The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power
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- Create Date：2021-11-24 06:51:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Max Chafkin
- ISBN：1526619555
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Reviews
Jon
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Extremely interesting—deeply researched， compelling， and fresh。 Why did a Thiel bio take this long？ Perhaps best summarized by Elon Musk's and Thiel's cross-evaluations after their Paypal debacle: Thiel thinks Musk is a poser and a fraud， while Musk thinks Thiel is a sociopath。 The book emphasizes that Thiel is a financier rather than a tech visionary （like Musk）， a loner， and a mystery。 Book definitely takes a position， anti-Thiel to a degree that's borderline misleading， e。g。 it presents the T Extremely interesting—deeply researched， compelling， and fresh。 Why did a Thiel bio take this long？ Perhaps best summarized by Elon Musk's and Thiel's cross-evaluations after their Paypal debacle: Thiel thinks Musk is a poser and a fraud， while Musk thinks Thiel is a sociopath。 The book emphasizes that Thiel is a financier rather than a tech visionary （like Musk）， a loner， and a mystery。 Book definitely takes a position， anti-Thiel to a degree that's borderline misleading， e。g。 it presents the Thiel Fellowships as a total failure for the participants， with no mention of some of their astonishing successes （Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum， Austin Russell and Luminar， etc。）。 Keen to tarnish Thiel by association， especially by dismissing his associates as "controversial" （a strikingly establishmentarian critique， applied scattershot both to right-wingers and ambitious philanthropists）。 Also very prone to conspiracy theories; but in fairness， Thiel is very prone to conducting conspiracies。 。。。more
Igor Pejic
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A long-overdue biography of the enigmatic entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel， who has shaped Silicon Valley like noone else。 Thoroughly researched and thrillingly told。
Rj
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Super interesting read on Peter Thiel。 Somewhat conspiratorial， but very enlightening。
Jason Zhao
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Fascinating dive into Peter Thiel's rise to power in tech， politics， and finance。 Too bad it's only a notch above a hit piece in terms of its generosity towards Thiel's motivations。 Chafkin should lay clear his political orientation before using it to implicitly judge Thiel's character; Thiel's politics and moral character are conflated without prior explanation。 Chafkin does effectively outline the contradictions between Thiel's purported ideological affiliation and his business ventures， but I Fascinating dive into Peter Thiel's rise to power in tech， politics， and finance。 Too bad it's only a notch above a hit piece in terms of its generosity towards Thiel's motivations。 Chafkin should lay clear his political orientation before using it to implicitly judge Thiel's character; Thiel's politics and moral character are conflated without prior explanation。 Chafkin does effectively outline the contradictions between Thiel's purported ideological affiliation and his business ventures， but I would have liked to see more attempts at resolving these contradictions before settling for the label of "power-hungry。" Indeed this is probably the case， but didn't we already know that？ Most biographies are written about subjects who are unusually ambitious: the challenge and art of biography is in uncovering the source of that craving。 。。。more
Parker Sanchez
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i love reading about supervillains
Annie
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Superb reporting。 This biography of Peter Thiel includes interviews with childhood friends， college classmates and business associates， painting a detailed portrait of one of the most important figures in Silicon Valley and American politics。 Thiel amassed startling power not just through his contrarian views on political leadership and education -- but also through his willingness to hold views that seemingly contradict one another。 He's a gay immigrant who supported the Trump administration an Superb reporting。 This biography of Peter Thiel includes interviews with childhood friends， college classmates and business associates， painting a detailed portrait of one of the most important figures in Silicon Valley and American politics。 Thiel amassed startling power not just through his contrarian views on political leadership and education -- but also through his willingness to hold views that seemingly contradict one another。 He's a gay immigrant who supported the Trump administration and flirted with neo-Nazism， he's a free speech proponent who crushed the liberal media outlet Gawker， he's a libertarian privacy advocate who made his fortune in payment and surveillance technology。 You come away from this book with the striking insight that Thiel's relationships seem exclusively built on money or power， and that he discards any connection that's no longer useful to him。 He treats people in his life like chess pieces。This is an important read if you want to understand Thiel， a man who shaped so much about our current tech culture and helped catapult Trump to power -- but who remains so poorly understood。 。。。more
