Bad Blood (Carreyrou) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
John Carreyrou tells [the story] virtually to perfection in Bad Blood, which really amounts to two books. The first is 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…. The author's description of Holmes as a manic leader who turned coolly hostile when challenged is ripe material for a psychologist; Carreyrou wisely lets the evidence speak for itself…. In the second part of the book the author compellingly relates how he got involved, following a tip from a suspicious reader. His recounting of his efforts to track down sources… reads like a West Coast version of All the President's Men.
Roger Lowenstein - New York Times Book Review -


A great and at times almost unbelievable story…. Theranos may be the biggest case of corporate fraud since Enron.
New York Magazine


Gripping.… Riveting.… [Told] with a momentum worthy of a crime novel.
Los Angeles Review of Books


Riveting.… For all its boomtime feel, there are timeless aspects to Theranos’ story. Venality is age-old, but so is courage, and that of the ex-employees who blew the whistle on its deceptions is restorative.… And more than an honorable mention should go to Carreyrou, a dogged old-school reporter uncowed by Theranos’ legal hardball.
San Francisco Chronicle


A veritable page-turning..… Gripping..… Presents comprehensive evidence of the fraud perpetrated by Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes.… Unveils many dark secrets of Theranos that have not previously been laid bare.
Nature


Riveting..… Compelling.… [Carreyrou’s] unmasking of Theranos is a tale of David and Goliath.
Financial Times


A fascinating true story that reads like a suspense novel. . . . A telling parable of Silicon Valley magical thinking.
Vogue
 

In Bad Blood, 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.
Marie Claire


A parable about Silicon Valley delusion. . . . Gossipy fun comes from seeing which high-profile man (James Mattis, Joe Biden) gets drawn into Holmes’ scammy web next.
Elle


A thorough and devastating piece of reporting that deserves a place alongside the masterworks of the inside-the-boardroom business genre. . . . He quietly compiles detail after damning detail into a fascinating narrative.
Weekly Standard (UK)


(Starred review) An apparent scientific breakthrough rests on a quicksand of deception in this riveting account of the rise and downfall of notorious biotech firm Theranos…. The result is a bracing cautionary tale about visionary entrepreneurship gone very wrong.
Publishers Weekly


[C]learly written and accessible…. [T]he company believed it could "fake-it-until-you-make-it," a Silicon Valley flaw, per Carreyrou. Using aggressive tactics and pit bull attorneys, Theranos squelched dissent and threatened the author. Highly recommended —Harry Charles, St. Louis
Library Journal


(Starred review) 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


A deep investigative report…. The author brilliantly captures the interpersonal melodrama, hidden agendas, gross misrepresentations, nepotism, and a host of delusions and lies…. [A] vivid, cinematic portrayal of serpentine Silicon Valley. [Future film planned.]
Kirkus Reviews