When he lived, Tony Hsieh was one of the most followed, yet enigmatic business figures in the world.
In his 30s, he sold Zappos.com to Amazon for hundreds of millions of dollars. About 10 years ago, he surprised many when moving Zappos from Henderson to downtown Las Vegas, taking over the old City Hall.
Then he announced he was creating Downtown Project, with an aim to foster community through an investment of $350 million in redevelopment of the city’s urban core.
I was a reporter at the Las Vegas Sun at the time, stationed at the former Beat Coffeehouse at Fremont and 6th streets, to watch the remarkable energy and churn of events while Downtown Project tried to do what many thought was impossible.
I lost track of him after moving into radio here at KNPR. But a new book, "Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley," fills in a lot of the gaps.
The book is both fascinating and, from the perspective of someone who spent a lot of time watching Hsieh at a time when his excitement and happiness was very evident, it’s one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read.
NOTE: Authors David Jeans and Angel Au-Yeung will be holding a conversation and signing at The Writer's Block in downtown Las Vegas on Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit thewritersblock.org.
Guests: Tyler Williams, former director of brand experience, Zappos; David Jeans and Angel Au-Yeung, authors, "Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley"