Mohit
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Bad。 Very piecemeal。 Reads like a reporting of facts and sometimes unnecessarily adversarial。
Simone Scardapane
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If you write a book about a man who has made of hiding his private persona a distinguishing trait， you don't have a biography， you have an investigative piece。 Like most investigative pieces， it has an inner bias and narrative （in this case， clearly biased against Thiel himself）， but the book itself is wonderfully written， accurate in its reporting， and thorough。 It's a great investigation on a side of Silicon Valley which is generally hidden from view， made of flirts with the alt-right， all sor If you write a book about a man who has made of hiding his private persona a distinguishing trait， you don't have a biography， you have an investigative piece。 Like most investigative pieces， it has an inner bias and narrative （in this case， clearly biased against Thiel himself）， but the book itself is wonderfully written， accurate in its reporting， and thorough。 It's a great investigation on a side of Silicon Valley which is generally hidden from view， made of flirts with the alt-right， all sorts of libertarian techno bros， some cynicism， and *a lot* of venture capital money。 Definite worth reading。 Also， Thiel does come out as a kind of genius in his own way despite all， prescient when crises come， always able to profit and hedge on his bets， never content of sitting himself out。 Not his fault if so many people are drawn to that。 。。。more
Grant
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A good portrait of a bad person？I'm tempted to say five stars here， because while it's not transcendent， Max Chafkin has crafted a biography that really ticks off all the boxes and that largely looks at Silicon Valley issues with an appropriately critical lens。 What impressed me the most was the balance of the book。 I felt like Chafkin was very tasteful in spending the appropriate amount of time on each subject or phase of Thiel's life， without dwelling too long on specific things like the Gawke A good portrait of a bad person？I'm tempted to say five stars here， because while it's not transcendent， Max Chafkin has crafted a biography that really ticks off all the boxes and that largely looks at Silicon Valley issues with an appropriately critical lens。 What impressed me the most was the balance of the book。 I felt like Chafkin was very tasteful in spending the appropriate amount of time on each subject or phase of Thiel's life， without dwelling too long on specific things like the Gawker trial， etc。 While Chafkin does leave some conclusions up to the reader's imagination， I think he conveys the point that a lot of 'contrarian' and 'outside the box' thinking in a Silicon Valley context is really just。。。rampant hypocrisy， and also hedging。 The description of Thiel's early years is not a massive focus of the book， but it did raise 'nature vs nurture' questions for me。 Does Thiel become quite what he does if he isn't harshly bullied and subjected to bigotry？ As always， Will Damron turns in a strong performance as narrator， speaking in a way that's a good tonal match for the source material。 。。。more
Christian Compton
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I was really looking forward to learning more about the origin， mission， and experiences of Peter Thiel from this book， and I was very disappointed。 While Thiel is a polarizing figure， his controversial ideas are founded on some interesting beliefs which are not explored in this book。 Rather， the book presents many anonymous sources who say disparaging things about the subject and use this platform to conduct character assassination。 The book does point out big issues like conflicts of interest I was really looking forward to learning more about the origin， mission， and experiences of Peter Thiel from this book， and I was very disappointed。 While Thiel is a polarizing figure， his controversial ideas are founded on some interesting beliefs which are not explored in this book。 Rather， the book presents many anonymous sources who say disparaging things about the subject and use this platform to conduct character assassination。 The book does point out big issues like conflicts of interest between governments， lobbyists， and firms across Silicon Valley and confronts issues stemming from the increasing politicization within the technology industry。 It is very clear why Peter Thiel did not want to be a part of this project， and I wish I had known this going into reading this book。 。。。more
