339 pages
English language
Published Dec. 4, 2018
Since my tablet has deleted the review twice already: good book, unbelievably brazen Elizabeth Holmes, larger than life egos galore, highly recommend reading it.
An expertly crafted account of the woman who girlbossed so hard she accidentally committed multiple counts of fraud and put millions of peoples health at risk.
Investigative journalism at it’s best. The book is excellent, readable, clear and logical. The question I kept asking as I read this was “What were they thinking?” When someone perpetrates a massive and clear fraud in public I am always amazed that they somehow convince themselves they won’t get caught. I don’t believe Elizabeth Holmes was a hapless victim of Sunny Balwani, or of structural sexism. it will be interesting to see what the jury thinks.
As a long-time research scientist, I was not surprised when it turned out that Theranos' big promises were built on nothing but lies. What's amazing to me is that she got away with this deception for so long, and she clearly had many enablers - I first heard of the company from the initial Forbes story and followed the events as they unfolded. I still found the book very interesting; it's a story so shocking and crazy, it's worth hearing the long version. There are so many details, and there were so many people involved. I also really hope some of those people are taking a hard look at themselves, especially the lawyers... but I doubt it.
This story also has some true heroes. I give so much credit to the whistleblowers who would not back down in the face of harassment and intimidation. It's frightening to consider what might …
As a long-time research scientist, I was not surprised when it turned out that Theranos' big promises were built on nothing but lies. What's amazing to me is that she got away with this deception for so long, and she clearly had many enablers - I first heard of the company from the initial Forbes story and followed the events as they unfolded. I still found the book very interesting; it's a story so shocking and crazy, it's worth hearing the long version. There are so many details, and there were so many people involved. I also really hope some of those people are taking a hard look at themselves, especially the lawyers... but I doubt it.
This story also has some true heroes. I give so much credit to the whistleblowers who would not back down in the face of harassment and intimidation. It's frightening to consider what might have happened if they hadn't put their lives on the line.
I remember hearing about Elizabeth Holmes when I was in my late teens, at that impressionable age when you get hyper-inspired by reading about icons that are going to change the world. There was a profile of her in Wired, with an eye-catching image of her wearing a turtleneck black sweater holding what looked like a test-tube with a tiny amount of blood with a science-y background. I remember it had made quite a distinct impression on my mind, no doubt helped by the fact that the profile had described her as "this Stanford dropout 20-something who was hailed as being a younger version of Einstein, was going to change the world".
Undoubtedly, as so often happens, I forgot about people who were gonna change the world as I grew up. Then I heard about this book last year, which was getting enormously praised for its exposé of a Silicon …
I remember hearing about Elizabeth Holmes when I was in my late teens, at that impressionable age when you get hyper-inspired by reading about icons that are going to change the world. There was a profile of her in Wired, with an eye-catching image of her wearing a turtleneck black sweater holding what looked like a test-tube with a tiny amount of blood with a science-y background. I remember it had made quite a distinct impression on my mind, no doubt helped by the fact that the profile had described her as "this Stanford dropout 20-something who was hailed as being a younger version of Einstein, was going to change the world".
Undoubtedly, as so often happens, I forgot about people who were gonna change the world as I grew up. Then I heard about this book last year, which was getting enormously praised for its exposé of a Silicon Valley firm and was really surprised to find out that the company at the center of the storm was Theranos, the brainchild of Elizabeth Holmes. This book reads like a detective novel, meticulously giving the clues and binding the threads of the deception that Holmes had so carefully and brilliantly constructed and managed to fool the entire world. Read this one if you want to get a lesson in how not to emulate a leader.
A shocking, complete revelation of corrupt private industry and the dangers of corporate operations on the medical device industry. Eye-opening, exciting, and horrifying all at once. Excellent reporting, Mr. Carreyrou! Bravo for breaking this important story!
What a bleeping train wreck.
Lies; bullying; unending red flags; secrecy, suspicion, mistrust; constant firings for competence and promotion of sycophants; cult of personality. Lives permanently damaged; some destroyed. The great tragedy of con artists is how they bring down otherwise-decent people, sucking them into their sphere to the point where they can’t back down: doing so would force them to admit to being fooled, so they hunker down and redouble their devotion. In the process causing irreparable harm to people, relationships, public trust. Perhaps you can think of other examples in recent history.
My friend A. pushed this book on me. I was skeptical that there was enough material in the Theranos story to fill an entire book, but I trust A. so I placed the book high on my to-read list — and was it ever worth it. More than enough material, grippingly presented to boot. The story …
What a bleeping train wreck.
Lies; bullying; unending red flags; secrecy, suspicion, mistrust; constant firings for competence and promotion of sycophants; cult of personality. Lives permanently damaged; some destroyed. The great tragedy of con artists is how they bring down otherwise-decent people, sucking them into their sphere to the point where they can’t back down: doing so would force them to admit to being fooled, so they hunker down and redouble their devotion. In the process causing irreparable harm to people, relationships, public trust. Perhaps you can think of other examples in recent history.
My friend A. pushed this book on me. I was skeptical that there was enough material in the Theranos story to fill an entire book, but I trust A. so I placed the book high on my to-read list — and was it ever worth it. More than enough material, grippingly presented to boot. The story is riveting, frightening, depressing... and encouraging. A reminder that there are good people out there, ethical, courageous; that corruption is always outed in the end (even if it comes at too high a cost); that it is possible to live with integrity.
It’s also a reminder of hope. Perhaps one morning we’ll wake up to a news blurb about certain people accidentally falling from thirty thousand feet onto a field of rusty metal spikes (possibly twice for good measure). Perhaps we might recognize some names, and nod quietly and not feel too much grief. I won’t hold my breath—but I will go to bed tonight with a small prayer on my lips.
Brilliant book on the rise and fall of a unicorn. Must read for Software Engineers. Read it and thank the stars that the culture isn't similar in your own company. And if it is, realize that you need to leave and warn the rest of the world loudly.
Exhilerating and mindboogling real life story of an unethical behaviour in pursuit to achieve the wonderful words that have been used to describe her.
A story that hurts every person in the medical field with how callous the volontary actions were. Also a story of many brave people with integrity who in face of strong headwind shared their stories.
Very recommended.
非常非常精彩。前19章通过不同时期雇员的角度从内部还原了病态的公司文化，很多章节都看得心情沉重。面对手握10B独角兽大权还有一群商政法老男人当提线木偶的Holmes，雇员们只能忍声吞气节节败退，Ian Gibbons那章读得心情尤为沉重。直到19章后才是作者展开调查后对Theranos的反击。
每一章都像是人性的拷问。面对无法匹敌的财富和力量面前，每个人都深感无力，却又不得不作出自己的艰难选择。即使像是Tyler贵为Shultz家公子，也难以招架Holmes的压力。而像Erika那样，坚持做正确的事情直到最后，这需要多少勇气？
至于Theranos这个公司，怕是硅谷fake-it-until-you-make-it文化近十年来的最反面教材了。作为一名从业人员，这本书也是一个警醒。
Really interesting
Impossible to put down story behind the fraud perpetrated by Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the blood testing company Theranos. A fascinating account of old men - including George Schultz and “Mad Dog” Matthias being completely besotted with a young, insanely ambitious woman.
