Kindle
$13.99
Available instantly
Kindle Price: $13.99

Save $4.01 (22%)

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.72

Save: $8.23 (46%)

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup Kindle Edition

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32,557 ratings

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The gripping story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranosone 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 covering her trial and sentencing, bringing the story to a close.

“Chilling ... Reads like a thriller ... Carreyrou tells [the Theranos story] 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.
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download
Popular Highlights in this book

From the Publisher

Silicon Valley Startup

Venture Capital Startup

VC Startup

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of May 2018: In Bad Blood, the Wall Street Journal’s John Carreyrou takes us through the step-by-step history of Theranos, a Silicon Valley startup that became almost mythical, in no small part due to its young, charismatic founder Elizabeth Holmes. In fact, Theranos was mythical for a different reason, because the technological promise it was founded upon—that vital health information could be gleaned from a small drop of blood using handheld devices—was a lie. Carreyrou tracks the experiences of former employees to craft the fascinating story of a company run under a strict code of secrecy, a place where leadership was constantly throwing up smoke screens and making promises that it could not keep. Meanwhile, investors kept pouring in money, turning Elizabeth Holmes into a temporary billionaire. As companies like Walgreens and Safeway strike deals with Theranos, and as even the army tries to get in on the Theranos promise (there’s a brief cameo by James “Mad Dog” Mattis), the plot thickens and the proverbial noose grows tighter. Although I knew how the story ended, I found myself reading this book compulsively. – Chris Schluep

Review

"Bad Blood is the real be-all end-all of Theranos information…. Bad Blood is wild, and more happens on one page than in many other entire books." —Margaret Lyons, The New York Times

"You will not want to put this riveting, masterfully reported book down. No matter how bad you think the Theranos story was, you'll learn that the reality was actually far worse."
—Bethany McLean, bestselling coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here

"Chilling... Carreyrou tells [this story] virtually to perfection… Reads like a West Coast version of
All the President's Men."
—Roger Lowenstein, The New York Times Book Review

"The definitive account of Theranos’s downfall, detailing its motley crew of executives, legal knife fights, dramatic PR stunts, and skullduggery... Offers a lot for foreign-policy wonks... While
Bad Blood is worth reading for its own merits—it’s a stunning feat of journalism that reads like a thriller—it also says a lot about Washington’s facile relationship with Silicon Valley. Most D.C. power brokers know next to nothing about science or technology but increasingly view Silicon Valley tech as a deus ex machina for some of the world’s most complicated challenges. Bad Blood offers a sobering warning of where that type of thinking can lead."
—Robbie Gramer, Foreign Policy

"A great and at times almost unbelievable story of scandalous fraud, surveillance, and legal intimidation at the highest levels of American corporate power. . . . The story of Theranos may be the biggest case of corporate fraud since Enron. But it’s also the story of how a lot of powerful men were fooled by a remarkably brazen liar."

—Yashar Ali, New York Magazine

"Even if you didn’t follow the story of charismatic Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (and the ensuing trainwreck) in the news, you will find yourself zipping through a book that proves once again that fact is stranger than fiction. A stunning look into a high-tech hoodwinking; like a high-speed car chase in a book."
—The New York Post's "28 Most Unforgettable Books of 2018"

"In
Bad Blood, acclaimed investigative journalist John Carreyrou, who broke the story in 2015, presents comprehensive evidence of the fraud perpetrated by Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes... He unveils many dark secrets of Theranos that have not previously been laid bare…  The combination of these brave whistle-blowers, and a tenacious journalist who interviewed 150 people (including 60 former employees) makes for a veritable page-turner."
—Eric Topol, Nature

"Engrossing…
Bad Blood boasts movie-scene detail… Theranos, Carreyrou writes, was a revolving door, as Holmes and Balwani fired anyone who voiced even tentative doubts… What’s frightening is how easy it is to imagine a different outcome, one in which the company’s blood-testing devices continued to proliferate. That the story played out as it did is a testament to the many individuals who spoke up, at great personal risk."
—Jennifer Couzin-Frankel, Science

