Bestselling Author Gavin de Becker Makes Electronic Editions of His Books Available Exclusively in Kindle Store
(Press Release) SEATTLE, Feb 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that Gavin de Becker, bestselling author and nationally recognized expert on the prediction and management of violence, has decided to make expanded and updated editions of two of his books, "The Gift of Fear" and "Just 2 Seconds," available in Amazon's Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). This is the first time "The Gift of Fear" has been available electronically, and both books will be exclusive to the Kindle Store for one year.
Kindle is the most gifted, most wished for and the No. 1 bestselling product across all categories on Amazon.com. The Kindle Store now includes over 410,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, including New York TimesBestsellersand New Releases.
"The nationally bestselling 'The Gift of Fear' is a perennial bestseller in its category, and de Becker's books have resonated throughout the years with our customers," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. "We're excited to work with Mr. de Becker in sharing these exclusive electronic versions of his books, now available in the Kindle Store for wireless download in less than 60 seconds."
Gavin de Becker is the founder of a 200-person firm that provides consultation, protective services and assessment services to many of the world's most prominent figures in media, politics and culture, as well as advising government agencies, major corporations and universities. De Becker designed the MOSAIC systems used to screen threats to justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, CIA officials, members of Congress and the governors of 12 states. A frequent guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Larry King Live," and many other shows, his bestselling books on violence are published in 14 languages.
"Over the years, there have been about 25 different editions of 'The Gift of Fear,' and I am very excited that Kindle can free my books from the bonds of paper and glue and warehousing and shipping," said de Becker. "These special Kindle editions of my books can efficiently and instantly be available to readers around the world, and offer many benefits unavailable in conventional paper books. For example, while readers of the physical edition may or may not have had access to a nearby dictionary, Kindle readers can now see the definition of a word at the moment it's encountered. Now readers can also easily search for any reference, name, passage, topic or even individual word throughout the entire text."
The Kindle edition of "The Gift of Fear," the New York Times bestseller about the "universal code of violence" and identifying and protecting oneself against potential attackers, contains a new foreword from the author. The Kindle edition of "Just 2 Seconds," considered the most complete and definitive resource on preventing assassination, has new and updated content.
Kindle is in stock and available for immediate shipment today at http://www.amazon.com/kindle.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.
Kindle and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca, and http://www.amazon.cn. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
Kindle devices are sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.