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Chaos Monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley Money Machine

Chaos Monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley Money Machine

  • Downloads：2413
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-28 11:54:17
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Antonio García Martínez
  • ISBN：1785034553
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

An adrenaline-fuelled exposé of life inside the tech bubble， Chaos Monkeys lays bare the secrets， power plays and lifestyle excesses of the visionaries， grunts， sociopaths， opportunists and money cowboys who are revolutionising our world。 Written by startup CEO and industry provocateur Antonio García Martínez， this is Liar’s Poker meets The Social Network。

Computer engineers use ‘chaos monkey’ software to wreak havoc and test system robustness。 Similarly， tech entrepreneurs like Antonio García Martínez are society’s chaos monkeys – their innovations disrupt every aspect of our lives， from transportation （Uber） and holidays （Airbnb） to television （Netflix） and dating （Tinder） – all in search of the perfect business miracle。

Describing himself as ‘high-strung， fast-talking， and wired on a combination of caffeine， fear， and greed at all times’， García Martínez left Wall Street to make his fortune in Silicon Valley， becoming CEO of his own startup， before bailing and being poached by Facebook’s nascent advertising team。 Here he turned users’ data into profit for COO Sheryl Sandberg and chairman and CEO Mark ‘Zuck’ Zuckerberg。 Forced out of Facebook in the wake of a bitter internal product war， García Martínez took his unique brand of entrepreneurial hyperactivity to rivals Twitter。 Along the way， he got into a lot of trouble with a lot of people， brewed illegal beer on the Facebook campus （accidentally flooding Zuckerberg's desk）， lived on a yacht， raced sport cars on the highway， and enthusiastically pursued the lifestyle of an overpaid Silicon Valley mercenary。

In Chaos Monkeys he tells you HOW – and HOW NOT – to make a fortune through startups and digital marketing。 Highly entertaining and always offering genuine insight， García Martínez unravels the chaotic evolution of social media and online marketing。 From startups and credit derivatives to Big Brother and data tracking， social media monetisation and digital ‘privacy’， he shares both his scathing observations and outrageous antics， taking us on a subversive and very funny tour of the fascinatingly insular and unbelievably wealthy tech industry。

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Reviews

Reviews by Celestina ，

From the opening scene this book just grabbed me and did not let go。

Matt ，

The hoopla by the woke crowd is over-done。 This is a funny cynical book that tells it like it is。 Yes there are a few sexist/mysogynist passages that in hindsight could and should have probably been left out。 But they are relatively few。 I'm really not sure the author is the sexist pig that some make him out to be， versus a tortured soul craving for love， success and inclusion。 In any case， he's a great writer。 The stories he tells are as true of the dotcom boom in the 90's that I participated i The hoopla by the woke crowd is over-done。 This is a funny cynical book that tells it like it is。 Yes there are a few sexist/mysogynist passages that in hindsight could and should have probably been left out。 But they are relatively few。 I'm really not sure the author is the sexist pig that some make him out to be， versus a tortured soul craving for love， success and inclusion。 In any case， he's a great writer。 The stories he tells are as true of the dotcom boom in the 90's that I participated in as they are of the social media boom of the 2010's， and as they will be of any future Silicon Valley boom。。。 。。。more

Naved Malik ，

This was an amazing article。 My time was very well spent， and your website is also very trustworthy for this type of articles。 Thanks This was an amazing article。 My time was very well spent， and your website is also very trustworthy for this type of articles。 Thanks 。。。more

Dmitriy Rozhkov ，

These days it is available at scribd as an audiobook as a part of the subscription。

Teddy ，

First half of the book was at least interesting。 Martinez， filled to the brim with ego and lacking any empathy， stumbles his way to leading a moderately successful advertising startup。 Second half of the book about the author's time at Facebook was a boring slog of a masturbation parade of no real substance。The best part of this whole story can be found outside of the book itself。 Go read the author's Reddit AMA， where the most popular question pretty much says it all: "Why are you such a coloss First half of the book was at least interesting。 Martinez， filled to the brim with ego and lacking any empathy， stumbles his way to leading a moderately successful advertising startup。 Second half of the book about the author's time at Facebook was a boring slog of a masturbation parade of no real substance。The best part of this whole story can be found outside of the book itself。 Go read the author's Reddit AMA， where the most popular question pretty much says it all: "Why are you such a colossal dickbag？" After you're done listening to the author hopelessly attempt to defend his inflated image on Reddit， go read the latest on how his career at Apple is going。 （Spoiler alert: karma plays the long game） 。。。more