"In exposing the fudged numbers, boardroom battles and sickening sums of money tossed Theranos’ way, Bad Blood succeeds in highlighting Silicon Valley’s paradoxical blind spot. Insular corporate culture and benevolent media coverage have allowed a monster to grow in the Valley—one that gambles not just with our smart phones or our democracy, but with people’s lives. Bad Blood reveals a crucial truth: outside observers must act as the eyes, the ears and, most importantly, the voice of Silicon Valley’s blind spot."
—B. David Zarley,
Paste Magazine's "16 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018"

"Carreyrou blends lucid descriptions of Theranos’s technology and its failures with a vivid portrait of its toxic culture and its supporters’ delusional boosterism. The result is a bracing cautionary tale about visionary entrepreneurship gone very wrong."
Publishers Weekly (Starred)

"Crime thriller authors have nothing on Carreyrou's exquisite sense of suspenseful pacing and multifaceted character development in this riveting, read-in-one-sitting tour de force.... Carreyrou's commitment to unraveling Holmes' crimes was literally of life-saving value."
—Booklist (Starred Review)

"Eye-opening... A vivid, cinematic portrayal of serpentine Silicon Valley corruption... A deep investigative report on the sensationalistic downfall of multibillion-dollar Silicon Valley biotech startup Theranos. Basing his findings on hundreds of interviews with people inside and outside the company, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning
Wall Street Journal reporter Carreyrou rigorously examines the seamy details behind the demise of Theranos and its creator, Elizabeth Holmes… [Carreyrou] brilliantly captures the interpersonal melodrama, hidden agendas, gross misrepresentations, nepotism, and a host of delusions and lies that further fractured the company’s reputation and halted its rise."
Kirkus

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078VW3VM7
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (May 21, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 21, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 13644 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 353 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32,557 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Carreyrou
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

John Carreyrou is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and a nonfiction author. His first book, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," chronicles Silicon Valley's biggest fraud. Please direct any speaking queries to speakers@penguinrandomhouse.com

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
32,557 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book fascinating and easy to follow. They appreciate the deep research and insight into the country's influential media. Readers describe the pacing as fast and urgent. They also praise the functionality as excellent and brilliant. In addition, they say the characters are amazing and charismatic. However, some customers feel the deception is beyond crazy and delusional.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

1,766 customers mention "Readability"1,686 positive80 negative

Customers find the book fascinating, excellent, and easy to follow. They say the author tells the story with spellbinding skill and detail. Readers also describe the story as unbelievable, masterful, and detailed.

"This book presents a fascinating account of a real-life story that is still unfolding...." Read more

"...Excellent reporting and a highly recommended read!" Read more

"...And everyone bought it.Bad Blood was a fast and exciting read, and relatively easy, worth mentioning because there's a reasonable..." Read more

"...the many other dimensions, but this presentation is a well presented self-contained effort...." Read more

634 customers mention "Research quality"594 positive40 negative

Customers find the book thoroughly researched, well-written, and educational. They say it provides much information and insight about our country's influential media. Readers also mention it's the best investigative book they have read so far.

"...relatively easy, worth mentioning because there's a reasonable amount of science in there...." Read more

"...This book also provides much information and insight about our country's influential media, legal system, and attorneys...." Read more

"...This is a case of some incredible, risk-taking journalism...." Read more

"...Overall, however, this is an important book from an important author. Hundreds of thousands of people took the phony Theranos blood test...." Read more

98 customers mention "Pacing"72 positive26 negative

Customers find the book fast-paced and urgent. They also describe the story as stunning and serious. Readers appreciate the exceptional service and shipping speed.

"...of his way to praise her integrity: “She has probably one of the most mature and well-honed sense of ethics – personal ethics, managerial ethics,..." Read more

"...But a lot of what happens is also stunning and very serious. I often shook my head incredulously...." Read more

"...properly and what follows is a great tale of deviation, lying, intimidation (what was done to many employees of the company is disturbing) and..." Read more

"...of fraud and not only makes it more exciting and thrilling but also sobering and pragmatic.I would highly recommend this to anyone...." Read more

73 customers mention "Functionality"64 positive9 negative

Customers find the book excellent, brilliant, and shocking. They say it does a good job of walking them through the rollercoaster journey.

