Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou follows the story of infamous startup Theranos.

If you are looking for a thrilling, true story then I highly recommend Bad Blood. John Carreyrou does an excellent job researching the specifics of what happened at this highly secretive company. By compiling information from interviews, emails, and news reports, he provides a compelling picture of Theranos and how it came to rise and fall. It should be noted that the company’s founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was not involved in the writing of this book. It is, therefore, inherently victim to bias.

What I Liked

• Really gripping story throughout. You know how it’s going to end but the journey there is full of exciting twists and turns.
• Lots of primary sources. It’s hard to believe some of these emails were actually sent once you read them.
• This story really highlights the importance of communication and what can happen when communication is restricted. Teams at Theranos were so siloed that people didn’t understand what other groups were doing or how the company in its true form lined up with what Holmes was presenting to the media and investors. Additionally, people who left had to sign intense NDAs that prevented them from speaking out.

What I Didn’t

• Anytime you are telling someone’s story it is important to get their input. In this case, neither Holmes nor Sunny Balwani were involved in this writing, so there is inherent bias in their representation.
• It is stomach-churning to watch Safeway unknowingly put these products in their stores and have real people make health decisions based on their data.

Overall

What struck me most about Bad Blood was how easy it might have been to be an employee at Theranos and have no idea that what you were doing wasn’t above board. The biggest red flag seemed to be how secretive and control-obsessed the company was, but there are plenty of other successful organizations that follow similar practices. Apple, for example, does not allow communication between teams in different divisions so that no one has a full picture of the final product or its features. However, when it all starts to come apart for Theranos and Holmes, boy does it implode in a spectacular way.

Score: 9/10