Matthew Aujla ，

“you realize that the Spartans lost at Thermopylae right？”

Anna Fuller ，

Oh boy。 This book is a wild ride of assholery。 The fact that I just happened to pick it up to start reading right as Martínez reaps what he sowed （"‘Misogynistic’ Apple hire is out hours after employees call for investigation"） gave me a dose of satisfying schadenfreude （and comfort that I'm not the crazy one）。To start off， I will admit that the discussion of online ads and many of his observations on Silicon Valley are very good。 His definition of the PM （Product Manager） being a “shit umbrella Oh boy。 This book is a wild ride of assholery。 The fact that I just happened to pick it up to start reading right as Martínez reaps what he sowed （"‘Misogynistic’ Apple hire is out hours after employees call for investigation"） gave me a dose of satisfying schadenfreude （and comfort that I'm not the crazy one）。To start off， I will admit that the discussion of online ads and many of his observations on Silicon Valley are very good。 His definition of the PM （Product Manager） being a “shit umbrella” allowing engineers and designers to do their work in peace made me laugh out loud。 There are plenty of other cynical yet accurate takes on tech culture that anyone who has worked for a venture-backed startup or big company will recognize。But I found it tough to get through the book because of the studied， intentional vein of misogyny that runs throughout。 I saw a tweet from him recently that claims “people should just focus on the other 99%” of the book [which isn’t sexist] but that’s blatantly false and misleading。 Every few pages there’s some offensive statement implying women are weak， incapable of the “man’s work” of entrepreneurship or tech， or only being useful as sex objects for men。 It didn’t surprise me that Martínez cited Liar's Poker as the reason he worked on Wall Street。 This hard-charging， swashbuckling persona he tried to create for himself would have been way more at home on an 80s trading floor than in mid-2010s Silicon Valley。 Another reason I found it shocking that Apple would hire him is because of his overt dismissal of the importance of digital privacy。 Imagine reading what basically amounts to a gleeful recounting of the dirty tricks of the advertising trade - everything Apple has tried to distance itself from in the consumer's eyes - and then looking up the author， only to find a LinkedIn profile stating he works for that very company trying to pass itself off as pro-privacy and anti-ad。 Aside from the rampant misogyny， seems like this alone should have been a red flag for their hiring manager。。。Anyway， I'm glad this book is over。 There's not much new here for people familiar with tech & startups， but sadly I think it gives the wrong impression for those who aren't。 。。。more

Giulio G。 ，

The big problem with this book is that while in general his style is engaging and he knows a bit of juicy secrets of Silicon Valley， his personal life is overall boring。 And because he talks a lot about his personal life， the overall reading experience is boring， too。 There is good stuff for a movie， tho。

Aida Opîrlesc ，

The book is informative about Silicon Valley companies and how they work， as well as building a startup， investments， acquisition etc。 I unfortunately did not enjoy the style of writing， and I did not manage to empathise with the author。 I think he is glorifying toxic behaviour such as arrogance， obsession with work， doing everything you can to gain as much as you can， in the detriment of others。。 I feel that I learned a lot about what I don't want to become， as a leader。 The book is informative about Silicon Valley companies and how they work， as well as building a startup， investments， acquisition etc。 I unfortunately did not enjoy the style of writing， and I did not manage to empathise with the author。 I think he is glorifying toxic behaviour such as arrogance， obsession with work， doing everything you can to gain as much as you can， in the detriment of others。。 I feel that I learned a lot about what I don't want to become， as a leader。 。。。more

✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight ，

I saw that one of my favorite writers has interviewed the author， so I cane to GR to look up his book， Chaos Monkeys。Wow！ The author actually trolled 2-star reviews with dumb comments and is a jerk it seems in general。 Way to cultivate your audience， dude， the marketing genius is strong in you， right？！So I will not read this and will skip the interview。Who has time for such bs anyway？