"...5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 30 in a lifetime.4 - Very good.3 - Worth your time.2 - Not very good.1 - Atrocious." Read more

"...This is his first book, and it does not disappoint. It is a suspenseful read that I tore through in just a few days...." Read more

"...The book doesn’t disappoint. Now I’m going to listen to Carreyrou’s podcast." Read more

"Absolutely perfect book. This book is a true thriller that has all the elements needed to provide hours of page turning...." Read more

65 customers mention "Character development"49 positive16 negative

Customers find the character development fascinating, amazing, and charismatic. They say the portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes is riveting, even-handed, and devastating. Readers also mention the book is an indictment of the cult of personality so prevalent in Silicon Valley.

"...It involves a cast of characters so unique and events so beyond the norm that it is not an exaggeration to say that they are probably beyond the..." Read more

"...into a fantastically written tale of greed, deception, and larger than life characters (especially Ms. Holmes)...." Read more

"...The portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes is riveting, even-handed, and in the end devastating, although she remains a kind of enigma even to the author...." Read more

"...I finished it in two days.My main criticism is the revolving door of characters...." Read more

79 customers mention "Difficulty to put down"45 positive34 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book. Some mention it's hard to put down, while others say it's impossible to put down.

"...the backbone of the book and, with no doubt, what makes it so impossible to put down...." Read more

"...It was difficult to put down and I found myself still reading long after normal bedtime to see what happened next...." Read more

"One of the best books I’ve read. It’s hard to put down." Read more

"This book is impossible to put down. I found myself reading it after waking up in the middle of the night...." Read more

61 customers mention "Deceptiveness"11 positive50 negative

Customers find the book deceptive, delusional, and unethical. They also say it's fraudulent from the get-go. Readers mention some simple facts are wrong and some parts are hard to believe.

"...Obviously the leadership of Theranos were abject failures...." Read more

"...One must ask; why not? This seems to be a case of true distortion of reality. The question is; why?5...." Read more

"...were obvious, the best people leaving was obvious, the technical failures were obvious, the lack of a cohesive business plan was obvious, and yet......" Read more

"...4 - Very good.3 - Worth your time.2 - Not very good.1 - Atrocious." Read more

Fake-it-until-you make-it
5 out of 5 stars
Fake-it-until-you make-it
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley StartupThis is a book written by John Carreyrou, a Wall Street Journal investigative reporterIt is saga of Elizabeth Anne Holmes who started at 19 a blood monitoring company with best intentions in the world, to make the patients safer. She cited the fact that an estimated one hundred thousand Americans died each year from adverse drug reactions. Theranos the company Elizabeth founded - would eliminate all those deaths, she said. It would quite literally save lives.ad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley StartupShe worshipped Jobs and Apple. She liked to call Theranos’s blood-testing system “the iPod of health care” and predicted that, like Apple’s ubiquitous products, it would someday be in every household in the country."This is the Silicon Valley I dreamt of."On her father’s side, she was descended from Charles Louis Fleischmann, a Hungarian immigrant who founded a thriving business known as the Fleischmann Yeast Company. Its remarkable success turned the Fleischmanns into one of the wealthiest families in America at the turn of the twentieth century." Charles Louis Fleischmann was not only Hungarian, he was of Jewish descent, although it seems he was not a practicing Jew.Smoking cigarettes while reading the TalmudThis story is from a book called "The complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish Spirituality and Mysticism" by Michael Levin A yeshiva student comes home on Sabbath afternoon and finds his father reading the Talmud and smoking a cigarette. He is shocked: smoking is forbidden on the Sabbath. The father noticed his son is stunned by his behavior. He said:"When you know as much Talmud as I do, you too can smoke a cigarette on Sabbath"People may become self-righteous for keeping their obligations like studying the Torah and feel the rules don't apply to them. They lost the fear of God and their humility. There is no spirituality and no kindness.These are actual quotes from the book“The biggest problem of all was the dysfunctional corporate culture in which the mini Lab was being developed. Elizabeth and Sunny regarded anyone who raised a concern or an objection as a cynic and a naysayer.”“For the dozens of Indians Theranos employed, the fear of being fired was more than just the dread of losing a paycheck. Most were on H-1B visas and dependent on their continued employment at the company to remain in the country. With a despotic boss like Sunny holding their fates in his hands, it was akin to indentured servitude. Sunny, in fact, had the master-servant mentality common among an older generation of Indian businessmen. Employees were his minions. He expected them to be at his disposal at all hours of the day or night and on weekends. He checked the security logs every morning to see when they badged in and out. Every evening, around seven thirty, he made a fly-by of the engineering department to make sure people were still at their desks working.”With a board of directors including Henry Kissinger, 94 years old, with top venture capitalists on board, with her original Stanford chemistry professor Channing Robertson, receiving a 500,000 dollars check for just being a cover up consultant, General Jim Mattis who became Trump Defense Secretary, few is any contested Elisabeth legitimacyElizabeth was a drop-out of Stanford with some hypnotic presence. How come she fascinated most famous people on the Valley, but fall under the influence of her boyfriend Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani? He was twenty years older and a married man when they first met."Sunny was a force of nature, and not in a good way. Though only about five foot five and portly, he made up for his diminutive stature with an aggressive, in-your-face management style. His thick eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, set above a mouth that drooped at the edges and a square chin, projected an air of menace. He was haughty and demeaning toward employees, barking orders and dressing people down"Epilogue - for nowIf you read the LinkedIn as I do, 99% of the people are not entrepreneurs. They just pretend being entrepreneurial when all they want is a job.So let’s assume although Elizabeth is proven guilty, she gets funded again. Would you refuse to work for her? No! You wouldn’t, despite what happened to Theranos. You will take the job again with both hands and pray this time is Kosher.And Bad Blood will become a cult book, just like Paul Coelho “The Alchemist” and Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson and the words Fake-until-you-make-it will enter the Bible.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2021
This book presents a fascinating account of a real-life story that is still unfolding. It involves a cast of characters so unique and events so beyond the norm that it is not an exaggeration to say that they are probably beyond the imagination of even the best fiction writers.

