NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The gripping story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos—one of the biggest corporate frauds in history—a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley, rigorously reported by the prize-winning journalist. With a new Afterword.“Chilling … Reads like a thriller … Carreyrou tells [the Theranos story] virtually to perfection.” —The New York Times Book … virtually to perfection.” —The New York Times Book Review
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. 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 $4.5 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work. Erroneous results put patients in danger, leading to misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. All the while, Holmes and her partner, Sunny Balwani, worked to silence anyone who voiced misgivings—from journalists to their own employees.
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Everyone should read this fantastic book. Before I go farther I should point out that this is no ordinary review and my particular knowledge and experience make it necessary to tell you something of myself. I’m a retired FBI agent and attorney in Silicon Valley. I used to work on high-tech cases much like the one in the book. I also litigated in both local and federal courts and served as a judge (pro tem) for several years. I was the first to investigate Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire hedge fund manager who stole insider information and was convicted of insider trading. He got eleven years. I could cite other cases, but the point is, I know what I’m talking about in this particular area. I’ll post this first section as a review, but the full writeup will be on my blog.
So, everyone who ever has had a blood test or anticipates ever having one should read it. Everyone in Silicon Valley in the tech/startup world should read it. But don’t read it just because you should; it is just the best, most engrossing, most entertaining book I’ve read in years. I read it in two days and would have done it quicker if my daughter and her husband hadn’t been visiting from out of state. If it were fiction no one would have believed it. It would seem too far-fetched. I’m also a skeptic of what’s reported in the press or in tell-all books since I’ve seen reporting that is slanted or simply inaccurate on cases of mine. But what I know from first-hand experience tells me that this author, an investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has uncovered the truth in all its frightening, disgusting ugliness. The story he tells here is exactly what I have learned to exemplify the Silicon Valley milieu in which I live. It is a story of an egomaniacal young woman who envisioned herself as the next Steve Jobs, as a superstar tech entrepreneur, as the the first self-made female billionaire high-tech corporate genius. Elizabeth Holmes, the 19-year-old Stanford dropout who is the central figure in the book, founded Theranos, a company she claimed could perform hundreds of blood tests from a few drops of blood drawn with a thumb stick, thus revolutionizing health care. It is a story of unbridled greed, lying on a pathological scale, of high officials like former Secretary of State George Schultz, retired generals, Stanford professors and others who betrayed their company, its shareholders, the patients and doctors who relied on the faulty tests Theranos produced, all for the promise of incredible riches. It’s a story of secrecy, intrigue, and intimidation. I’ll stop here for the book review sites because my next posts will contain spoilers. I’ll explain there why and how I know this book to be true and reliable. For now, I’ll just say read this riveting, superbly-written, true story. You won’t regret it.
I listened to this audiobook on the recommendation of someone who said it was all she and her coworkers were talking about, and it made a ten-hour drive fly by over the holidays. The absolutely fascinating story of a corrupt company that fooled some of the world’s biggest titans of industry.
Although I read mostly fiction, I do listen to non-fiction audiobooks during my commute. For some reason, I find a true story keeps my attention, while also allowing me to follow the rules of the road. I gravitate towards narrative non-fiction about medicine, psychology/human behavior, books about books, or riveting personal memoirs. Recent non-fiction books I’ve enjoyed include Educated by Tara Westover, Edna’s Gift by Susan Rudnick, The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin, and I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel.
When I heard about Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, I knew it had to be my next non-fiction pick. A book about medicine which also includes intrigue, deception, and double crossing? Yes, please. Bad Blood is an exploration of the downfall of Theranos, a Silicon Valley startup, and its magnetic young founder, Elizabeth Holmes. Dropping out of Stanford to launch the company, her idea was to market a portable blood testing machine that could perform hundreds of diagnostic tests on a single drop of blood. Convinced her idea would revolutionize medicine, Holmes would stop at nothing to make sure she and her company rose to stardom. She raised billions of dollars from major investors and lured heavy hitters to sit on the board—including Henry Kissinger, James Mattis and George Shultz—but behind the fast-talking salesmanship, the company was a hot mess. Almost none of Holmes’ claims about Theranos’ innovative blood testing technology were true, the company’s organizational systems and leadership were chaotic, and the work environment was poisonous. The reader is allowed a peek through the opaque windows of the secretive company to understand why it had such a meteoric rise and horrendous fall.
