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The Contrarian
- Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A New York Times Notable Book
A biography of venture capitalist and entrepreneur Peter Thiel, the enigmatic, controversial, and hugely influential power broker who sits at the dynamic intersection of tech, business, and politics
“Max Chafkin’s The Contrarian is much more than a consistently shocking biography of Peter Thiel, the most important investor in tech and a key supporter of the Donald Trump presidency. It’s also a disturbing history of Silicon Valley that will make you reconsider the ideological foundations of America’s relentless engine of creative destruction.” (Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store and Amazon Unbound)
Since the days of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, no industry has made a greater impact on the world than Silicon Valley. And few individuals have done more to shape Silicon Valley than Peter Thiel. The billionaire venture capitalist and entrepreneur has been a behind-the-scenes operator influencing countless aspects of our contemporary way of life, from the technologies we use every day to the delicate power balance between Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington. But despite his power and the ubiquity of his projects, no public figure is quite so mysterious.
In the first major biography of Thiel, Max Chafkin traces the trajectory of the innovator's singular life and worldview, from his upbringing as the child of immigrant parents and years at Stanford as a burgeoning conservative thought leader to his founding of PayPal and Palantir, early investment in Facebook and SpaceX, and relationships with fellow tech titans Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Eric Schmidt. The Contrarian illuminates the extent to which Thiel has sought to export his values to the corridors of power beyond Silicon Valley, including funding the lawsuit that destroyed the blog Gawker and strenuously backing far-right political candidates, notably Donald Trump for president in 2016.
Eye-opening and deeply reported, The Contrarian is a revelatory biography of a one-of-a-kind leader and an incisive portrait of a tech industry whose explosive growth and power is both thrilling and fraught with controversy.
Critic Reviews
"A judicious biography. . . . Unfailing diligent. . . . The Contrarian isn’t just about Thiel; it’s about Silicon Valley’s political coming-of-age, too.”—New York Times
“In writing a biography of Thiel, the deck was stacked against Max Chafkin . . . who daringly took to the task. His new book . . . charts the billionaire’s rise from his early days as a precocious chess champion who never quite fit in to a world-conquering tech visionary and political firebrand.”—Fortune, “The Best Books of 2021”
“Peter Thiel is one of tech’s most powerful people and one of its most enigmatic. That’s why Max Chafkin’s new biography of Thiel is so welcome. The Contrarian is a deep study of a Valley anomaly. . . . Chafkin digs deep to help us understand his subject.”—Wired
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What listeners say about The Contrarian
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John
- 09-27-21
Don’t burn a credit.
I tried, but it’s a cringe-fest. Sadly, the author doesn’t understand Thiel or his world. If you can’t respect your subject, you shouldn’t attempt to criticize him - much less write his biography. While this book is essentially a cheap editorial, the author’s insular worldview has rendered him incapable of forming opinions worthy of your attention. His community college-level tropes about white supremacy and extremism grow tiresome out of the gate. Had he forced himself to read Girard more than his one paragraph account demanded, he might have been able to scratch beneath the surface of Thiel’s ideology. He clearly didn’t. There are more perspicacious treatments of Thiel such as Holiday’s “Conspiracy,” and especially “Zero to One” itself. Chafkin reveals himself as a less than bright political hack attempting to kick at a great man’s shins. Apart from a few chuckles at the attempt, there’s nothing to appreciate here.
21 people found this helpful
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- John Lally
- 09-24-21
Comes across as biased against Thiel
It is well researched and I’ve learned a lot of facts about Peter Thiel’s background. However, it comes across as very biased against Thiel right out of the gate. It reads like more of a hit piece you’d read in a newspaper rather than an objective biography.
16 people found this helpful
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- robert boyd
- 09-22-21
Very little mention of Trump
Don’t let delusional Trumpers influence your decision to purchase. The book is a neutral and sobering look at Thiel and his rise to power in Silicon Valley and beyond. Let’s face it, people like him, driven by sociopathic impulses and gifted with incredible intelligence, succeed widely beyond dreams when the timing is right and the decision making is almost supernatural. I enjoy reading stories like this. A good book so far and I recommend to anyone not triggered by politics.
16 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 09-25-21
More a opinion & gossip rather than facts.