The story is about the rise and fall of the company Theranos, founded in 2003 by the 19 years old Stanford Dropout Elizabeth Holmes. The company’s objective, which it later falsely claimed to have achieved, was to revolutionize blood tests by only requiring very small amounts of blood taken by finger stick; and the tests could be performed and the results obtained very rapidly using small automated devices developed by the company. Holmes was CEO and she ran the company with her boyfriend Sunny Balwani, who had the title President. Although not learning much about science, engineering or medicine during her two years at Stanford, her charm, ambition, and deceit were able to raise hundreds of millions from venture capitalists and private investors. She was also able to persuade experienced executives of established businesses to partner with her company, including the CEO of Safeway and the Board of Directors of Walgreens. She convinced famous political and military names to serve on Theranos’ Board of Directors, including former Secretaries of State George Schulz and Henry Kissinger, Four Star General James Mattis, former Senator Sam Nunn, to name but a few. Although dropping out in her second year, her former Stanford Chemical Engineering Professor Channing Robertson stated in an article about Theranos and its CEO: “You start to realize you are looking in the eyes of another Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.” When Fortune Magazine’s legal correspondent Roger Parloff talked to Shultz and Mattis about Elizabeth, Shultz said: “Everywhere you look with this young lady, there’s a purity of motivation. I mean she really is trying to make the world better, and this is her way of doing it.” Mattis went out of his way to praise her integrity: “She has probably one of the most mature and well-honed sense of ethics – personal ethics, managerial ethics, business ethics, medical ethics that I’ve ever heard articulated,” Kissinger told New Yorker journalist Ken Auletta that Holmes had an "ethereal quality." "She is like a member of a monastic order,"

It is perhaps fortunate for America that the Soviet Union/Russia did not have a charming person of similar caliber when the above three gentlemen were serving their country in their respective high positions in the U.S. Government.

While Elizabeth was perhaps the ultimate person of authority in the company, Sunny was mostly in charge of running its everyday operation. Their leadership style included: demanding complete loyalty, complete secrecy, intimidation, and deceit. According to the book, earning projections were not based on realistic estimates, inaccurate blood test results were not made known, machines designed in-house failed to work most of the time. Folks who raised doubts about the company’s operation were fired. Employees who could not live with the thought that patients may be harmed chose to resign.

For more than a decade, the company was riding high. By 2015, Forbes had named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in America on the basis of a $9-billion valuation of her company. The downfall began in October 2015, when the author of this book published a "bombshell article", detailing how the company’s Edison device gave inaccurate results, and revealing that the company had been using commercially available machines made by other manufacturers for most of its testing. Sanctions and other adverse actions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services soon followed, as well as a lawsuit filed by Arizona for violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. In 2016, Walgreens and Capital BlueCross announced a suspension of Theranos blood tests from the Newark lab. On June 15, 2018, Holmes and Balwani were indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Due to Covid-19, the trial of Elizabeth was delayed for a year. It began on August 31, 2021. Looks like the trial for Sunny would not take place until 2022. The ending of this saga is nowhere in sight.