The book is an expansion of a piece Carreyrou published about the company in the Wall Street Journal in 2015. He spent hours interviewing former employees of the company and combing through documents in order to expose the fraud going on behind Theranos’ well-guarded doors. It was his tireless efforts that eventually led to the downfall of the company and the subsequent civil and criminal litigation against Holmes and her former boyfriend and business partner, Sunny Balwani. Carreyrou did an incredible job synthesizing all of the collected information into a compulsively readable page-turner of a book, and Will Damron did a masterful job with the audio narration.
And the cherry on top—Bad Blood will soon be a feature film, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Elizabeth Holmes. I will definitely be buying tickets to see how this unbelievable story transfers to the big screen.
I stayed up log past my bedtime to finish this gripping saga of hubris and Silicone Valley gone wrong.
This is the true story of a high-tech startup gone horribly wrong. It is written beautifully and for a true story is a real page turner.
Amazing details of how Theranos was able to happen, and all of the cover up involved with keeping it afloat until the facts came out.
The was a page turner I could not put down! It was good to see the involvement on a recent current event. It lets people know not all things are what they seem, trust your intuition & don’t let people bully you in your job or your life.
This is a non-fiction book that reads like a thriller. It details the massive deception behind the Theranos scandal. Carreyrou is masterful at explaining what could be very hard to understand medical concepts and also at describing the personalities of the people behind the massive fraud. I flew thru this book. LOVED IT. Best N/F for the year for me.
Having worked at Enron I can’t stop being amazed by how often ethical breaches and a toxic culture show all the signs but are left unattended by those around it. This is one of the best business history books I’ve read and one that feels like spy thriller. With the Theranos story, and particularly that of its founder still unfolding this is a book that will merit a sequel in the not too distant future.
This should be required reading for anyone wanting to learn about business ethics and company culture.
This book will captivate you from the beginning. Because it is still in the news, it is even more poignant than ever. It reads like a very compelling piece of fiction, yet it is all true. I cannot put it down!!
The book is an entertaining an informational read. It also makes a compelling argument for the need for professional journalism. No blogger or web journalist could’ve survived the legal assault that was mounted to stop the story from going out.
Fantastic book, well written from the standpoint of literary skill, research, and entertainment. This is the story of the Theranos scandal that finally was shut down two years ago, and just this month was shut down. The main perpetrators of the hoax, Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, are now awaiting the filing of criminal charges.
Holmes was touted of the Steve Jobs of the medical tech neighborhood of Silicon Valley. She dropped out of Stanford, started Theranos and was, in a few years, worth upwards of $6 billion. The problem was, her blood testing machine utilizing finger pricks of blood, did not work. Still, she managed to draw a Whos Who of politics and industry to her board; from George Schultz to Henry Kissinger. Ironically, it was Schultz’s grandson who was one of the main whistle blowers instrumental in bringing in the FDA and reporter Carreyou from the WSJ.
I was initially, afraid that this could be a slow moving bit of business history, but it was anything but! The story read like a spy novel with a well developed story line. Characters were well-developed where possible, and the story itself was terrifying.
Amazingly, Holmes herself benefited little from the fraud. She thought she might eventually succeed but kept lying and deceiving investors to keep the money flowing into the company. A good read.
Amazing tale of lies and hoodwinking by the Theranos CEO that captivated prominent men and investors! Reads like a novel!
If only this was about a dysfunctional company, it would be a compelling story; if only this was about a product that wasn’t possible, it would be a compelling story. Since it’s both and so well written, I couldn’t put the book down.