Brian Sachetta ，

A few friends have recommended this one over the last few years， so with its recent entrance into the spotlight， I figured it was as good a time as ever to finally check it out。 Overall， I definitely enjoyed it。As a follower of and participant in the startup scene myself， I found it fun to hear Martinez’s take on the culture， ethos， and practices of Silicon Valley。 He definitely hits the nail on the head with a lot of his criticisms of the Valley and its companies; his discussions on vesting， st A few friends have recommended this one over the last few years， so with its recent entrance into the spotlight， I figured it was as good a time as ever to finally check it out。 Overall， I definitely enjoyed it。As a follower of and participant in the startup scene myself， I found it fun to hear Martinez’s take on the culture， ethos， and practices of Silicon Valley。 He definitely hits the nail on the head with a lot of his criticisms of the Valley and its companies; his discussions on vesting， strange business practices， and the cutthroat nature of startup life are spot on and relatable。I thought the writing itself was really good too。 Yes， he definitely comes off as crass or angry at times， but I think it sort of builds the narrative and gets you hooked on its stories。 If you’re okay with profanity or pessimism， you’ll definitely find this one entertaining。My only major criticism is that the book is a little too long for what it is。 There were some parts that got a little boring or that I could have done without。 But even with those parts， it’s still very entertaining overall。Though there were plenty of interesting sections on both the storytelling and tech fronts， the most interesting part to me， was the interview at the end of the audiobook。 In it， it sounded like Martinez knew he was putting the rest of his career in serious jeopardy by releasing this one。As such， I'm curious to see how his situation plays out。 Either way， this one is still certainly worth the read， even if it’s a little bit unrefined or long at times。-Brian SachettaAuthor of “Get Out of Your Head” 。。。more

Sai Madineni ，

Captivating read。

Hope Matheson Slowik ，

You won't like the author， a pompous， pseudo-intellectual misogynist。 But I don't think he wants you to like him。 The storytelling is unflinchingly honest and no one is spared， even himself。 I could have done without the way he spoke about women， his general distain for his children and family， or the underhanded racial stereotyping。 A good editor probably could have helped。 BUT， there are moments of shining clarity for the way forward in the tech world and I did enjoy the sheer schadenfreude。 You won't like the author， a pompous， pseudo-intellectual misogynist。 But I don't think he wants you to like him。 The storytelling is unflinchingly honest and no one is spared， even himself。 I could have done without the way he spoke about women， his general distain for his children and family， or the underhanded racial stereotyping。 A good editor probably could have helped。 BUT， there are moments of shining clarity for the way forward in the tech world and I did enjoy the sheer schadenfreude。 。。。more

Bharat ，

Like most reviews out on the internet， there is a lot to dislike in this book。 Especially on misogynistic and sexist quotes towards women。 That said， the author tries to be very honest about his experiences in silicon valley， and most of the half of the book is devoted to Facebook one of the hallowed valley companies。 Coming from a communist Cuban environment into the capitalistic American shores and thriving in the bay area under tech elites， there is a nice bare-bones description of the advert Like most reviews out on the internet， there is a lot to dislike in this book。 Especially on misogynistic and sexist quotes towards women。 That said， the author tries to be very honest about his experiences in silicon valley， and most of the half of the book is devoted to Facebook one of the hallowed valley companies。 Coming from a communist Cuban environment into the capitalistic American shores and thriving in the bay area under tech elites， there is a nice bare-bones description of the advertising technology。 What Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis， is to the Wall Street insider stories， this book is the one for silicon valley insider stories。Cut-throat advertising platforms which are designed to hold lots of user attention and then convert them into sizeable revenues have revolutionized the emergence of the internet as one of the essential commodities heavily used by mankind。 As someone， who'd burned through multiple successful and doomed startups， the stories narrated in this book are relatable to grasp easily。 The human emotional arcs that techies go through are also captured here and there。 。。。more

Scott Tougas ，

Smart and well-written， however I found myself disliking the author as much as all the unpleasant characters he comes across in Silicon Valley。With that said， an interesting look into the ridiculous big tech world。

karl taylor ，

this feels like a tech ‘i hope they serve beer in hell。’ that’s it， that’s the review。

Lindsay ，

So I actually picked this up back in 2017 or 2018 after multiple people in tech recommended it to me。 Since this author is back in the news now as a recent senior Ads hire at Apple for some ungodly reason， I decided to give voice to what I thought at the time I read it （or， what I thought after making it only partially through and throwing it away in disgust。） This guy is a complete misogynist and represents the worst tendencies of Silicon Valley bros。 He’s the embodiment of why women leave tech So I actually picked this up back in 2017 or 2018 after multiple people in tech recommended it to me。 Since this author is back in the news now as a recent senior Ads hire at Apple for some ungodly reason， I decided to give voice to what I thought at the time I read it （or， what I thought after making it only partially through and throwing it away in disgust。） This guy is a complete misogynist and represents the worst tendencies of Silicon Valley bros。 He’s the embodiment of why women leave tech。 Do not give him your $。 I wish I could give this a negative rating。The direct quote from early in this book that really sums it up: “Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak， cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness， and generally full of shit。 They have their self-regarding entitlement feminism， and ceaselessly vaunt their independence， but the reality is， come the epidemic plague or foreign invasion， they’d become precisely the sort of useless baggage you’d trade for a box of shotgun shells or a jerry can of diesel。”He’s never walked these views back。I lead product work in defense tech， and know plenty of badass women who have built the tools that powered indispensable pandemic response tech over the last year。 Take your attention-seeking insecurity and shove it， Antonio。 。。。more