You are better off reading opinion column in New York Times.
Dont like leaving bad reviews but, author clearly has political agenda, and trying to make someone - not his readers happy.
12 people found this helpful
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- Kevin Prettner
- 09-25-21
Very disappointing… I regret purchasing
This author let his left leaning politic taint every page. Rather than remaining neutral the author is clearly biased to the point it ruins the book.
10 people found this helpful
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- Reeka
- 11-23-21
Scary
it is truly frightening to see how deeply flawed an individual can amass such wealth and power. it is ironic that those that rail against deep states and New world orders are themselves the ones the most entrenched in it.....
4 people found this helpful
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- Carlos Solorio
- 11-12-21
Interesting read on Peter’s Machiavellian style
I had second thoughts getting this book due to the reviews. Although this isn’t a positive portrayal, I think it gave an honest take on how Thiel has managed to climb his way to the top. Taking unpopular bets with large upsides, grabbing power at opportune times and creating groups with him as a central figure to achieve his means. It’s a great read and I enjoyed this behind the scenes look at Thiel’s life.
4 people found this helpful
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- Wilber Hernandez
- 10-10-21
A must read
Well researched and documented book for a wider audience that needs to know the extend of Peter Thiel’s involvement in funding Trump and the alt-right for the past 5+ years. Peter's behavior seems to be more machiavellian than contrarian for the purpose of amassing power in whatever that may be to him at different times. His track record of unethical behavior seems to make him a dangerous person to the nation.
4 people found this helpful
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- Ismael Becerra
- 10-21-21
Biased Biography
If the author's intent was to write an unbiased view into the life of Peter Thiel not unlike Walter Isaacson's work, he failed miserably. The majority of his writing was structured in a way that made Peter Thiel look bad In every sense of the word. If this was intended as a hit piece, Bravo. I purchased this to learn something productive not to listen to opinion Journalism. I should add I'm a 1st General Mexican-American who didn't vote for Trump so my opinion isn't based on Politics.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-17-21
Outstanding insights into Peter Theil
Very well researched book - well laid out - extremely interesting - was disappointed when it ended because I was enjoying it and wanted the story to keep going …..
2 people found this helpful
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Story
This is the sprawling story of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. The book chronicles Ghosn's two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault. To the world it looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.
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Interesting and a most informative read
- By martin fluck fritz on 12-20-21
By: Hans Greimel, and others
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The Platform Delusion
- Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans
- By: Jonathan A. Knee
- Narrated by: Jonathan A. Knee
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many think that they understand the secrets to the success of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. It's the platform economy, or network effects, or some other magical power that makes their ultimate world domination inevitable. Investment banker and professor Jonathan Knee argues that the truth is much more complicated - but entrepreneurs and investors can understand what makes the giants work and learn the keys to lasting success in the digital economy.
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Good yet imperfect analysis of big tech leaders
- By Gerardo A Dada on 07-29-22
By: Jonathan A. Knee
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The Key Man
- The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale
- By: Simon Clark, Will Louch
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Arif Naqvi was charismatic, inspiring, and self-made—all the qualities of a successful business leader. The founder of Abraaj, a Dubai-based private-equity firm, Naqvi was the Key Man to the global elite searching for impact investments to make money and do good. In 2018, Simon Clark and Will Louch were contacted by an anonymous whistleblower who said Naqvi had swindled investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars and offered bribes to sustain his billionaire lifestyle. In April 2019—months after their exposé broke—Naqvi was arrested on charges of fraud and racketeering.
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An enjoyable book!
- By Nikita Buynevich on 11-30-22
By: Simon Clark, and others
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The Founders
- The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
- By: Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Award-winning author and biographer Jimmy Soni explores PayPal’s turbulent early days. With hundreds of interviews and unprecedented access to thousands of pages of internal material, he shows how the seeds of so much of what shapes our world today—fast-scaling digital start-ups, cashless currency concepts, mobile money transfer—were planted two decades ago. He also reveals the stories of countless individuals who were left out of the front-page features and banner headlines but who were central to PayPal’s success.
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Wonderful, Engaging & Insightful
- By Ismael Becerra on 02-26-22
By: Jimmy Soni
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The Bond King
- How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All
- By: Mary Childs
- Narrated by: Mary Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school. The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino.
