Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!

By: Nicholas Carlson

Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel

A pause-resisitng narrative about Marissa Mayer's efforts to remake Yahoo as well as her own rise from Stanford University undergrad to CEO of a $30 billion corporation by the age of 38.

When Yahoo hired star Google executive Mayer to be its CEO in 2012 employees rejoiced. They put posters on the walls throughout Yahoo's California headquarters. On them there was Mayer's face and one word: Hope. But one year later, Mayer sat in front of those same employees in a huge cafeteria on Yahoo's campus and took the beating of her life. Her hair wet and her tone defensive, Mayer read and answered a series of employee-posed questions challenging the basic elements of her plan. There was anger in the room and, behind it, a question: Was Mayer actually going to be able to do this thing?

Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! is the inside story of how Yahoo got into such awful shape in the first place, Marissa Mayer's controversial rise at Google, and her desperate fight to save an internet icon. In August 2011 hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb took a long look at Yahoo and decided to go to war with its management and board of directors. Loeb then bought a 5 percent stake and began a shareholder activist campaign that would cost the jobs of three CEOs before he finally settled on Google's golden girl Mayer to unlock the value lurking in the company. As Mayer began to remake Yahoo from a content company to a tech company, an internal civil war erupted.

In author Nicholas Carlson's capable hands, this riveting audiobook captures Mayer's rise and Yahoo's missteps as a dramatic illustration of what it takes to grab the brass ring in Silicon Valley. And it reveals whether it is possible for a big lumbering tech company to stay relevant in today's rapidly changing business landscape.

©2014 Nicholas Carlson (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Amazing! The best accounting of Yahoo I've seen.

Audio production is excellent. One of the best narrated books on Audible. The writing is sharp, often witty, and informative. Lots of detail without being boring. Recommend to anyone with entrepreneurial ambitions.

Marissa Mayer...Love her or Hate her!

So...I work in the tech world and this book was much more fascinating than I ever expected. First of all, you have to give MM credit, she is one hell of a workaholic. I felt like a slacker after listening about her striving for success. With that said, she is definitely a bit strange according to this book. I suppose you have to be to have majored in and become one of the youngest female CEO's of a top tech enterprise. In addition to MM, this book had a wealth of info about Yahoo and some of the bad decisions they made over the years. It was as if this company was doomed no matter what. I would listen to this again if I had to, it was interesting! I enjoyed every minute of it. I was a bit intrigued because of the tech world, Yahoo, Marissa Mayer and the entire collision of it all. I will say, MM will land on her feet. She is a robotic powerhouse to say the least. Yahoo on the other hand is not looking promising. That company has 9 lives! If you work in tech or are a female business woman...or have any interest in Yahoo or MM herself. Great book worth every minute!

The Inside Story

Mayer took over the job of C.E.O. of the troubled Yahoo Company, in a male-dominated industry while pregnant. Nicholas Carlson’s book set out to reveal the controversy about Mayer because she was upsetting the women’s issues industrial complex. Some people upset because she took maternity leave right after accepting the job of C.E.O. and the other people upset because she only took two weeks leave.

The book is really two books in one, as a good portion of the book is the history of Yahoo. It’s history of brand neglect and mismanagement. The remainder is about Mayer. There is little documentation in the book regarding Mayer as it appears Carlson reported a lot of the gossip. I got the feeling from the book that Carlson reported a lot of the sexist gossip such as the name of the designer of the clothes Mayer wore etc.

Carlson demonstrates that Mayer is worth paying attention to for reasons that transcend gender. He states that Mayer is a complex personality who defies most stereotypes. Carlson states that Mayer early in her career understood personal branding and developed hers early in her career. She is a geek that doesn’t look the part. Carlson argues Mayer earned her shot at running Yahoo through years of innovative thinking in an industry that prides itself in novel ideas.

Mayer was born in Wisconsin and joined Google right out of Stanford University graduate Computer Science Program. She ultimately became one of Google’s most influential executives. As with any fast raising career person she generated jealousy and resentment from some of her co-workers. Just like many other in her field she put in the hard work, long hours and creative abilities to raise though the ranks of a company.

The question isn’t whether Mayer can save Yahoo; it’s whether Yahoo can be saved at all. For the past two years Mayer has attempted to focus on making the company’s workforce more productive and on making applications for Mobil phones with some success. She has managed to prevent mass layoffs. But Yahoo is a deeply troubled company. Carlson says she is having trouble replacing a few critical key people and without doing so she will not success. Carlson states that even if Yahoo fails Mayer is a star to watch. She has an incredible work ethic, genius sense of what makes an Internet product useable and she was worldwide frame, and charisma to success in the business world. Kitt Vandenheuvel narrated the book.

Great Yahoo Insight

Great book charting the history of Yahoo in the 1st half and Marisa in the second. I think it is harsh on MM and doesn't really look at her mobile strategy. But time will tell.

Best Business Book of 2015- A Must Read!

Best book I've read in years, I simply could not put it down! Carlson provides the inside scoop on Yahoo & their eight CEO's over the past 20 years to their latest CEO and rising tech star, Marissa Mayer.

Amazing story about the fall of a dot com giant

This story is enthralling. Not your typical "start from nothing and achieve unattainable success story" which I love.

A raw story about the rise and fall of Yahoo and the failed plight to try and save a once valuable company. Highly recommended for anyone who loves stories about tech companies.

Lots of lessons learned about what NOT to do.

Almost got me using Yahoo

Gives insight into the establishment and life history of Yahoo. Yahoo had seemed to lack direction for some time. Now I realize it is because of a lack of a clear vision. The story of tech may be the story of our generation.

Fascinating story

Very interesting and highly informative book on Yahoo and the internet business. Certainly no puff piece on yahoo and Marissa Mayer, which makes the book even more compelling. The narrator was excellent and held your attention by adding a level of suspense to this story.

A lot about Yahoo

The Good: In-depth reporting on the history of Yahoo, as well as good analysis of why the company is in the position it is. The author has clearly talked to hundreds of people to get all the facts he did. Also, excellent narration.

The Bad: People who expect a book about Marissa Mayer will be disappointed. It's a book about Yahoo, where Ms Mayer gets slightly more space than her predecessors. I didn't mind because Yahoo's history is fascinating, but others might.

Tech prodigy grows up

Where does Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In my top 10 business titles. An interesting timely story.

What other book might you compare Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! to and why?

Similar to many other bios. A scan of the journey... then a selection of defining moments... then add some snippets / characters and you get an interesting view of Yahoos growing pains as framed by some interesting events.

What about Kiff VandenHeuvel’s performance did you like?

Easy to listen to voice. Not much dramatization, though none is really needed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not quite... an enjoyable summary of different phases in the life of Yahoo and MM. A few good places to pause and pick up later. A good companion during windshield time.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed the ride. Whether you're a Yahoo / MM fan or critic, I'd suggest the book does a fair job of capturing the raw ambition that pervades the modern tech landscape. Some great inside information that helps you get a feel for how Yahoo is growing (or not)... by trial and error. Big money... Big egos... Big bets.