On September 4, 2018, Theranos announced in an email to investors that it would cease operations and release its assets and remaining cash to creditors after all efforts to find a buyer came to nothing. Most of the company's remaining employees had been laid off on the previous Friday, August 31.

Perhaps all of this could have been avoided if Elizabeth had taken a course on Leadership before she dropped out of Stanford. The first thing one learns in Leadership 101 is: A leader without integrity will ultimately fail.
11 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
This book is disturbing on so many levels, it made my head hurt! A young, charming woman convinced a bunch of old men to invest in a company presented as a startup tech company, though the product was an integral part of medicine, a subject most of said old men, knew nothing about!
Elizabeth Holmes should go down in history as one of the biggest con artists if we are to believe the author of this “ can’t put it down” investigative report. She drops out of college because she has a vision to revolutionize the laboratory experience in medicine. No more blood draws with nasty needles. All labs would be done with a small amount of blood collected from a finger stick! Amazing! And no one investing in the company asked someone with expertise in medicine and laboratory work if this sounded feasible. The story is recounted of her strong arm tactics, her obfuscation, and downright lies, for years! She created a company, Theranos, that at one point was valued in the billions...with a capital B!

This list of those she wrapped around her finger should give you pause. A list of powerful, smart men.

“One after another, she wrapped people around her finger and persuaded them to do her bidding. The first to fall under her spell was Channing Robertson, the Stanford engineering professor whose reputation helped give her credibility when she was just a teenager. Then there was Donald L. Lucas, the aging venture capitalist whose backing and connections enabled her to keep raising money. Dr. J and Wade Miquelon at Walgreens and Safeway CEO Steve Burd were next, followed by James Mattis, George Shultz, and Henry Kissinger (Mattis’s entanglement with Theranos proved no obstacle to his being confirmed as President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense). David Boies and Rupert Murdoch complete the list, though I’ve left out many others who were bewitched by Holmes’s mixture of charm, intelligence, and charisma.”

The invented machines did not work for the most part, but like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtains, this was hidden secretly and the illusion was presented at every turn. Old technology was used in place of the “Edison” or mini lab presented as the means for this revolution. Doubters were fired, threatened, or charmed into submissiveness. Patients were put at risk, as laboratory studies form the basis of much decision making in medicine. (I am a physician, so I have some skin in this.) The results were very frequently wrong, to the point of some patients being sent to emergency rooms because of the life threatening results reported.
The author doggedly pursued this story and brought the house down with what he uncovered with the help of ex-employees.

I think what happened here is happening on a wide scale in society. Hype. Hype to gain power and money and prestige. Hype to hide emptiness and fraud. They have a term for it in the tech world evidently.

“THE TERM “VAPORWARE” was coined in the early 1980s to describe new computer software or hardware that was announced with great fanfare only to take years to materialize, if it did at all. It was a reflection of the computer industry’s tendency to play it fast and loose when it came to marketing. Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle were all accused of engaging in the practice at one point or another. Such overpromising became a defining feature of Silicon Valley. The harm done to consumers was minor, measured in frustration and deflated expectations.”

“Hyping your product to get funding while concealing your true progress and hoping that reality will eventually catch up to the hype continues to be tolerated in the tech industry.”

But remember and I quote again:

“But it’s crucial to bear in mind that Theranos wasn’t a tech company in the traditional sense. It was first and foremost a health-care company. Its product wasn’t software but a medical device that analyzed people’s blood. As Holmes herself liked to point out in media interviews and public appearances at the height of her fame, doctors base 70 percent of their treatment decisions on lab results. They rely on lab equipment to work as advertised. Otherwise, patient health is jeopardized.”

Hype. Vaporware. Lying? Are we tolerating untruths because we so want to believe? Are we too susceptible to charismatic liars?

Questions we should ask ourselves before we invest in activities that are potentially harmful. Questions to be asked before we propel people to positions of outrageous power.

