Bad Blood

Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup; The Story of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos Scandal

By: John Carreyrou

Narrated by: Will Damron

'A story so incredible you'd think it was fiction' – James Patterson

Winner of the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.

The shocking true story of the breathtaking rise and collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes, written by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end.

Seen as the female Steve Jobs, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was 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 wealthy investors, Theranos sold shares that valued the company at more than $9 billion.

There was just one problem: the technology didn’t work . . .

Despite threats of legal action, brave whistleblowers started to talk. They revealed a culture of intimidation and secrecy, technology that repeatedly failed, results sent to real patients that were incorrect but upon which life-changing medical decisions were being made, with devastating consequences.

The riveting story behind The Dropout, in Bad Blood, John Carreyrou investigates the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and scandal set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.

'A tale of corporate fraud and legal browbeating that reads like a crime thriller' – TIME, The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year

Critic reviews

I couldn’t put down this thriller with a tragic ending . . . a book so compelling that I couldn’t turn away . . . This book has everything: elaborate scams, corporate intrigue, magazine cover stories, ruined family relationships, and the demise of a company once valued at nearly $10 billion (Bill Gates, '5 books I loved in 2018')

A dazzling story of deception in Silicon Valley . . . You will not be able to put this book down.

Carreyrou tells the story virtually to perfection . . . Bad Blood reads like a West Coast version of All the President’s Men.

Riveting . . . a blistering critique of Silicon Valley . . . The real heroes, though, are his sources: the young scientists who worked at the company and risked their reputations and careers by voicing their concerns. Were it not for their courage, Theranos might still be testing blood today (David Crow)

If you’re looking for an engaging non-fiction read, look no further than Bad Blood . . . a pacy, compelling narrative about white-collar crime that’s as incredible as any work of fiction.

In this Silicon Valley drama, he opens his reporter’s notebook to deliver a tale of corporate fraud and legal browbeating that reads like a crime thriller. (The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018)

Gripping . . . Carreyrou presents the scientific, human, legal and social sides of the story in full . . . He unveils many dark secrets of Theranos that have not previously been laid bare.

A parable, with all the usual, delicious ingredients of human folly: greed, pride, vanity, lust, anger. Above all, it is an analysis of the phenomenon of hype.

Simply one of the best books about a startup ever.

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 . . . It gambled not with our smart phones, our attention or our democracy, but with people’s lives.

Engaging

A beautifully controlled narrative that challenges the gold-rush mentality of Silicon Valley. (Lionel Barber, Editor of the FT, 'Books of the Year 2018')

[Holmes') story is a parable about Silicon Valley delusion, but the gossipy fun comes from seeing which high-profile man (James Mattis, Joe Biden) gets drawn into Holmes’ scammy web next. (‘Best Books of 2018’)

Carreyrou tells the full, gripping tale of how he slayed the “unicorn” in a fascinating look at how buzz and billions can blind people to facts. (‘Best Books of 2018’)

You will not be able to put this down. (Top tech book releases in 2018)

riveting

loved every moment of this saga of whistleblower vs big money and medical fraud. well worth a listen. Kudos to journalists like JC and sources who have the guts to expose wrong at great personal cost.

wonderfully gripping.

absolutely loved it...couldn't stop listening. fastest book I've completed ever. keen to see the trial outcome now.

Thrilling Story

It is like reading a horror story book, except it is happening in real life.

Excellent summary of the Theranos story

I am coming to realise that I enjoy train wrecks unfolding. Enron, Blackberry, the global financial crisis and now Theranos. If it's well told and there are intricacies, a good writer can make anything seems sinister and grab ones attention.

This is such a title, and on the surface there clearly was things going wrong, with fraud established in court. However Carryrou goes to the human element and touches on the events in one coherent stream, but from.so many angles.

Could not stop listening. Incredible story, fantastically told.

Incredible listen

What a story. There are scores of documentaries and videos about this scandal out there and this book just takes the cake.

Probably the only investigate journalists that outed the criminal CEO, this book is a first hand account of how Holmes started fooling Silicon Valley and scores of distinguished individuals.

It’s un-put-down-able and yet scary to see how easily one individual can play with the lives of people and play with millions of dollars of money.

A must listen.