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divsies's review against another edition
4.0
"In that moment, my mind led me back to a place I'd often found myself before, trying to decide if moral obligation lay in the consequences of an action, in the action itself or in the motive for the action."
I hadn't read the original Uber blog post before reading this book, so I really didn't have any idea what to expect. I'm glad I stepped out of my fiction-bubble and picked up this memoir, because it was incredibly insightful, clearly written, and hard-hitting.
The blatant sexism, gaslighting, and manipulation that Fowler went through infuriated and horrified me. I'd heard of sexism in STEM and academia through my mother's experiences, but this book took it so much further and laid everything out in the sun for all of its ugly parts to be seen. Fowler's deep dig into her experiences at UPenn, Uber, and Silicon Valley startups in general is an incredibly important one. It's a ray of hope that some wider cultural change is starting to take place, and that there's at least some light at the end of the tunnel for non-male STEM professionals. Or maybe I'm just being naively optimistic.
Either way, this was an impactful and very worthwhile read.
bookph1le's review against another edition
5.0
This is an alarming book that makes clear how when people come forward to report harassment at work, it's often the victim who's punished and not the perpetrator. Fowler also makes a lot of really important points about binding arbitration and how it allows companies to sweep crimes under the rug while silencing victims and making it impossible to seek justice through normal avenues.
I can personally relate to a lot of what Fowler talks about here, and I'm glad to see more of this coming to light. For so many years there was a mistaken belief that harassment wasn't real, or that what victims claimed was harassment was harmless flirtation. It's past time offenders were held accountable for their actions.
I can personally relate to a lot of what Fowler talks about here, and I'm glad to see more of this coming to light. For so many years there was a mistaken belief that harassment wasn't real, or that what victims claimed was harassment was harmless flirtation. It's past time offenders were held accountable for their actions.
nickscoby's review against another edition
4.0
I was really excited to read this book, knowing just enough about Fowler's background, i.e., she was homeschooled until college and she "took down" Uber. I do think the book lives up to the hype, especially content wise. I mean, the sexism in the company is so brazen that it's nearly unbelievable but also completely realistic. It's just a company on steroids. I think it's a very Timely and 21st century narrative, as well above and beyond the sexism. I appreciate Fowler's concern about being a learned and "good" person in this day and age. Those parts all ring true to me. The one down side is that, unfortunately, I do not think she's a gifted writer. That is to say, the prose is pretty standard and she repeats this motif of wanting to be a subject and not an object too many times. She needs to work on showing and not telling. Additionally, there are some moments that feel like they are straight out of a screenplay, such as the ending. Most likely, I will see the movie, though. LOL.
kimreads14's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.0
katiehawkes's review against another edition
5.0
A quick, engrossing read -- if you have any experience with working at tech companies, sexism in academia, being gaslit by powerful organizations or shitty HR "professionals," you'll find something to relate to here.
alexisrt's review against another edition
4.0
Susan Fowler's account of her time in Silicon Valley (notably Uber) is predictably infuriating--the details are already known from her 2017 blog post.
Luckily there's more to her story--how she got to be a software engineer in the first place, and how her original plans to become a physicist were derailed. If anyone doubts that so much could happen to one woman before she turned 30, it just shows how good a job we do of covering up sexual harassment and discrimination, and how we've got institutional policies in place from universities to corporations to ensure it stays hidden. Fowler has a decent writing style and the book is a quick read.
Luckily there's more to her story--how she got to be a software engineer in the first place, and how her original plans to become a physicist were derailed. If anyone doubts that so much could happen to one woman before she turned 30, it just shows how good a job we do of covering up sexual harassment and discrimination, and how we've got institutional policies in place from universities to corporations to ensure it stays hidden. Fowler has a decent writing style and the book is a quick read.
mring42's review against another edition
5.0
This is a horrifying account of repeated harassment and awful culture through science and engineering. It wasn’t my favorite style of writing or telling, but the subject matter is so relevant that it is worth it.
gemmamilne's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured this book in 48 hours, and, TLDR: you should too.
Susan’s blog post blowing the whistle on Uber’s horrific workplace culture in 2017 set in motion changes and tough conversations not just at the ride-sharing startup, but across Silicon Valley and beyond.
Her memoir tells the full story of what happened at Uber in much greater detail, but it would be diminishing to say that this is what this book is about.
It’s so much more.
This is an account of someone not taking no for an answer; of someone unrelentingly driven in the pursuit of knowledge, education and self-actualisation; of someone taking and reclaiming power in so many different ways. Susan’s life story is story enough.
I reckon I’ve become a bit numb to horrific stories of startup (and academic) culture, and so I wasn’t all that shocked by Susan’s experience, but the matter-of-fact account, displayed with such clarity, was a joy (if you can say that about problematic stories) to read.
This book was so inspiring, so quick to fly through, and left me pondering many questions about speaking up, power and lifelong learning.
Brilliant.
Susan’s blog post blowing the whistle on Uber’s horrific workplace culture in 2017 set in motion changes and tough conversations not just at the ride-sharing startup, but across Silicon Valley and beyond.
Her memoir tells the full story of what happened at Uber in much greater detail, but it would be diminishing to say that this is what this book is about.
It’s so much more.
This is an account of someone not taking no for an answer; of someone unrelentingly driven in the pursuit of knowledge, education and self-actualisation; of someone taking and reclaiming power in so many different ways. Susan’s life story is story enough.
I reckon I’ve become a bit numb to horrific stories of startup (and academic) culture, and so I wasn’t all that shocked by Susan’s experience, but the matter-of-fact account, displayed with such clarity, was a joy (if you can say that about problematic stories) to read.
This book was so inspiring, so quick to fly through, and left me pondering many questions about speaking up, power and lifelong learning.
Brilliant.