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Bad Blood

Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

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Bad Blood

Written by: John Carreyrou
Narrated by: Will Damron
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About this listen

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 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.

©2018 John Carreyrou (P)2018 Random House Audio
Corporate & Public Finance Economics Small Business & Entrepreneurship True Crime Corporate Exciting Silicon Valley Business Nonfiction True Crime Business Fiction
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What the critics say

"[A] chilling, third-person narrative of how Holmes came up with a fantastic idea that made her, for a while, the most successful woman entrepreneur in Silicon valley.... Prizewinning Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou tells [this story] virtually to perfection.... [His] description of Holmes as a manic leader who turned coolly hostile when challenged is ripe material for a psychologist.... His recounting of his efforts to track down sources - many of whom were being intimidated by Theranos’s bullying lawyer, David Boies - reads like a West Coast version of All the President's Men." (Roger Lowenstein, The New York Times Book Review)

"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)

"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)

"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)

Featured Article: 20 Best True Crime Audiobooks for Your Inner Detective

There is nothing more thrilling than the unfolding tale of a true crime story. Whether an unsolved mystery, a deep dive into a criminal mastermind, or a look at an infamous serial killer, true crime is gripping, captivating, and engrossing. The best true crime audiobooks will have you on the edge of your seat, anxious for more. Add to that an emphatic and powerful narrator, and you simply won't be able to stop listening. Here are the 20 best true crime audiobooks to satisfy your inner detective.

What listeners say about Bad Blood

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exciting nonfic book

The writer has done a lot of detective work to uncover an evil conpany"a secrets.

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2 people found this helpful

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A must read for any aspiring entrepreneur.

An excellent narrator.
A spell binding story.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
A thrilling story in which greed overrides all other considerations.
A story describes the blinding effects of money and fame on entrepreneurs, lawyers and investors and their conveniently acquired ruthlessness in pursuit of it.

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Amazing and horrifying

Incredibly written and researched, this story is almost too compelling and scary to be true. But it is. A must read for those interested in health care technology or Silicon Valley startups. #audible1

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phenomenonal

very well written and great voice. if you liked the Steve Jobs biogeography, this is right up your alley

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Excellent Dissection of Yet Another Massive Fraud

I decided to listen to this after watching the HBO documentary The Inventor, as it was essentially a simplified version of this story. This is a fascinating tale of yet another large scale corporate fraud, perpetuated by the greed of venture capital, corporate fear of missing out and corporate America's inability to see through patent falsehoods when they are delivered from a pretty face.

I'd like to think regulators would learn something from this but given how there's another one of these style of frauds basically every year, I know that's a laugh.

Highly recommended if you like tales of white collar crime.

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So good!

The story is just so unbelievable, you can’t stop listening. I was hooked right from the beginning.

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Great Work by the Journalist Who Broke the Story

Carreyrou is the journalist who broke the story that exposed Theranos as a fraud and sent Elizabeth Holmes to jail. This is a compelling story excellently narrated,

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must read!

loved this book. fastest read ever because I couldn't put it down. started listening non-stop whenever I had time.... page turner!

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Riveting

Finished the 11hrs+ in just 1d. Beautifully written. Narration was ok to good. I’m still stunned that this was allowed to happen. Would have liked more of a prologue...is my only wish.

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A thrilling read that will make you gasp out loud

This was one of the most compelling books I have ever come across. It glued me to my chair until I was done.

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