Margo Beard ，

REMOVE THIS RACIST MISOGYNISTIC AUTHOR FROM YOUR PLATFORM。

K ，

What absolute drivel。 The writing itself is clumsy， the subjects banal and lazily insulting。 Don’t waste your time。

William Tuhin ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 wOOOw。。。 I'm surprised。。。Pretentious， pseudo-intellectual misogynist pontificates about his theories on tech business， society， and capitalism while sneering at every other human with Olympian contempt and making unacceptable sexist comments about women for about 500 pages。 wOOOw。。。 I'm surprised。。。Pretentious， pseudo-intellectual misogynist pontificates about his theories on tech business， society， and capitalism while sneering at every other human with Olympian contempt and making unacceptable sexist comments about women for about 500 pages。 。。。more

Mictter ，

El autor cuenta， con salero y prosa a veces demasiado florida， sus años en una startup del Silicon Valley y luego en Facebook。 Hay capítulos muy divertidos， pero en otros pierde el distanciamiento irónico y se toma el vital trabajo （plataformas de intermediación de anuncios， aparta Pasteur que viene Antonio） demasiado en serio。 Entretenido， un poco largo。

Miguel Angel ，

Cynical and very instructive。

Bogdan Korytskyi ，

Хоч і заголовок оманливий дещо （у книзі розповідається про створення одного стартапу， а далі виживання у Фейсбук）， проте сама книга написана в іронічному， часто саркастичному стилі і відхиляє дещо завісу про те як було влаштовано світ Кремнієвої （Силіконової） долини на початку 2010-их

Thomas ，

The author provides a revealing look behind the curtain of success （and its randomness） in Silicon Valley。 Entertaining， but nothing special。 Too long。 The most interesting passage starts around page 380， where the innards of infotainment monetisation are put on display。 Not a pretty sight。

Ana Saragoza ，

Whatever interesting content or helpful information the author included in this book was unfortunately offset by the overt and persistent misogyny， racism， and narcissism。 The novel marketing strategies described in this book are also already objectively “dated” and even less transparent in 2021。

Joshua Ballantine ，

AMG， author， is a fascinating character。 His description of Silicon Valley and the dominating characters of it are fascinating。 The lived experience of starting and selling his company is worth its weight in gold。 Sad， pessimistic view of life in general， but being Cuban American， I love his classical， Spanish cultural sentiments sprinkled throughout the book。

Sara ，

not an enjoyable book， but 100% an insightful one！ this guy seems like an awful person to be around and he doesn't to have any real qualifications for getting to where he was so high up in facebook， but he certainly was ruthless and good at playing the game。 similarly to uncanny valley， insightful into the culture of silicon valley in the last decade。 not an enjoyable book， but 100% an insightful one！ this guy seems like an awful person to be around and he doesn't to have any real qualifications for getting to where he was so high up in facebook， but he certainly was ruthless and good at playing the game。 similarly to uncanny valley， insightful into the culture of silicon valley in the last decade。 。。。more

Roman Levytskyy ，

Very good book describing personal experiences of the author in Silicon Valley。 It is quite entertaining and useful in describing tech startup life and Silicon Valley culture quirks。

Phil ，

Great book， author comes of as unreliable and or a complete ass， but that is most of the fun。

Veenit Mavani ，

Antonio's style of writing is not for everyone。 The analogies that he makes to describe characters and/ or events are something only he can conjure。 In case you can't handle profanity in books， I would recommend to shop elsewhere。 Antonio's style of writing is not for everyone。 The analogies that he makes to describe characters and/ or events are something only he can conjure。 In case you can't handle profanity in books， I would recommend to shop elsewhere。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Chaos Monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley Money Machine

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Chaos Monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley Money Machine&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Chaos Monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley Money Machine&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0