The author, a noted urban anthropologist (among other things) does not drink, smoke or gamble; his expeditions to Las Vegas, which are carried out once in two to four years, are purely for the purpose of scientific research. This essay describes his horror during his latest visit when he realized the city of sin has transformed into a city of spas. The rest of the book is a good sampling of Kalpanik's tongue-in-cheek writing style including "Inside the Giant Machine: An Amazon-dot-com Story" the book that made the author famous.

Literacy Pledge: For every copy of this book sold in United States, Canada or Europe, we will donate a textbook to a child in need. Find out more about our pledge at www. world-literacy.info. Please also read Author's statement in the "Author's Biography" section.

Behind Amazon's quirky smile logo lurks a cold and calculating giant machine. Author Kalpanik S. reveals his own smile as he tells the somewhat quirky story of his complex, and often hilarious, relationship with Amazon. From the sophisticated wit in his portrayal of the courtship period in "How To Get Hired By Amazon In Ten Days," to the dark humor of the disillusionment period in "The Cold, Calculating Machine," Kalpanik's story is more than just an insider's view of the giant machine known as Amazon.com. It's a modern, universal story of the uneasy relationship between an individual and today's gargantuan corporations. In the end, it is also a story of redemption for creative and freethinking individuals that define America.

Acclaim for the book

... not only does the author makes us feel the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California & Seattle but his very emotional experiences as an immigrant, a father and a dislocated worker. I love his leaps of imagination, and the words which hook us in, make us think this is our story.

For example, here is what it means to yearn for acceptance: "I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco sixteen years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of them?"

Overall, a hip, funny and yet very poignant story

.....John Lehman, author of "Everything is Changing"

This edition of the book was revised in December 2011 to include author's perspective on the 2011 Amazon Warehouse scandal, where a detailed investigative report on worker treatment at a regional warehouse by a local newspaper caught national media attention. Confessions of a foreign born author

I must confess that English is my third language, and even though this book has been edited by several professional native English editors, it is obvious-even to me- that this book is written by a Foreign-born author.

Foreign-born or not, I believe I have a talent for storytelling, and I have converted a dull topic-the transformation of Amazon from a retail website to a marketplace-into an interesting and lively story.

This is more of a little book than a big one. Being a technologist, I tend to be concise in my writing. The printed version of this edition is about 220 pages. This may be too little for a few readers, too much for others, and hopefully, just right for the some.

So, If you are looking for a 1,000-page treatise on Amazon that can be used as an example of perfect grammar in the High school English grammar class, then this book may not be the right book for you. There are several other books on Amazon which are written in perfect English but are perfectly boring.

A book about Amazon can be pretty dry, so I have tried to add some humor. In my attempt to make this book funny, a few facts may have been stretched. I quote this passage from 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com, written by Mike Daisey, a fellow Amazon alumnus-turned author:
""Some facts were injured in the telling of this story. The truth, however, remains unharmed." "
That applies to this book as well.

To respect the privacy of the people involved in this story, their names have been changed - with one exception. Trust me, there really is a guy named Jeff Bezos who works at Amazon.

All in all, I am proud of my work, Enjoy

Signed] Kalpanik S.
Note: Portions of this book have been previously published under titles "Seattle Adventures," "Artificial Imagination" and "Welcome to the US

This is the extended second edition of the full color interior version of the book.

This captivating, new book mixes technology and art together into a fascinating and philosophical combination.

The book follows one high-tech immigrant's journey through United States as he graduates from University of California and ventures from Silicon Valley to Seattle, Nashville and back to California in a quest for his dream job and his search for a place which accepts him, a place he could call home.

The story is purportedly narrated by an artificial intelligence program with the ability to simulate human creativity, sense of humor and spirit of adventure.

Technology is all brain, no heart, all cold logic, and no warm soul, or is it?This gem of a book reminds us that technology could not exist were it not for boundless creativity, and it does this in such a way as to also remind us that without that very same creativity, there would be no art, no literature.

A beautiful university campus in Davis, a small university town in California.