Roger Royse
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inaccurate and one sided from the very beginning。 I had hoped for something more impartial。 This is what passes for journalism these days
Siddharth Agarwal
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Well researched but seems like it skims the surfaceWell organized and researched but focuses on the political angle and at times seems to skim the surface of events from a certain point of view that leaves the reader wondering if this could have actually happened。 Tends to paint a picture of an evil capitalist who is full of contradictions and does nothing more than hatch plans of world domination all day。 I could be wrong here by a stretch but at times the book seems to examine every action wit Well researched but seems like it skims the surfaceWell organized and researched but focuses on the political angle and at times seems to skim the surface of events from a certain point of view that leaves the reader wondering if this could have actually happened。 Tends to paint a picture of an evil capitalist who is full of contradictions and does nothing more than hatch plans of world domination all day。 I could be wrong here by a stretch but at times the book seems to examine every action with a certain perception about the person。 。。。more
Nate Davis
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Good historical overview of Theil and his involvement at the intersection of politics and technology。 A bit conspiratorial at some points。 But overall a good hard look at an undisputed influencer of the times。
Jackson Perry
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The second half of the book could be described by Chafkin’s extraordinarily thought-provoking thesis， “If the Trump presidency ended in failure， it would be Thiel’s failure， too。”
Alex Stevens
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A very well-told Supervillain Origin Story。 A little bit biased in terms of crafting a good， dramatic narrative （writer takes a few shortcuts， specifically in terms of Peter Theil's relationship with Mark Zuckerberg）。 Didn't expect to learn quite so much about the culture of the early days of Silicon Valley and the Paypal Mafia。Basically read this one cover to cover in a day。 Very engaging。 A very well-told Supervillain Origin Story。 A little bit biased in terms of crafting a good， dramatic narrative （writer takes a few shortcuts， specifically in terms of Peter Theil's relationship with Mark Zuckerberg）。 Didn't expect to learn quite so much about the culture of the early days of Silicon Valley and the Paypal Mafia。Basically read this one cover to cover in a day。 Very engaging。 。。。more
Matt
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While this one was written like a thriller， I found it a tedious account of Peter Thiel who is a more complex figure than is portrayed。 Ryan Holiday wrote a book about Gawker's lawsuit that Chafkin mentions in which Thiel is portrayed in a hero framework but Chafkin seems to ignore the argument that Gawker was a bad actor。 There is an Amazon book review that is more detailed than mine that makes this critical point， Thiel's Christian worldview is hardly mentioned。 Many highly respected people th While this one was written like a thriller， I found it a tedious account of Peter Thiel who is a more complex figure than is portrayed。 Ryan Holiday wrote a book about Gawker's lawsuit that Chafkin mentions in which Thiel is portrayed in a hero framework but Chafkin seems to ignore the argument that Gawker was a bad actor。 There is an Amazon book review that is more detailed than mine that makes this critical point， Thiel's Christian worldview is hardly mentioned。 Many highly respected people think Thiel is an important thinker， and Chatkin writes fairly one-sided account of the man。 。。。more
Andrew Tollemache
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Max Chafkin's " The Contrarian" serves as a pretty good biography of Peter Thiel tracing his rise from introverted son of German immigrants to conservative activist on the 1980s Stanford U campus to his successes in the realm of venture capital investing in such companies as PayPal， Facebook， SpaceX and Palantir。 Chafkin does his best work on the biographical narrative and even his depictions of Thiel as being a rather unpleasant social outcast who made a fortune but has a knack for taking on e Max Chafkin's " The Contrarian" serves as a pretty good biography of Peter Thiel tracing his rise from introverted son of German immigrants to conservative activist on the 1980s Stanford U campus to his successes in the realm of venture capital investing in such companies as PayPal， Facebook， SpaceX and Palantir。 