Bad Blood

Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

By: John Carreyrou

Narrated by: Will Damron

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2018 John Carreyrou (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

"Wall Street Journal investigative journalist Carreyrou presents meticulously researched, clearly written evidence of the fraud perpetrated by business wunderkind Elizabeth Holmes. The former CEO of the once-renowned Silicon Valley startup, Theranos, bilked investors of millions and potentially risked the lives of patients around the world with a groundbreaking diagnostic product that did not work reliably. Will Damron is the perfect choice as narrator. His precisely articulated style makes the entire effort sound as if it is a cloak-and-dagger spy novel." (AudioFile)

"Chilling...Reads like a West Coast version of All the President’s Men." (New York Times Book Review)

"I couldn’t put down this thriller...the perfect book to read by the fire this winter." (Bill Gates)

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.

Gripping

listened to the audiobook. really enjoyed this and crystalized the whole Theranos saga. gripping and inciteful.

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.

eye opener

loved it. could not stop listening. john extensively researched and wrote the story very well

The very first book I listened in Audible

Brilliant book and epic story. I can't wait for the movie version. I just don't understand how can investors trust a university dropout? Unlike computer science, which is under evolution, fundamental sciences take long time to establish a knowledge system and make a breakthrough.

Another billion dollar whale.....

Great audio book. coming from a scientific background the book had a good mix of business insight and scientific method. Again though it looks like the bad players are not punished and the public are left in this case at risk.

Wow - what a story

Unbelievable to understand how bad this scandal was from the inside out. Incredible insights unbelievable deceptions. And such massive valuations. Truly shows how hype can take over sense in startup valuations.