Paperback, 339 pages
English language
Published Nov. 21, 2019 by Picador.
Winner of the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2018
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from its charismatic CEO and threats by her lawyers.
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.
In Bad Blood, John Carreyrou tells the …
Winner of the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2018
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from its charismatic CEO and threats by her lawyers.
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.
In Bad Blood, John Carreyrou tells the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.
A very engaging and gripping read (or listen, for the audiobook, which I would recommend). Not much to say other than this is a really great, well-researched, and at times, suspenseful book, and well worth anyone's time.
Also pairs well with the Hulu series, The Dropout about Theranos and Holms, which takes a lot, if not all, from this book.
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.
Really interesting