A young student away from her home in Southern California who needs help writing computer programs for her class.

A foreign born computer scientist who has traveled thousand of miles at the young age of 21 to design computers which can imagine and is working as a teaching assistant at the university.

An old world romantic confused by the new definition of love in the brave new world.

A true story which is better than any fiction.

It begins as a story of an ambitious young man traveling to a land far away from his home to fulfill his ambitions. It unfolds in the fast moving technology world of Silicon Valley.

From there we hop to San Francisco and land in Southern California, where we hold our breath as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires.

Technology. Art. Wit. Ambition. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of a man's journey though space, time, life and love.

Winner of the 2009 Young Reader Views Award in Young Adults (Multicultural books) Category.

This is the extended second edition of the book. Some of the reviews refer to the first edition, which was published 3 years ago.

A young man full of hope and aspirations who travels to a new world.

A technology whiz kid who becomes a Silicon Valley executive by age 33.

An old world romantic confused by the definition of love in the brave new world.

A true story so imaginative and incredible that no fiction writer could have thought of it.

It begins as a story of ambitions, aspirations and young love at the University of California in 1987. It unfolds in the fast moving world of Hi-Tech industry in Silicon Valley San Francisco and Seattle. From the west coast we jump to Nashville for a brief detour to sample the software industry there, and then get back to Southern California, where we hold our breadth as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires.

Technology. Art. Wit. Literature. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of man's journey though space, time, life and love.

This expanded Second Edition of the book was published on May 27, 2011 and has 12 new chapters.

This humorous photo-book follows one man's journey through United States as he ventures from Silicon Valley to Seattle, San Francisco to San Diego in a quest for his dream job and his search for a place he could call home.

The book starts in 1987, at University of California campus in Davis, where it all began, where Artificial Imagination was conceived. We then fast forward by 15 years to 2002. Our main character, a Executive in the Software industry and working in Silicon Valley. Soon, he is heading to Seattle to work for Amazon.com at a lower level management position.

We read one lively story after another about the life in the Northwest and learn about his lovely wife and two daughters.

Our adventurer then heads to Nashville to work for a software company, and finally returns to California, when he gets caught in the infamous wild fires of 2007. Kudos to the author to be able to find humor in the middle of the Inferno

A Review by John Lehman, the author of Everything is changing A Review by John Lehman, the author of Everything is changing

I was half way through this book when I realized it is almost poetry in the form of prose. I am not just referring to the short paragraphs, but the imaginative leaps, stunning imagery and most importantly, words which hook us in, make us think this is our story . . . . We see them on the page but live them in the theater of our imagination.

This book reminds us that we share the mysteries of the human mind and soul, no matter what our occupation, no matter where we were born. "Why I am here may appear to be a simple question, but . . . is there a deeper purpose of being where we are?" We know that the question applies not only to the location where we spend our lives, but also to overall existence, and our place in the time continuum.

Just as the author who traveled from New Delhi to Silicon Valley felt he has traveled forty years into the future, so do I, sitting in the agricultural landscape of Wisconsin felt that I have had a glimpse into the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California and Seattle.

I feel I am in the hands of a good guide. Here is what it means to do research in Computers: "Rip apart an electronic system and you see nothing moving, nothing vibrating, it's almost a make-believe world, a child's fantasy, a writer's imagination."

and what it means to yearn for acceptance:
"I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco 16 years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of the? And will I accept it, call it my home? Right then, she appeared from no where, as if the city had sent her to answer my questions . . ."

I loved the section addressing Seattle's slacker sun, that comes late to work, like at 9 AM and goes back home at 4, the observation that for males, until the age eight, we want every young woman to be our mother, then for the next thirty years our friend and when we have daughters, we feel like bringing every young woman a glass of warm milk and cookies.

His first day in Nashville, the author looks out of his window and sees snow. The conclusion he draws about the snow flakes very fittingly describes his life and the message we can take with us from this hip, funny, poignant, beautiful book:
"the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground."

Welcome home, Kalpanik

John Lehman, author of "Everything is Changing"

This book describes the journey of a Hi-tech immigrant through various part of United States including Silicon Valley, Seattle, Nashville and Southern California.