Chafkin does his best work on the biographical narrative and even his depictions of Thiel as being a rather unpleasant social outcast who made a fortune but has a knack for taking on esoteric and， yes contrarian notions on politics， culture and even life extension。 The book gets weaker when it tries to paint Thiel as a LEx Luther mastermind tweaking the wheels of power to get richer and change America。 Trump may have become President with Thiel chipping in to help get him elected， but in no way was Trump a Thiel story。 Most of Thiels other big political horse picks have been rather big duds。 Chafkin also spends a ton of time arguing that Thiel， a supposed libertarian has used political lobbying as a means to grow the value of his stakes in Facebook， Palantir and SpaceX， but also claims that Thiel cashed out of these holdings at what in many cases were their post IPO lows （ie。 Palantir and Facebook）。 I am not a big Thiel fan， but towards the end the book gets almost hysterical that there are obscure Thiel acolytes saying dumb stuff on Twitter。 。。。more
Ran Tour
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Is this a book about Thiel， or against Thiel？Seems like the "author" just wanted to use Peter to signal to his lefty colleagues and bosses that he also contributed to their narrative demands。At least he could "cheat" and not be so obvious about it。 When you write a biography you don't have to like the person but at least let the reader the feeling you understand the character's needs， you have some sort of compassion for him。 When an actor have to play a criminal he learn to "love" him just beca Is this a book about Thiel， or against Thiel？Seems like the "author" just wanted to use Peter to signal to his lefty colleagues and bosses that he also contributed to their narrative demands。At least he could "cheat" and not be so obvious about it。 When you write a biography you don't have to like the person but at least let the reader the feeling you understand the character's needs， you have some sort of compassion for him。 When an actor have to play a criminal he learn to "love" him just because he spent intimate time researching him， even if he is not agreeing with him。Here it is the opposite。Want to learn about Thiel ？ see his lectures on YouTube。 。。。more
Laura
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A character study and a stark warning for those of us who are generally helpful， kind， and truthful。 This book does less to explore the big picture side。 It does have a liberal bias。 I'm ok with that or most any bias， but find it to be a weakness sometimes in reportage。 For example， voting fraud is dismissed when Republicans complain。 Yet， just a few years prior， Democrats were doing the same。 I'd like to read an unbiased account of that situation。 It isn't here。 My next complaint is the soft la A character study and a stark warning for those of us who are generally helpful， kind， and truthful。 This book does less to explore the big picture side。 It does have a liberal bias。 I'm ok with that or most any bias， but find it to be a weakness sometimes in reportage。 For example， voting fraud is dismissed when Republicans complain。 Yet， just a few years prior， Democrats were doing the same。 I'd like to read an unbiased account of that situation。 It isn't here。 My next complaint is the soft landing Thiel gets at the end of the book。 The author suggests that now Thiel is a father and he will turn over a new leaf。 Because Thiel grants Chafkin a few interviews， I believe the author felt beholden。 Or was he fooled？ Thiel has wielded his charisma well enough to dodge the ramifications of his self serving soulless actions for decades。 But anybody who knows a sociopath well will likely agree with me， that the brilliant Thiel is trouble and will never reform。 He's your pal until he cuts your throat。 He's patriotic until he blows up planet earth， scooting off into space with a few children held captive for his youth potion blood transfusions。 Egad。 Read this if you are a writer and need to flesh out your tale's villain。 。。。more
Francisco Fidalgo
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Very interesting
CBW Librarian
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There are a lot of negative reviews of this book， and I think they are overblown。 This book helps elucidate the power and influence that Peter Thiel wields behind the scenes of many political and technological movements。 I feel the same way about this book that I did about 'Dark Money' by Jane Mayer。 Power and money could be used for the greater good。 Thiel and the Koch brothers use their influence for the good of themselves and their corporations。 I'm grateful to this author for bringing Thiel' There are a lot of negative reviews of this book， and I think they are overblown。 This book helps elucidate the power and influence that Peter Thiel wields behind the scenes of many political and technological movements。 I feel the same way about this book that I did about 'Dark Money' by Jane Mayer。 Power and money could be used for the greater good。 Thiel and the Koch brothers use their influence for the good of themselves and their corporations。 I'm grateful to this author for bringing Thiel's story to light。 。。。more
