Many mispronunciations

The narrator mispronounces many words: Plantagenet, Riordan, La Cienega, Veuve Clicquot…why did no one correct him?

14 people found this helpful

Trade Joe’s employee

I found the story to be very fascinating as I’ve been an employee of Trader Joes for 20 years and close family members have worked for the company since the Pronto Market days. I definitely recommend.

6 people found this helpful

Lots of value in this one

Whichever side of the retail experience you’re on, and especially if you run a bricks and mortar operation or lease to someone that does, check this book out.  Short book, tons of nuggets.  The value quotient is massive.  Tons of respect for the business of @traderjoes and how it was built.

6 people found this helpful

Seems Like an Ad for Trader Joe's

This book is interesting for a while, but quickly devolves into the author blowing his own horn and talking about how well he did everything. In that sense, it is not interesting for long. I haven't been able to finish it--doesn't seem like there is a reason to. I love the store but the story is not nearly as compelling!

4 people found this helpful

Great story

I love business stories and I love Trader Joe’s so this is a great combo. The voice actor lacks depth of understanding and it comes through. Still, I probably wouldn’t have read the book if not done in audio.

3 people found this helpful

I love the store even more

Joe writes a great, thoughtful and meaningful book on his legacy and the history of Trader Joe’s. I really enjoyed how he intertwined the history of business in the United States over the last 70 years as well.

2 people found this helpful

Smart, Fun, Fascinating — For Fans & Unbelievers Alike

An excellent, amusing, engaging look at the origin of Trader Joe’s, and the demise or rebirth of a number of other late 20th century retail institutions.

Alternately revelatory of how we TJ shoppers have been expertly profiled, and confirmatory of the strong feelings we Trader Joe’s fans have for our favorite market chain, this is a must-read for TJ fans and haters alike. And if you were in Southern California, especially in and around Pasadena, in the 60’s, 70s, or 80s, the book is a fascinating look behind the curtain at places, events, and institutions you may well remember.

The audiobook is worthwhile, and engagingly read by the narrator. The only negative is there are a number of oddly pronounced or mispronounced words — not enough to detract from the book, but enough that an “over educated and under paid” TJ customer will notice. Half-a-dozen pick-ups could fix that single flaw.

Read it; audio-read it. Excellent and interesting.

1 person found this helpful

Zzzzzz

A pretty fascinating guy who founded a sensational business wrote a really dull book about it. B-school grads may delight in the lengthy expositions about SKU numbers but man is this dry as dirt. There’s scant biographical information, only glancing references to his family and background. Just page after page of dry analytics. Imagine sitting through a daylong seminar where a very nice guy reads a very dull 200-page Power Point presentation about business models and you get the picture.

not exactly my favorite, what was the point?

I feel sad after reading this book. Probably most Interesting for entrepreneurs and business people. A lot of basic concepts with some interesting stories.

Entertaining, interesting, and full of lessons!

A very interesting story of a very different generation. Working in the field of business and advisement I found a lot of little takeaways in this book!