A review by books_baking_brews
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

5.0

I work near Silicon Valley but I definitely don't know anything about it, so maybe this is why this book had me so shocked so many times. Bad Blood tells the tale of Elizabeth Holmes, a would-be chemical engineering student who dropped out of Stanford to start a biotech company that at its height was valued at $9 billion dollars. Holmes pitched her company Theranos as the future of healthcare based off of her amazing technology that could run several different tests all based off a drop of blood. She established a who's who of Board of Directors including two former senators, two former secretaries of state, former CEOs and even a former Marine Corps General. Her investors and advisors included Larry Ellison, the Cox family, the Walton (Walmart) family, Walgreens, Betsy DeVos, and Tim Draper. With a circle like that it's no wonder Holmes, billed as the next Steve Jobs, was at one point the world's richest self-made billionaire. There was just one tiny problem, her technology did not work. Things never added up at Theranos but over the years as more and more employees resigned or were fired, intimidated, followed and threatened, the shiny outer surface of the company began to crack. Through a tip, John Carreyrou caught wind that something was not right and, with the help of some brave employees including a board member's grandson who had worked at the company, blew the lid off of Theranos revealing its many many deceptions. It's one thing for an app-based social media company or telephone company to misrepresent its technology it's another thing for a patient healthcare company to do it. Holmes never backed down or slowed down even when faced with the knowledge that not only did her technology not work but that a failed test result could dramatically impact someone's life. To tell a patient that they have cancer when they don't is one side of the coin but to tell a patient they don't have cancer when they do is a completely different side. The only thing I would have liked to know more about was the impact of Holme's technology on patients. The book does mention a couple of patients and I realize how difficult it was in the face of Theranos's attack team (and I'm rightfully using the word attack) to have patients and doctors come forward. I also realize this story is not quite done yet as charges are still being brought, investors are still suing, and patients are still coming forward.

This is the type of book where after I read it I had to go do my own research. I had to go listen to Holmes's voice (she apparently spoke in a somewhat faked baritone), I had to go see about the fallout of the articles Carreyou wrote (she has since been indicted on multiple charges), I had to stop and think how this woman got this many people to invest that much money in her company without a shred of due diligence. I mean there were just several moments where I went, "Holy Shit." This book read like fiction, in that I just could not wrap my mind around some of her deceptions and tactics. I hear this one is being made into a movie, and I can DEFINITELY see why. If I had not known it was real, I would not believe it. Carreyou's writing is straight forward and unembellished, I mean the facts speak for themselves. Five stars from me.