Joseph A
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I have always been fascinated by Peter Thiel and this provided a decent， well-written， overview of the sectors and individuals he’s impacted along the way。 With that said， this was far from an unbiased account of Thiel’s life and influence， and the buyer’s disdain for Thiel and all things and people right of center shines much to brightly here。
Jesse
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Interesting biography， albeit this boek really doesn't count as a real biography as the author is mostly - especially the second half - pushing his own political agenda。 This makes for a compelling case， but to serve the authors agenda he leaves out key elements of the persona and character of Thiel:1） Thiel is influenced by Rene Girard （his mentor） and especially his ideas: mimetic desire， conflict， scapegoating， the cover-up。 Where is an thorough analysis of this in the book？ You can understan Interesting biography， albeit this boek really doesn't count as a real biography as the author is mostly - especially the second half - pushing his own political agenda。 This makes for a compelling case， but to serve the authors agenda he leaves out key elements of the persona and character of Thiel:1） Thiel is influenced by Rene Girard （his mentor） and especially his ideas: mimetic desire， conflict， scapegoating， the cover-up。 Where is an thorough analysis of this in the book？ You can understand Thiel better by understanding his 'religion'， which David Perell beautifully explained in a long-form essay。 2） The Gawker case。 The author disregards the thorough work of Ryan Holiday。 But in his great book Conspiracy he got to talk to Thiel and all the actors involved。 This makes for a more balanced book and shows that Denton was also wrong， not some sort of journalistic freedom fighter。 Why is it okay to leak sex tapes？ The moral implications of the kind of journalism Gawker did are not discussed。 3） Thiel famously said to Ryan Holiday: 'Contrarians may be mostly wrong， but when they get it right， they get it really right'。 This basic point about contrarians Chafkin misses。 Instead of focusing on the failures， it is therefore more relevant to focus on the accomplishments and the societal trend that goes with it。 For example， Airbnb （housing crisis）， Stripe （digital / globalized payment system） and Palentir （military-industrial complex）。 What Chafkin on the other hand does very well is make the distinction between the political and entrepreneurial Thiel。 The latter I explained above is not complete， but the political is。 And personally I am - and so should everybody else - be appalled by his political agenda and this is due to the great research by the author。 To understand Thiel even better: read his own work first （Zero to One） and then read Ryan Holiday's book Conspiracy。 After this: start with this book。 。。。more
Martin Hanaka
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Way too judgmental。 Strongly biased。 When will the woke so-called journalists et。 al。 begin to write in a balanced fashion？ I know， never。 This is a disservice to a brilliant risk taker who is apparently unafraid of our cancel culture。 Personal gain？ Yes。 But so what。 Look at the results of his efforts。
John Dito
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What a sad， boring， creepy guy。
Jeff Swystun
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After finishing the book， I questioned its point。 The author delicately sets out to indict multi-billionaire Peter Thiel who is definitely on some spectrum， possesses a form of narcissism， and is only self-interested。 Here is Chafkin’s thesis， “More than any other Silicon Valley investor or entrepreneur—more so even than Jeff Bezos， or Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin， or Zuckerberg himself—he has been responsible for creating the ideology that has come to define Silicon Valley: that t After finishing the book， I questioned its point。 The author delicately sets out to indict multi-billionaire Peter Thiel who is definitely on some spectrum， possesses a form of narcissism， and is only self-interested。 Here is Chafkin’s thesis， “More than any other Silicon Valley investor or entrepreneur—more so even than Jeff Bezos， or Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin， or Zuckerberg himself—he has been responsible for creating the ideology that has come to define Silicon Valley: that technological progress should be pursued relentlessly—with little， if any， regard for potential costs or dangers to society。”