A Truck Full of Money
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A Truck Full of Money Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Tracy Kidder (Author), Paul Michael (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 431 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
See all formats and editions

“A perfectly executed, exquisitely reported parable of the Internet age and the wild, mad adventure that is start-up culture.”—Charles Duhigg

Fortune, mania, genius, philanthropy—the bestselling author of Mountains Beyond Mountains gives us the inspiring story of Paul English, the founder of Kayak and Lola.

Tracy Kidder, the “master of the nonfiction narrative” (The Baltimore Sun) and author of the bestselling classic The Soul of a New Machine, now tells the story of Paul English, a kinetic and unconventional inventor and entrepreneur, who as a boy rebelled against authority. Growing up in working-class Boston, English discovers a medium for his talents the first time he sees a computer. As a young man, despite suffering from what would eventually be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, he begins his pilgrim’s journey through the ups and downs in the brave new world of computers. Relating to the Internet as if it’s an extension of his own mind, he discovers that he has a talent for conceiving innovative enterprises and building teams that can develop them, becoming “a Pied Piper” of geeks. His innovative management style, success, and innate sense of fair play inspire intense loyalty. Early on, one colleague observes: “Someday this boy’s going to get hit by a truck full of money, and I’m going to be standing beside him.” Yet when English does indeed make a fortune, when the travel website Kayak is sold for almost two billion dollars—the first thing he thinks about is how to give the money away: “What else would you do with it?” The second thing he thinks is, What’s next?

With the power of a consummate storyteller, Tracy Kidder casts a fresh, critical, and often humorous eye on the way new ideas and new money are reshaping our culture and the world. A Truck Full of Money is a mesmerizing portrait of an irresistibly endearing man who is indefatigable, original, and as unpredictable as America itself.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    8 hours and 42 minutes
  2. Author
    Tracy Kidder
  3. Narrator
    Paul Michael
  4. Audible release date
    September 20, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B01KIBVRC0
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 8 hours and 42 minutes
Author Tracy Kidder
Narrator Paul Michael
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 20, 2016
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01KIBVRC0
Best Sellers Rank #183,341 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#296 in E-Commerce (Audible Books & Originals)
#398 in Biographies of Science & Technology Leaders
#590 in Biographies of Business Leaders

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
431 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous story about a fascinating man
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
The title of this book is what caught my attention. Had no idea it was non fiction, never mind that it was about one of the most successful entrepreneurs of this age. I was taken from page one and held through the very end of the book. I could barely put it down to sleep. My husband is reading it now and is equally captivated. I will recommend this book to several people.
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JK
4.0 out of 5 stars Great story telling
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
Interesting story about a real entrepreneur. One experiencing ups and downs. Not one of mainstream well know success. But successful nonetheless. Sometimes, the book felt like the book was a little too polite, purposefully painting the main subject in a positive light always. As opposed to pure observation and objective assessment. That may be the price for access though. A good read. Great stories.
One person found this helpful
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Rick G
3.0 out of 5 stars Well Written But Boring Topic
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024
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Great author; uninspiring topic. I gave it away.
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The Dictator
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look into the mind of a brilliant, yet complicated man
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book was particularly interesting to me because I grew up with Paul and went to high school with him at Boston Latin. In fact, I even started my career at Boston Latin in the same room with the old IBM computer writing Fortran programs on punch cards.

I even got to experience some of Paul's obsession with fast cars when he gave me a ride home from a party in high school in his old Camaro, topping 70 mph in a 30 mile-per-hour zone. I think I can say that since that the statute of limitations is now past ;-)

I followed Paul's career from a distance and had the opportunity to work with him a little bit when he joined the board of the startup company where I was the head of marketing and product management.

The thing that was most surprising about this book was how accurately Mr. Kidder captured Paul's life – or at least the small parts that I experienced firsthand.

Like some of the other reviewers, I would have appreciated to hear more about Paul's philanthropic endeavors or his struggle with bipolar disorder. At the same time, going to deep would have felt like an invasion of his privacy.

But overall, the thing that was most interesting to me was the description of the elements that made him most successful in his multiple endeavors. I think Paul's formula is pretty simple – he does things he is extremely passionate about and he assembles a team of great people to deliver on his vision. He also does have an uncanny ability for hiring great talent.

While I may have a slightly different perspective than others, I would think that anyone who has an interest in entrepreneurial ventures would learn a great deal from this book. And although it doesn't illuminate every facet of Paul's life, I can attest to the fact that the ones I personally experienced were accurately depicted in a very compelling way.
8 people found this helpful
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Thomas M. Loarie
4.0 out of 5 stars Next Up: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos?
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am a big Tracey Kidder fan and found two of his books, “The Soul of a New Machine” and “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” to be exceptional. His latest effort, “A Truck Full of Money,” fell short for me. I had trouble wanting to finish it but I did.

“A Truck Full of Money” centers on software entrepreneur, Paul English, the creation of Kayak, a fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine, and then English’s pursuit of another “Unicorn” startup after The Priceline Group acquired Kayak for $2.1 billion in 2013.
The book provides entrepreneurs with a few gems related to the building of a new company – the importance of a good culture, the people ‘fit’, “getting the right balance of energy” and networks.

What for me was the most unique aspect of Kayak was the lack of passion for achieving a “big a--“goal that would change the world. Kayak was filled with people who excelled at using logic and were focused on the operational metrics of their business, eg. time-to-complete-a-booking. This focus, while something most humans don’t get excited about, was crucial to the company’s success. It was the secret sauce to creating the best customer experience available at the time for travelers.

As with all of Kidder’s books, we learn a great deal about each of the key players: Paul English, the talented manager that could deal with the “suits”; Bill O’Donnell, a gifted 40 year old manager that was the best in “a purely technical sphere”; 80 year old Tom White, an intimate of the Kennedys, who helped to found Partners in Health, and taught English about philanthropy; Paul Schwenk; English’s family; and the critical importance of Donald Knuth, the Stanford Professor who wrote the award winning “The Art of Computer Programming” that greatly influenced English.

English grew up in an Irish-Catholic Boston neighborhood. He had six siblings, a penchant for music and hacking computers. He also showed his entrepreneurial skills early when he sold drugs. He attended the University of Massachusetts where he learned the art of coding, at which he excelled.

Tracey has written a story but not one that will provide anything new for those wanting to learn about being an entrepreneur or wanting to create a “Unicorn.” Tracey should consider writing his next book on Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, which has become the symbol of all that is wrong with over-hyped ventures. There is much to be learned from Theranos and the missteps by Holmes; those who feted her accomplishments with honorary degrees; and the company’s board as well as its investors.
8 people found this helpful
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Nicholas
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally recommend this book to anyone who is interested
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
A truck full of money tells the story of Paul English, who built hiw fortune as a software developer and as an entrepeneur, and once a millionare became a philantropist. The book, which is not written in a chronological way, follows Paul Ensligh throught out all of his life; including tales of the young mischevious Paul and his antics in school and shortly after, including how he hacked a school computer and how he made money by buying and sellings drugs (not your usual computer science role model). The book mostly follows Paul English as an entrepeneur, mostly his work at his well-know company Kayak, and his works before and after that. Lastly but not least, the author dedicates some chapters to Paul English as a philantropist, and his ideas on such matter; in my opinion, his work as a Philantropy are what caught my attention the most, although its hard not to became a fan of this guy.
Totally recommend this book to anyone who is interested, not only for people interested in Computer Science or Entrepeneurship, because this guy deserves way more appreciattion.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars so-so
Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
just an ok read
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