The book starts in 1987, at University of California campus in Davis, where it all began, where Artificial Imagination was conceived.

We then fast forward by 15 years to 2002. Our main character, a Executive in the Software industry and working in Silicon Valley. Soon, he is heading to Seattle to work for Amazon.com at a lower level management position.

We read one lively story after another about the life in the Northwest and learn about his lovely wife and two daughters.

Our adventurer then heads to Nashville to work for a software company, and then heads back to Southern California to get caught in the infamous wild fires of 2007.

Kudos to the author to be able to find humor in the middle of the Inferno -----------------------------------------------

A Review by John Lehman, the author of Everything is changing

I was half way through this book when I realized it is almost poetry in the form of prose. I am not just referring to the short paragraphs, but the imaginative leaps, stunning imagery and most importantly, words which hook us in, make us think this is our story . . . . We see them on the page but live them in the theater of our imagination.

This book reminds us that we share the mysteries of the human mind and soul, no matter what our occupation, no matter where we were born. "Why I am here may appear to be a simple question, but . . . is there a deeper purpose of being where we are?" We know that the question applies not only to the location where we spend our lives, but also to overall existence, and our place in the time continuum.

Just as the author who traveled from New Delhi to Silicon Valley felt he has traveled forty years into the future, so do I, sitting in the agricultural landscape of Wisconsin felt that I have had a glimpse into the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California and Seattle.

I feel I am in the hands of a good guide. Here is what it means to do research in Computers: "Rip apart an electronic system and you see nothing moving, nothing vibrating, it's almost a make-believe world, a child's fantasy, a writer's imagination."

and what it means to yearn for acceptance:

" "I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco 16 years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of the? And will I accept it, call it my home? Right then, she appeared from no where, as if the city had sent her to answer my questions . . ." "

I loved the section addressing Seattle's slacker sun, that comes late to work, like at 9 AM and goes back home at 4, the observation that for males, until the age eight, we want every young woman to be our mother, then for the next thirty years our friend and when we have daughters, we feel like bringing every young woman a glass of warm milk and cookies.

His first day in Nashville, the author looks out of his window and sees snow. The conclusion he draws about the snow flakes very fittingly describes his life and the message we can take with us from this hip, funny, poignant, beautiful book:
""the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground.""

Welcome home, Kalpanik ------------------------------------

A young man full of hope and aspirations who travels to a new world.

A technology whiz kid who comes to United States from Asia to study Computer Science and aspires to become a Silicon Valley Technologist.

An old world romantic confused by the definition of love in the brave new world.

A true story so imaginative and incredible that no fiction writer could have thought of it.

It begins as a story of ambitions, aspirations and young love at the University of California in 1987. It unfolds in the fast moving world of Hi-Tech industry in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Seattle.

From the west coast we jump to Nashville for a brief detour to sample the software industry there. and finally, get back to Southern California, where we hold our breadth as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires.

Technology. Art. Wit. Literature. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of man's journey though space, time, life and love. ------------------------------------------------ The story begins in 1987 at University of California at Davis. Kalpanik has emigrated from Delhi, Asia to the United States. His first job is as a teaching assistant while he is working on his Masters Degree in Computer Engineering. This is also where he is first introduced to the American culture. He offers interesting and entertaining comparisons of life in Asia vs. life in the United States. In one of his examples he mentions how Asian women wear beautiful and colorful clothing and American women wear jeans. Ironically, the same evening after reading this book, I attended a party given by a family from where he is from. The discrepancy in clothing between the Americans and Asians was very evident and made me think of his musings on this subject. The story then jumps ahead fifteen years to when Kalpanik is now married with children living in Seattle. In addition to being a man in a foreign land, Kalpanik also has to learn about how to deal with his own doubts and uncertainties as a man, a husband, a father and an employee. He is very open and honest about the different issues that he faces. Many of his musings are both thought-provoking and humorous. After leaving Seattle, he moves on to Nashville to become the Head of Technology for a company. Then one day he finds himself in San Diego. His family follows him through these moves and changes. At times he has to live apart from them. I found his relationships with both his wife and daughters to be very endearing. I also enjoyed his observations about the different moves that he has made. I have visited each place that he ended up at and got a kick out of seeing the locations and cultures of the people through his eyes. Even though all are in the United States, each place has its own special flavor. Kalpanik also includes a wealth of photographs to illustrate his stories. Some show the beauty of the places, others show the uniqueness of the people. "Welcome to the USA" by Kalpanik S. is a very enjoyable book to read. I highly recommend it, and think that it would also make a fun gift for both travelers and arm chair travelers. Paige Lovitt, Reader Views, 2009 --------------------------------------------------