This form of progress produces “new forms of entertainment， new mediums of communication， and a better way to hail a taxi， but one that is also indifferent to the addiction， radicalization， and economic privation that have come with these advances。” The book catalogues Thiel’s big bets and vindictiveness。 While called， The Contrarian， the author points out that contrarianism is a methodology。 I was more interested in the man’s drive and belief systems。 It his ideology that is dangerous given his influence in business and politics。Core to understanding Thiel is his “attempt to impose a brand of extreme libertarianism that shifts power from traditional institutions toward startup companies and the billionaires who control them。” Chafkin writes， “The libertarian success manual also argues that monopolies are good， that monarchies are the most efficient form of government， and that tech founders are godlike。”It is this examination of Libertarianism that makes the book worth reading。 It actually goes a long way to explaining why Donald Trump， a PT Barnum-like huckster and buffoon， ever became president。 While I believe Facebook and Twitter helped him win the 2016 election and that the Russians definitely mucked about， it seems to me it was a big mess of different interests that serendipitously slightly overlapped that propelled Trump to the White House。Trump is not a Republican but that party shares some of his beliefs and still believe they can use him to their advantage。 Picture a photo of Trump with several overlapping circles on that image。 Each circle represents a tribe or special interest group or cabal。 These include racists， climate change deniers， xenophobic Americans， war hawks， Putin and the FSB， neoconservatives， 2-tier health advocates， anti-immigration pundits， second amendment gun enthusiasts， neo Nazis， misogynists， and more。 These are not concentric circles。 Each tribe is independent， most fiercely so。 But at times， their goals overlap。 As the saying goes， ‘politics makes strange bedfellows’ but， it is money that buys the sheets。 Trump was a vehicle but not the engine。 He was and remains， a stooge。 A puppet ultimately controlled by a certain stripe of financial elite。Many were concerned that Trump was an autocrat heading towards dictator。 I now believe he was being positioned as King Trump。 A figurehead to sit atop a monarchy of sorts， one imperialistic in design。 Thiel and other uber wealthy people like him would be the true power。 Fiefdoms would pop up in the form of monopolies in key industries: finance， tech， pharma， agriculture， media， munitions。 All would give allegiance。I know， I know。 The endgame sounds very Game of Thrones。 This theory also suggests a conspiracy of epic proportions。 I can assure you I am not wearing a tinfoil hat。 I do not picture a handful of Doctor Evils sitting around a big table in an evil lair。 What I do see is the goal。 Extreme libertarians desire an unregulated financial system。 This would bring about a new order。It was under way during Trump’s presidency。 Look at the bills and laws passed。 See how he damaged longstanding democratic institutions。 The judiciary， state， intelligence， and more have been diminished and damaged。 The FBI alone is in tatters。 Thiel would have viewed this with glee。 All through the book， the author notes that many of Thiel’s contemporaries could not understand his support of Trump。 For one thing， Thiel is gay and that hardly synchs with anything “Trump”。 To me， it was crystal clear。 As was Thiel’s eventual distancing from Trump when the reality star no longer aided his cause。Lord Palmerston famously said， “We have no permanent enemies， and no permanent friends， only permanent interests。” Thiel is interested in accumulating wealth， treating 99。9% of the population as serfs， paying no taxes， and acknowledging no other ideology but his own。 Many wealthy and powerful people are sympathetic to these beliefs。 If their circles overlap， jarring change will result。The most shocking part of this is， it will occur more by happenstance than diabolical design。 Palmerston also said this， “You may call it combination， you may call it the accidental and fortuitous concurrence of atoms。” Extreme libertarianism is the unofficial third party in America。 It is waiting and sometimes directing from the wings hoping for a fortuitous concurrence of atoms。 。。。more
Todd Wood
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While there was some real reporting and new anecdotes around Thiel's life/history that I found fascinating， the book was overwhelmingly colored by that author's negative slant/bias towards Peter。 As a result， every vignette/datapoint had to be tied to the author's narrative， which at times felt a bit tortured/cynical。 While there was some real reporting and new anecdotes around Thiel's life/history that I found fascinating， the book was overwhelmingly colored by that author's negative slant/bias towards Peter。 As a result， every vignette/datapoint had to be tied to the author's narrative， which at times felt a bit tortured/cynical。 。。。more
