Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carr
- Finished Feb. 5, 2019, took nine days to read
- 5 Stars on Goodreads, but I would rate 4.5
- Genre: Non-Fiction
- Rating 2/5 for 2019 overall, 1/1 for Non- Fiction
This is the true story of the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the “health care” company Theranos. I put health care in quotes because as we all know now, Theranos was basically a company built on false hopes and lies. Sure they did some science there, but I don’t think they actually improved a single patient’s health during the company’s existence.
I did not follow the Theranos story when it broke a few years ago, but I do remember Elizabeth Holmes being the darling of Silicon Valley for a few years. I thought it was great that a woman was having such unparalleled success in a male-dominated industry of tech and health care innovation. It makes me so sad to know how completely she bamboozled so many people. Not only did she lie, but she ruined many lives and may have indirectly caused some deaths.
I won’t go into the facts of the book, but I suggest you pick it up immediately. The audacity of Holmes is out of the world. Every few chapters I would exclaim “WHAT?” and “ARE YOU SERIOUS? HOW COULD SHE!?” in reaction to the next level insane events that happened over the past few years.
Bad Blood was written by an investigative journalist for the Wall Street Journal, and it is clearly researched well. The book does read a little sensationalist, but I am willing to forgive the author because the story is sensational. Tricksters like Elizabeth Holmes only come around once in a while, and to read about her rise and fall is sensational indeed.
I can’t help but feel a tiny bit of pity for Elizabeth Holmes. To live in such a false reality must be exhausting. The lies you would have to tell yourself just to exist in your skin…I can’t imagine such a prison.
Bad Blood just jumped to the top of my reading list for 2019. Read it!
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