Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft

by Paul Allen

Hardcover, 2011

Call number

BIO ALLEN

Collection

Publication

Portfolio (2011), Edition: UNABRIDGED VERSION, 368 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. Business. Nonfiction. HTML:By his early thirties, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire-and that was just the beginning. In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the hundred most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor-combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives-have literally changed the world. In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this long-awaited memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors-both the triumphs and the failures-and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life. The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real.… (more)

Media reviews

Quick . . . who is the owner and founder of Microsoft. My best guess is that 80% or more of the adults asked this question know the answer as Bill Gates. Quick . . . who is the co-founder of Microsoft and the driving imaginative force of the company from the beginning? The Idea Man – Paul Allen.
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If I were to guess, I would say only 20% of the people out there know Paul Allen is the co-founder of Microsoft and very instrumental in laying the groundwork for getting Microsoft to where it is now. I personally have always envied Paul Allen, not because he co-founded Microsoft, but because he accomplished some amazing things, made a lot of money doing so, and then he became owner of not one, not two but three professional sports franchises. Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft is a very interesting and enlightening view on the genius and free thinking spirit that encompasses Paul Allen. He tells about his childhood where he was encouraged to experiment and act as an “engineer” even at a young age, to his post college years, being confused and not knowing exactly what to do with the rest of his life, to the time when his future career merged with his personal love, technology. I am a bit of a techie or gear-head myself, and found the story of Paul Allen’s career very impressive and interesting. I enjoyed reading about the process and timing of Paul Allen’s and Bill Gate’s rise and creation of the brand Microsoft, but found it even more interesting reading about his opinions on running companies, like his sports franchises as well as his other entrepreneurial efforts. Things changed for Allen in the early 1980’s, he became ill with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and reduced his involvement with Microsoft. He recovered, and started to use his fortune as well as his ideas for a life of adventure and discovery. His drive and spirit moved him into the role of a philanthropist, his groups are responsible for the first privately funded spacecraft and the Allen Brain Atlas is responsible for many breakthroughs in neuroscience. This was a great read (and I admit, I don’t read as much as I should!) Idea Man makes everyone want to explore their own personal boundaries as well as question what’s next and why!
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User reviews

LibraryThing member StefanNijenhuis
I really liked the auto-biography of this co-founder of Microsoft and expecially the nice anecdotes about his friendship and partnership with Bill Gates. Halfway the Microsoft focus stops and he starts telling about his entrepeneurship and investments. He invested mindblowing millions and billions
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in large projects that support his hometown Seattle, are driven by his vision on technology or the subjects that interested him since childhood. I've been to some of the places he describes during my visit in Seattle. Wished I read this book beore my trip.
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LibraryThing member chrisod
The first half, covering his time at Microsoft, is very interesting, more so if you are a geek. The after MS part of the book reads more like a series of blog posts about all the cool stuff he gets to do with his billions of dollars. I found myself skimming a lot towards the end.
LibraryThing member Clueless
What a great 'fly on the wall' peek into the start of Microsoft. I was surprised at the scope and number of bad investments he made. Personally I could have skipped the sports chapter. Allen seems like 'just a guy' even with his heaps of $$$ he still is in awe of certain musicians he admires. And
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can't quite seem to grasp the immensity of his wealth. How terrific that he survived his 'wake-up' calls and could go on to enjoy his money and put it to good use. What a fantastic role model.

I supposed he wouldn't have been able to accomplish so much if he'd have to dilute his energy with a wife and family but I still can't help wishing those things for him.

How odd that I read this right after Steven's Pinker's 'the Language Instinct.' And I admit I'm fascinated with the problem of indexing and cataloging knowledge. It seems to me that if some one would use Pinker's logic to come up with an object oriented intelligence system that could be used to index the (unfathomable and undigestable) tsunami of information currently at our fingertips.
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LibraryThing member Documentatie
By his early thirties, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire-and that was just the beginning.

In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the hundred most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology,
Show More
business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor-combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives-have literally changed the world.

In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this long-awaited memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors-both the triumphs and the failures-and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life.

The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Razinha
Excellent. I want to adopt him as my eccentric rich uncle and hope he sends a little my way. What does a very wealthy person do when he's no longer driving the technical side of Microsoft? Well, pretty much anything. He lived for himself - Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Seahawks, plus a 414 foot
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yacht that has a minisub and two helos - and others. Unlike the Koch brothers who only know how to destroy with their wealth, Allen helped so many people, including villages in Africa. Mapping the brain? No problem. Commercial flights into space when the US can't put it's own astronauts up there? No problem. Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma? No problem for the first and so far so good on the second.

I liked his candor...he paints Bill Gates fairly as a conqueror, regardless of the cost, but also acknowledges that there is still a friendship after the hurt. Steve Jobs is treated almost as an afterthought. And then the fun starts. I was almost put off by the title, because after Microsoft, what was there in the way of ideas? Well... quite a lot. Allen has vision to spare and he puts his not inconsiderable money in support of those visions, even at losses unimaginable to pretty much all of us, but he persists.

So, I've read Isaacson's bio of the miserable excuse for a human that was Jobs; Woz's autobio (which was as equally low key as Allen's); and this. I suppose something from Gates is next.
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LibraryThing member DoesNotCompute
Another easy to read (auto)biography. Unlike so many of his ilk, Paul Allen found many ways to enjoy his money.

Pages

368

ISBN

1591843820 / 9781591843825

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