Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies In a Silicon Valley Start Up
John Carreyrou

I have a real soft spot for the genre I call “Business Tell-Alls”. Books on rouge billionaires, hostel take overs, accounting scandals, I’m here for it all. And having read many, many of these books I can say with some authority that Bad Blood presents perhaps the most incredible story to date of misrepresentation, fraud and lies on massive scale.

You probably know the basics, but Bad Blood tells the story of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos claimed to be a bio-tech start up that was revolutionize the way blood tests were done. In reality, it was an elaborate shell game that bilked investors our of tens of millions of dollars, all while using intimidation and threats of legal action, to keep critics and disgruntled employees silent.

It’s a truly incredible story. Never before have I read about a company that was this big, while also being a total fraud. Even Bernie Madoff made money, just not enough.

I can’t say enough about how incredible this story is. If you enjoy a nonfiction page turner of any sort, you’re going to enjoy this one. Read it before it gets filmed and seem very well informed at cocktail parties.

Recommended.