Hugh Carter
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This didn't live up to the hype from either side of the spectrum。 But it was really good。 The Thiel acolytes call this a dishonest hit job， fake news。 Those that view Thiel as a supervillain welcome it as a long-awaited takedown。It's not really either， to be honest。 Thiel comes across as a thin skinned， grudge-holding nerd with a huge ego， who cares only about enriching himself， often at the expense of personal relationships。 It doesn't really reveal any kind of master plan or worldview， and I t This didn't live up to the hype from either side of the spectrum。 But it was really good。 The Thiel acolytes call this a dishonest hit job， fake news。 Those that view Thiel as a supervillain welcome it as a long-awaited takedown。It's not really either， to be honest。 Thiel comes across as a thin skinned， grudge-holding nerd with a huge ego， who cares only about enriching himself， often at the expense of personal relationships。 It doesn't really reveal any kind of master plan or worldview， and I think that's probably accurate。 He's a very calculated guy who makes big bets。 Some hit and some miss， and those that hit， he tries to take full advantage of。 He doesn't seem to have a personal or political philosophy outside of that。 It's probably too early to assess Thiel's lasting impact on the world， but that doesn't stop Chafkin from trying。 The author might even oversell Thiel's legacy， failing to draw more than dotted lines between Thiel and the sketchiness of Facebook and Palantir。 Chafkin tries to close the story with Thiel's recent withdrawal from public life， and the book ends with a bit of a whimper。It works well as a 'how we got here' of the last 25 years or so - if you've read stuff like An Ugly Truth， Zucked and The Man who Solved the Market， you'll recognize some faces， and get some other perspectives on people and events。I really liked it even if it wasn't the firebomb that I was expecting。 。。。more
Rick Wilson
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Interesting but lacking direction in the last third。 Definitely going to offend the Thiel fanboys。 But I think if read with a pinch of critical thinking， this is one of the better books out there demystifying Thiels world。 In my opinion， the mark of a good book hits a few things。 On the lowest level a good book entertains， a better book will inform， and on the highest levels a great book changes who you are。 This book is not great。 But as an informative you into the world of Peter Thiel and the Interesting but lacking direction in the last third。 Definitely going to offend the Thiel fanboys。 But I think if read with a pinch of critical thinking， this is one of the better books out there demystifying Thiels world。 In my opinion， the mark of a good book hits a few things。 On the lowest level a good book entertains， a better book will inform， and on the highest levels a great book changes who you are。 This book is not great。 But as an informative you into the world of Peter Thiel and the entities he’s created it’s the best that I know out there。 It’s informative and overall a well done， negatively oriented， unofficial biography of a fairly reclusive SV giant。 A few years ago I worked at a company backed by one of Thiels partners。 And as such， I’ve always been curious about Founders Fund， the Thiel fellowship， and follow a good number of current and former FF guys。 I never really placed the ecosystem that they existed in until now。 So in that way， this book is tops。 What unfortunately I think was missed in some of the hatchet wielding is that there’s an interesting ethos attributed to Thiel， basically that he hates all government and authority， that Im not sure about。 My cynical orientation is that he wants to deregulate so that private （Thiel backed） tech companies can regulate。 But I think the impact there gets lost in this idea of Thiel as a maniacal anarchist。 Anarchists don’t build fortunes。 I think you go into reading this book knowing that it’s presenting a negative view of someone who typically doesn’t get much negative press。 It seems like the author wrote this as an attempt to balance the scales， whether or not you think a book should do that is entirely up to you。 I’d maybe stay away from this if you’re not familiar with the players and events as it’s going to be difficult to distinguish fact from hyperbole。 I wish it was a bit more impartial so that the author could take a step back at the end and have a reasonable synthesis of the information presented。 。。。more
Josiah
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