Excellent reporting and a highly recommended read!
One person found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Joao de Almeida
5.0 out of 5 stars Muito boa leitura !
Reviewed in Brazil on April 9, 2022
Assunto muito interessante e realmente eu nao conseguia parar de ler para saber como seria o final ! Realmente a empresa tinha um produto muito avancado que poderia mudar os exames de sangue de uma maneira moderna e pratica , porem nao conseguiram produzir os aparelhos que funcionassem perfeitamente ! Porem esses problemas nao eram informados aos investidores e tambem ao usuarios , pois isso impediria a empresa de crescer como como a maioria das startups do Vale do Silicio ! Assunto realmente muito serio , real e bem escrito ! Recomendo !

,
Chalapco Vlad
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best investigations books ever read
Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2024
The writer merges the different narrative perspectives and interviews to shape a suspenseful book about the Theranos fraud. Great piece of writing.
Tim de Hoog
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling read!
Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 10, 2022
Reads like a thriller. Excellent analysis and behind the scenes of Theranos. A hard lesson in what greed, corruption and blind faith can do. Also shows you how vital a free and independent media is to bring fraud like Theranos to justice.
Kartik Matmari
5.0 out of 5 stars Greed is NOT good, especially when you are dealing with lives.
Reviewed in India on February 3, 2022
Book Review : Greed is NOT good, especially when you are dealing with lives.

I was 2 years late actually to read this fascinating “business thriller”. I was awed by the initial success story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, touted as the next Steve Jobs. And from 2016 onwards the dirty details started coming out about Theranos and the whole saga of its Silicon Valley deception that featured the greatest stalwarts of the VC community, the Academia, the federal government, the Military, the R&D researchers. How Walmart and Safeway were taken for a ride. The greatest names in Law got involved.

John Carreyrou “Bad Blood” is fabulous. If you haven’t read it then please do. Dec 2021, the first sentence was out in the case, and much more is due. It’s a story of how greed is always not good and how charm, charisma and cunning can come together to fool some of the “best minds”. Its "fake-it-till-you-make-it" at its worst!. From Zero to Billions to Zero.

Bill Gates had recommended this in his yearly booklist in 2019. In his words – “ ‘Bad Blood’ tackles some serious ethical questions, but it is ultimately a thriller with a tragic ending. It’s a fun read full of bizarre details that will make you gasp out loud.”
Customer image
Kartik Matmari
5.0 out of 5 stars Greed is NOT good, especially when you are dealing with lives.
Reviewed in India on February 3, 2022
Book Review : Greed is NOT good, especially when you are dealing with lives.

I was 2 years late actually to read this fascinating “business thriller”. I was awed by the initial success story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, touted as the next Steve Jobs. And from 2016 onwards the dirty details started coming out about Theranos and the whole saga of its Silicon Valley deception that featured the greatest stalwarts of the VC community, the Academia, the federal government, the Military, the R&D researchers. How Walmart and Safeway were taken for a ride. The greatest names in Law got involved.

John Carreyrou “Bad Blood” is fabulous. If you haven’t read it then please do. Dec 2021, the first sentence was out in the case, and much more is due. It’s a story of how greed is always not good and how charm, charisma and cunning can come together to fool some of the “best minds”. Its "fake-it-till-you-make-it" at its worst!. From Zero to Billions to Zero.

Bill Gates had recommended this in his yearly booklist in 2019. In his words – “ ‘Bad Blood’ tackles some serious ethical questions, but it is ultimately a thriller with a tragic ending. It’s a fun read full of bizarre details that will make you gasp out loud.”
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
Client Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars L'envers du décor
Reviewed in France on October 26, 2021
Un livre passionnant qui se lie comme un roman et qui dévoile bien la réalité peu reluisante d'une entreprise que tout le monde voyait comme le nouveau Apple (surtout sa fondatrice...). 2 questions en suspens: a-t-elle trompé ses investisseurs et ses potentiels "clients" (c'est à dire des patients) volontairement ou a t elle été prise malgré elle dans un tourbillon qu'elle ne contrôlait plus ? L'auteur n'a pas trop de doutes, chacun se fera son opinion. Autre question beaucoup plus intéressante à mon goût : de toutes les startups qui promettent monts et merveilles, combien cachent des cadavres dans leurs placards, comme Theranos? On aura malheureusement pas toujours des John Carreyrou pour le raconter si bien.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?