60th book of 2019: If Bob Woodward were to take on Uber.
Read this alongside [b:The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World|29905580|The Upstarts How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World|Brad Stone|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479331403l/29905580.SY75.jpg|50279459], and this book is definitely superior in comparison. Much more detail, Isaac uniquely captured the tone of silicon valley events such as x^x. The personalities felt true to life, and for the folks I could cross check with my in person interactions, the descriptions were spot on.
Isaac does detail the moments where it all went wrong, or alternate paths that could have led to greater success, similar to [b:Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry|25602451|Losing the Signal The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry|Jacquie McNish|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432614555l/25602451.SY75.jpg|43206550]. Most notable were Uber’s global focus at the expense of ensuring a consolidated market in the US, not buying Lyft, and setting up the Holder report without any control of the process (a choice that may have been good for Uber but was certainly bad for Travis).
The techlash has been an interesting time, and it was fun to juxtapose my insider’s view at Facebook with the outsider’s view I had on uber next to the now quasi-insider view that Mike Isaac brings in Super Pumped.