5 disco balls

Published: May 21, 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group
Category: Nonfiction
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Nonfiction (2018)

If you were looking for a book to close out 2018 this here’s the one. No joke: It was an addicting, consuming read.

Wall Street Journal Investigative Reporter John Carreyrou was instrumental in blowing up Theranos’ spot. In Bad Blood, Carreyrou meticulously described the entire Theranos evolution leading to his expose and it was simply crazy…every last drop of it (and not small drops, hehe see what I did there?! too much?)

Theranos was a privately held biotech in Silicon Valley that was founded by CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, a 19 year old Stanford drop out. She thrived on being called the next Steve Jobs: she was certainly an ego maniac. Through her fundraising efforts and powerful connections Theranos would be valued at 9 billion dollars (yes, I said billion). Her technology claimed to be painless, faster, easier, and affordable blood tests that would revolutionize the healthcare industry claiming results could diagnose illnesses before they became issues. Long story short: Elizabeth was a fraud. How she managed to hold up the charade for as long as she did is beyond me. She deserves jail time AND an Oscar (seriously, that is some good acting chops).

Not a fan of nonfiction or even reading? Still read this: you are missing out on Crazytown if you sit this one out. My goodness will you scratch your head wondering how successful business professionals, and government and military officials bought into Theranos spending MILLIONS of dollars on an idea…with no real data! I could go on and on, but just want everyone to read this so we can discuss the ridiculousness of it all.

Reading this also contributed to me going down the internet rabbit hole of visiting YouTube to watch Elizabeth Holmes interviews. What I saw was a lot of smoke and mirrors: how did anyone call this woman charismatic and inspiring is beyond me. I wasn’t buying what she was selling, but will admit I could have been tainted from reading a bit of the book (but still, she wasn’t anything wondrous as she was being described). I can keep going on and on here too, but I will save you from my tangents. 

What are you waiting for? GO READ THIS BOOK! Looking for a last minute holiday gift for someone…this would be perfect! You’re welcome 😉

Have you read Bad Blood? Heard of Theranos? Read Carreyrou’s Wall Street Journal article? Do tell!

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