A beautiful university campus in California.

A foreign born 21 year old who has traveled thousand of miles to design computers which can imagine

An old world romantic confused by the new definition of love in the brave new world.

A young girl who needs help writing computer programs for her class.

A true story which is better than any fiction.

It begins as a story of an ambitious young man traveling to a land far away from his home to fulfill his ambitions. It unfolds in the fast moving technology world of Silicon Valley. From there we hop to San Francisco and land in Southern California, where we hold our breath as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires.

Technology. Art. Wit. Ambition. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of a man's journey though space, time, life and love.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and wondering whether where you were in San Francisco or San Diego, New Delhi or Nashville, Amman or Emeryville? And why you were where you were? This is the story of a modern Nomad, a Hi-tech immigrant who becomes a refugee in Nashville during the meltdown of technology industry in Silicon Valley. In the last chapter, the author moves again to yet another interesting place. The author captures the contrast and similarities between the places beautifully, using both colorful words and colorful photographs, combining stunning imagery with his equally stunning imagination to convey thoughtful messages to us "the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the air current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground." A funny and yet very poignant story

A beautiful university campus in California.

A young girl who needs help writing computer programs for her class.

A foreign born who has traveled thousand of miles at the young age of 21 to design computers which can imagine.

An old world romantic confused by the new definition of love in the brave new world.

A true story which is better than any fiction.

It begins as a story of an ambitious young man traveling to a land far away from his home to fulfill his ambitions. It unfolds in the fast moving technology world of Silicon Valley.

From there we hop to San Francisco and land in Southern California, where we hold our breath as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires.

Technology. Art. Wit. Ambition. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of a man's journey though space, time, life and love.

This is the expanded second edition of the colot interior version of the book. This edition has been published in 2001. Some of the reviews refer to the older edition published in 2008.

Inspired by author's stint at Amazon.com.

Seattle, a medley of lush green hills surrounded by snow capped mountains and sparking blue waters.

Congo.com--an Internet company based in Seattle which has taken the stock markets by storm, and is transforming itself from an online retailer to an eCommerce platform, led by a CEO who leads this transformation but is not afraid to act goofy.

In the middle of all this lands a former executive from Silicon Valley.

It begins as a story of a technologist leaving behind his beloved Silicon Valley for Seattle. It unfolds into a moving story capturing Seattle's beauty, its interesting people and culture; and the inside scoop on the dot-com world.

Technology. Innovation. Humor. Wit. Imagination. They all come together very nicely in Seattle Adventures.

This humorous book is based on the true story of a technology immigrant's journey through USA starting as a student at University of California.

Part One has elements of a romantic comedy, with a bitter sweet ending. With the University of California campus in the background, It captures USA as seen by a newcomer, a graduate student in Computer Engineering. While trying to accommodate to his new life and new environment, he also happens to fall in love.

In part two, we fast forward to 2002. Our main character has become an executive in Silicon Valley. The turbulence of the Technology bust cycle forces him to restart his journey again, and in the next five years he moves through Seattle (when he works for a world famous eCommerce company), Nashville, and finally to San Diego, where he gets caught in the infamous wildfires of 2007.

The story is simultaneously funny and thoughtful.

The book has high quality photographs capturing both the scenic and human beauty of the places covered in the story.