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Being a good writer does not make you a good narrator
- By John Mallory on 05-14-22
By: Mary Childs
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Lucifer’s Banker Uncensored
- The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy, 2nd Edition
- By: Bradley C. Birkenfeld
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As a private banker working for the largest bank in the world, UBS, Bradley Birkenfeld was an expert in Switzerland's shell-game of offshore companies and secret numbered accounts. He wined and dined ultrawealthy clients whose millions of dollars were hidden away from business partners, spouses, and tax authorities. As his client list grew, Birkenfeld lived a life of money, fast cars, and beautiful women, but when he discovered that UBS was planning to betray him, he blew the whistle to the US government.
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Self Serving Narrative
- By Amazon Customer on 12-10-21
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Collision Course
- Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire
- By: Hans Greimel, William Sposato
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This is the sprawling story of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. The book chronicles Ghosn's two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault. To the world it looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.
-
-
Interesting and a most informative read
- By martin fluck fritz on 12-20-21
By: Hans Greimel, and others
-
The Platform Delusion
- Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans
- By: Jonathan A. Knee
- Narrated by: Jonathan A. Knee
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many think that they understand the secrets to the success of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. It's the platform economy, or network effects, or some other magical power that makes their ultimate world domination inevitable. Investment banker and professor Jonathan Knee argues that the truth is much more complicated - but entrepreneurs and investors can understand what makes the giants work and learn the keys to lasting success in the digital economy.
-
-
Good yet imperfect analysis of big tech leaders
- By Gerardo A Dada on 07-29-22
By: Jonathan A. Knee
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Trillions
- How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever
- By: Robin Wigglesworth
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the Financial Times' global finance correspondent, the incredible true story of the iconoclastic geeks who defied conventional wisdom and endured Wall Street's scorn to launch the index fund revolution, democratizing investing and saving hundreds of billions of dollars in fees that would have otherwise lined fat cats' pockets.
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REALLY entertaining!!
- By Peter Riley on 12-16-21
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Amazon Unbound
- Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire
- By: Brad Stone
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Almost 10 years ago, Bloomberg journalist Brad Stone captured the rise of Amazon in his best seller The Everything Store. Since then, Amazon has expanded exponentially, inventing novel products like Alexa and disrupting countless industries, while its workforce has quintupled in size and its valuation has soared to nearly two trillion dollars.
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Great book and content. Awful narration
- By Asutosh Tripathy on 05-14-21
By: Brad Stone
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Invention
- A Life of Learning Through Failure
- By: James Dyson
- Narrated by: James Dyson
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Famously, over a four-year period, James Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner that would transform the way houses are cleaned around the world. In devoting all his resources to iteratively developing the technology, he risked it all, but out of many failures and setbacks came hard-fought success. In Invention: A Life, Dyson reveals how he came to set up his own company and led it to become one of the most inventive technology companies in the world. It is a compelling and dramatic tale, with many obstacles overcome.
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Inspiring
- By Shogun on 09-25-21
By: James Dyson
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Power Play
- Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
- By: Tim Higgins
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Tesla is the envy of the automotive world. Born at the start of the millennium, it was the first car company to be valued at $1 trillion. Its CEO, the mercurial, charismatic Elon Musk has become not just a celebrity but the richest man in the world. But Tesla’s success was far from guaranteed. Founded in the 2000s, the company was built on an audacious vision. Musk and a small band of Silicon Valley engineers set out to make a car that was quicker, sexier, smoother, and cleaner than any gas-guzzler on the road.
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Good, but you've heard these stories before
- By Daniel on 08-18-21
By: Tim Higgins
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Zero to One
- Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
- By: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1.
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Seems Insightful Until You Think A Little Deeper
- By Mark Brandon on 10-31-14
By: Peter Thiel, and others
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The New Tycoons
- Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything
- By: Jason Kelly
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything takes the listener behind the scenes of these firms: their famous billionaire founders, the overlapping stories of their creation and evolution, and the outsized ambitions that led a group of clever bankers from small shops operating in a corner of Wall Street into powerhouse titans of capital. This is the story of the money and the men who handle it.
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Detailed if a little dull
- By Anonymous User on 03-11-21
By: Jason Kelly