Theranos – Cannonball Read 17

“Now did you think it all through? All these things will catch up to you…” (Double bingo)

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

October 20, 2024 by Malin Leave a Comment

Nowhere Book Bingo: From a genre you’ve never read (true crime) CBR16 Bingo: Fiasco (Theranos was a massive fraud and a fiasco) I’ve owned this book since 2020 and am pretty sure I picked it up in an e-book sale because of the many Cannonball reviews I’ve read about it over the years. Not being particularly interested in the tech world or medical science, and certainly, not someone who reads a lot of business news, I didn’t really hear about this case as it was […]

This is why we need FDA regulations!

Bad Blood: Secrets and lies in a Silicon Valley startup by John Carreyrou

January 27, 2022 by Dinah Lord 1 Comment

I wasn’t aware of Theranos, the blood testing startup which imploded spectacularly in 2018 from one of the USA’s most-hyped new tech companies to bankruptcy and federal investigation, until Elizabeth Holmes, architect of the whole thing, was actually charged with fraud. The Pajiba commentariat pointed me in the direction of 2018’s Bad Blood (since I’m not a fan of podcasts), and it was well worth the read. Carreyrou, an investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal, first got interested in the story long after Holmes […]

How to Build and Lose a $9 Billion Corporation While Endangering People’s Lives in 30 Easy Steps

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

October 3, 2020 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR12 BINGO: Money Be a near-genius-level Stanford dropout with a revolutionary idea. (Say, performing dozens of different types of blood tests on a drop of blood on a machine that can fit into people’s homes.) Impress the hell out of potential investors with your charisma, intelligence, and salesmanship. Recruit your staff from the best tech firms Silicon Valley has to offer. Give your company a snappy, tech-sounding name. Pack your board with illustrious individuals, including former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Secretary of State […]

Thanks to all the Cannonballers who reviewed this. I picked it up way sooner because of that than I would have otherwise.

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

December 21, 2019 by narfna 6 Comments

You guys gotta read this shit. I listened to the audiobook version, and I kept looking for reasons to listen, it was so compelling. Just really solid investigative journalism into a story that seems unbelievable when you string it all together. By now, not many people haven’t heard of Elizabeth Holmes and her sham Silicon Valley start-up company, Theranos, but just in case you haven’t, Holmes started Theranos in 2003 just after dropping out of Stanford. Her dream was to produce a medical device that […]

Idylls of the Queen

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

November 27, 2019 by Ellesfena Leave a Comment

I think by now most of us have heard at least the outline of the story told in Bad Blood: Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest self-made female billionaire (and founder of Theranos) who somehow misled and deceived investors and board members into believing she had revolutionized blood testing and was able to test for literally hundreds of conditions using a single drop of blood. If it were true, it would have changed the world, but, of course, it wasn’t true. Holmes is set to go on […]

Bad to the Bone – but Not in a Cool George Thorogood Way, but an Infuriating One.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

September 29, 2019 by LittlePlat 4 Comments

Ahahaha, this book pissed me off so much! I just could not believe how bad the whole Theranos debacle was. I mean, I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with the subject before going in – I knew that, by and large, most of the companies claims were fraudulent. But there was still plenty of room to be surprised at how bad the damned thing actually was. Fair warning – this review is going to be a bit rant-like at points. I developed a lot of pent […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

Help Our Mission