage a music library.
Provides information on the different variety of iPods and how to select the right model, includes instructions on using iTunes, and shows how to manage a music library.
À l'âge de quatorze ans, Jack Ma, amoureux de la langue anglaise, promenait les touristes étrangers dans sa ville natale de Hangzhou. La Chine sortait alors à peine de la Révolution Culturelle. Quarante ans plus tard, il est devenu milliardaire et l'un des acteurs mondiaux les plus influents de l'économie d'Internet. Alibaba, l'entreprise qu'il a créée en 1999, joue à égalité avec les géants américains comme Amazon. Ses sites de commerce en ligne attirent chaque année plus de 400 millions de clients. Il investit également dans les médias, la finance en ligne, la santé et les vignobles, notamment en France.
Quels sont les ressorts secrets de cette trajectoire exceptionnelle, alors qu'il n'appartient pas à la classe des « héritiers rouges » ? Comme a-t-il construit son groupe face à des concurrents redoutables et à un pouvoir chinois mal à l'aise avec le monde de l'Internet ? C'est ce que retrace Duncan Clark, dans un récit passionnant, déjà traduit en seize langues, et qui raconte aussi le grand tournant de la Chine vers la société de consommation.
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