The Contrarian
Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power
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Narrated by:
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Will Damron
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By:
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Max Chafkin
About this listen
A New York Times Notable Book
A biography of venture capitalist and entrepreneur Peter Thiel, the enigmatic, controversial, and hugely influential power broker who sits at the dynamic intersection of tech, business, and politics
“Max Chafkin’s The Contrarian is much more than a consistently shocking biography of Peter Thiel, the most important investor in tech and a key supporter of the Donald Trump presidency. It’s also a disturbing history of Silicon Valley that will make you reconsider the ideological foundations of America’s relentless engine of creative destruction.” (Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store and Amazon Unbound)
Since the days of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, no industry has made a greater impact on the world than Silicon Valley. And few individuals have done more to shape Silicon Valley than Peter Thiel. The billionaire venture capitalist and entrepreneur has been a behind-the-scenes operator influencing countless aspects of our contemporary way of life, from the technologies we use every day to the delicate power balance between Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington. But despite his power and the ubiquity of his projects, no public figure is quite so mysterious.
In the first major biography of Thiel, Max Chafkin traces the trajectory of the innovator's singular life and worldview, from his upbringing as the child of immigrant parents and years at Stanford as a burgeoning conservative thought leader to his founding of PayPal and Palantir, early investment in Facebook and SpaceX, and relationships with fellow tech titans Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Eric Schmidt. The Contrarian illuminates the extent to which Thiel has sought to export his values to the corridors of power beyond Silicon Valley, including funding the lawsuit that destroyed the blog Gawker and strenuously backing far-right political candidates, notably Donald Trump for president in 2016.
Eye-opening and deeply reported, The Contrarian is a revelatory biography of a one-of-a-kind leader and an incisive portrait of a tech industry whose explosive growth and power is both thrilling and fraught with controversy.
©2021 Max Chafkin (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"A judicious biography. . . . Unfailing diligent. . . . The Contrarian isn’t just about Thiel; it’s about Silicon Valley’s political coming-of-age, too.”—New York Times
“In writing a biography of Thiel, the deck was stacked against Max Chafkin . . . who daringly took to the task. His new book . . . charts the billionaire’s rise from his early days as a precocious chess champion who never quite fit in to a world-conquering tech visionary and political firebrand.”—Fortune, “The Best Books of 2021”
“Peter Thiel is one of tech’s most powerful people and one of its most enigmatic. That’s why Max Chafkin’s new biography of Thiel is so welcome. The Contrarian is a deep study of a Valley anomaly. . . . Chafkin digs deep to help us understand his subject.”—Wired
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There has always been some gap between rich and poor in this country, but in the last few decades what it means to be rich has changed dramatically. Alarmingly, the greatest income gap is not between the 1 percent and the 99 percent, but within the wealthiest 1 percent of our nation-as the merely wealthy are left behind by the rapidly expanding fortunes of the new global super-rich. Forget the 1 percent; Plutocrats proves that it is the wealthiest 0.1 percent who are outpacing the rest of us at break-neck speed.
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Good Storytelling but ... analysis is "eh'
- By Susan on 11-04-12
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The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
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The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
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Superpower Showdown
- How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War
- By: Bob Davis, Lingling Wei
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
This is the inside story of the US-China trade war, how relations between these superpowers unraveled, darkening prospects for global peace and prosperity, as told by two Wall Street Journal reporters, one based in Washington, DC, the other in Beijing, who have had more access to the decision-makers in the White House and in China’s Zhongnanhai leadership compound than anyone else.
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Boring. Waste of Time.
- By DING MING YING 丁明英 on 11-23-20
By: Bob Davis, and others
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Blowout
- Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
- By: Rachel Maddow
- Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In 2010, the words “earthquake swarm” entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia—including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove—was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. And in 2014, Ukrainian revolutionaries raided the palace of their ousted president and found a zoo of peacocks, gilded toilets, and a floating restaurant modeled after a Spanish galleon.
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chilling...
- By Kindle Customer on 10-12-19
By: Rachel Maddow
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Cowards
- What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say
- By: Glenn Beck
- Narrated by: Ron McLarty
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As we approach the most important presidential election in America’s history, something has been lost among all of the debates, attack ads, and super- PACs - something that Americans used to hold in very high regard: THE TRUTH. The truth can no longer be something we hope for; it must be something we live. When courage prevails, cowards do not - and this book was written to ensure that’s exactly what happens.
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Guess what... Its by Glenn Beck!!
- By Joseph on 07-17-12
By: Glenn Beck
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Mike Bloomberg
- Money, Power, Politics
- By: Joyce Purnick
- Narrated by: Mark Moseley
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Michael Bloomberg is not only New York City's 108th mayor; he is a business genius and self-made billionaire. He has run the toughest city in America with an independence and show of ego that first brought him great success and eventually threatened it. Yet while Bloomberg is internationally known and admired, few people know the man behind the carefully crafted public persona.
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Not the most captivating, but a decent summary
- By liz w on 03-06-17
By: Joyce Purnick
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White House, Inc.