Lektoren Auflage - Muss noch die letzte Korrektur erhalten
Editorialer Kommentar:

Hinter dem schrulligen Lacheln des Amazon-Logos verbirgt sich eine kalte und berechnende riesige Maschine. Autor Kalpanik S. offenbart sein eigenes Lacheln, als er die etwas skurrile Geschichte seiner komplexen und oft komischen Beziehung mit Amazon erzahlt. Von seinem anspruchsvollen Witz in der Darstellung seiner Anstellung in "Wie Man In Zehn Tagen Von Amazon Angestellt wird" zu seinem schwarzen Humor in der Zeit der Desillusionierung in "Die Kalte Rechenmaschine" ist Kalpaniks Geschichte mehr als nur ein Insider-Blick in die riesige Maschine, die als Amazon.com bekannt ist. Es ist eine moderne, universelle Geschichte der schwierigen Beziehung zwischen einer Person und den heutigen gigantischen Konzernen. Am Ende ist es auch eine Geschichte der Erlosung fur kreative und frei-geistige Menschen, die Amerika definieren. Lob fur das Buch

... nicht allein gibt der Autor uns das Gefuhl der Vitalitat der Hightech Welten von Kalifornia & Seattle, sondern auch seine sehr emotionale Erfahrungen als Immigrant, als Vater und als neuer Mitarbeiter.

Ich liebe seine Sprunge der Phantasie, und die Worte, die uns einfangen, uns glauben lassen, dass dies unsere Geschichte ist.

Zum Beispiel, hier ist es, was die Sehnsucht nach Akzeptanz bedeutet: Ich sah Seattles glitzernde Skyline auf der einen Seite, und seine schone Uferpromenade auf der anderen, und fragte Seattle dieselbe Frage, die ich vor 16 Jahren in San Francisco gestellt hatte: Wird mich Seattle akzeptieren oder werden seine Bewohner mich als Fremden behandeln, nicht als einer von ihnen?

Insgesamt eine witzige, hippe und doch sehr ergreifende Geschichte

..... John Lehman, Autor des Buches "Everything Changes" Bekenntnisse eines im Ausland geborenen Autoren.

Ich muss gestehen, dass Englisch meine dritte Sprache ist, und, obwohl ich drei professionelle Englisch-Editoren zum Preis von Tausenden von Dollar einsetzte, ist es offensichtlich - auch zu mir, dass dieses Buch von einem im Ausland geboren Autor geschrieben wurde.

Im Ausland geboren oder nicht, ich glaube, ich habe ein Talent furs Geschichten erzahlen, und ich habe ein dumpfes Thema - die Umwandlung von Amazon von einem Einzelhandelsunternehmen Website zu einem Marktplatz - in eine interessante und lebendige Geschichte verwandelt.

Also, wenn Sie fur eine tausend-seitige Abhandlung uber Amazon, die als Beispiel fur perfekte Grammatik in der Hohen Schule der englischen Grammatik Klasse verwendet wird suchen, dann wird dieses Buch vielleicht nicht das richtige fur Sie sein. Halten Sie hier - es gibt viele andere Bucher uber Amazon mit perfekter Grammatik, die auch perfekt langweilig sind

Nun, ein Buch uber Amazon kann ziemlich trocken sein, deshalb habe ich versucht, etwas Humor hinzuzufugen. In meinem Versuch dieses Buch lustig zu machen, kann ich ein paar Fakten gestreckt haben. Die Herausforderung mit Humor ist, dass nicht alle Versuche, witzig zu sein erfolgreich sind, und nicht jeder versteht alle Witze. Im Allgemeinen, wenn etwas wirklich merkwurdig oder seltsam klingt, dann ist das mein Versuch witzig zu sein.

Schliesslich, zitiere ich diese Passage aus 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com" von Mike Daisey, ein gemeinsamer Amazon Alumnus, der zum Autor wurde: "Einige Fakten wurden bei der Erzahlung dieser Geschichte verletzt. Die Wahrheit aber bleibt unverletzt. " Das gilt ebenso fur dieses Buch.

Signed] Kalpanik S.