- How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business
- By: Dan Alexander
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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White House, Inc. is a newsmaking exposé that details President Trump’s efforts to make money off of politics, taking us inside his exclusive clubs, luxury hotels, overseas partnerships, commercial properties, and personal mansions. Alexander tracks hundreds of millions of dollars flowing freely between big businesses and President Trump. He explains, in plain language, how Trump tried to translate power into profit, from the 2016 campaign to the ramp-up to the 2020 campaign.
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Required reading for all Americans
- By Gregor on 10-11-20
By: Dan Alexander
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Sinking in the Swamp
- How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington
- By: Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An eyewitness account of Donald Trump's clown car of lieutenants and lackeys who have polluted the corridors of power with their unprecedented awfulness. Two of Washington's most meddlesome reporters take listeners on a deep dive into the murky underworld of President Trump's Washington, dishing the hilarious and frightening dirt on the charlatans, conspiracy theorists, ideologues, and run-of-the-mill con artists who have infected the highest echelons of American political power.
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Fascinating writing!
- By CBesserman on 02-28-20
By: Lachlan Markay, and others
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The Shadow Party
- How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party
- By: David Horowitz, Richard Poe
- Narrated by: Gregg Rizzo
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
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America is under attack. Its institutions and values are under daily assault. But the principal culprits are not foreign terrorists. They are influential and powerful Americans secretly stirring up disunion and disloyalty in the shifting shadows of the Democratic Party. Radical infiltrators have been quietly transforming America's societal, cultural, and political institutions for more than a generation. Now, backed by George Soros, they are ready to make their move.
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Best introduction to the Democrat party in 2019
- By Larry on 06-12-19
By: David Horowitz, and others
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We Should Have Seen It Coming
- From Reagan to Trump - A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution
- By: Gerald F. Seib
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal chronicles the astonishing rise, climax, and decline of the conservative movement, from the election of Ronald Reagan to the Republican Party's takeover by Donald Trump - with a new introduction covering the 2020 election and the future of the GOP.
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Brilliant!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-04-20
By: Gerald F. Seib
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The Firm
- The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business
- By: Duff McDonald
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A behind-the-scenes, revelatory history of McKinsey & Company, America's most influential and controversial business consulting firm, told by one of the nation's leading financial journalists. In The Firm, Duff McDonald uncovers how these high-powered, high-priced business savants have ushered in waves of structural, financial, and technological shifts. With unrivaled access to company documents and current and former employees, McDonald reveals the inner workings of what just might be the most influential private organization in America.
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Warning: Non consultants should avoid
- By R. Jaeger on 11-04-13
By: Duff McDonald
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Alibaba
- The House That Jack Ma Built
- By: Duncan Clark
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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In just a decade and a half, Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings who started out as an English teacher, founded Alibaba and built it into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend. Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the largest global IPO ever. A Rockefeller of his age who is courted by CEOs and presidents around the world, Jack is an icon for China's booming private sector.
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Strange: Best part of story happens "off-screen"
- By Tristan on 09-02-16
By: Duncan Clark
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Googled
- The End of the World as We Know It
- By: Ken Auletta
- Narrated by: Jim Bond
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
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Performance
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Story
In Googled, esteemed media writer and critic Ken Auletta uses the story of Google's rise to explore the inner workings of the company and the future of the media at large. Although Google has often been secretive, this book is based on the most extensive cooperation ever granted a journalist, including access to closed-door meetings and interviews with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt, and some 150 present and former employees.
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Audio production could have been better
- By David on 11-12-09
By: Ken Auletta
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The Hard Thing About Hard Things
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For large company managers, not startups
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The Ride of a Lifetime
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Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger - think global - and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.
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Joins “Shoe Dog” as required biographies.
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What listeners say about The Contrarian
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-28-24
This author hates Thiel
More of a slight at Thiel than informative, this one had a chance to given a different perspective but took a turn into letting politics and bias guide the narrative.
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- Anders H.
- 01-28-22
The chess player
Being a huge fan of his Zero to One, I found this book interesting for other reasons.
First it gives a background to Thiels religious and conservative views from his childhood so you can start to understand him.
Then it gives a very interesting perspective for me as a European into US politics and the conservative media world of reality distortion that seems to be a fun game to do at Stanford for people that takes extreme conservative standpoints. Just to identify themselves with something else and build an identity and eventually a career out of it. I know people that are exactly like this and sort of Mensa material, but here they don’t work very well with the rest of society. In the US they seems to flourish and move into power. Very strange, but also very interesting to understand.
My understanding of Thiel after reading this is that he plays simultaneous chess with almost everything he does. Something he loved to do in his teenage years but now with real people, money, companies and politics.
The book is very critical of Thiels work, but it’s well written, almost like a detective story to uncover Thiel, and the voice reader is one of the best. Thus I finished this book in record times.
I do think the book will need an update of the later chapters in a few years as it spends a lot of time with Trump, the Pandemic and Silicon Valley that might be viewed differently in a few years.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-13-21
Biased But Interesting
At points the author seems subjective and neutral but near the end you really get to see the left leaning lens in which this story is told through. I wish the author would’ve used Thiel’s narrative to tell a different story other than the typical mainstream media take.
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- Michael
- 04-20-22
Slightly Biased, Decent Book
Anyone should be able to tell the author is not a fan of Peter Thiel, with that said this is an interesting book. Peter Thiel and others clearly possess alot of influence over certain things, but the author gives the impression that Peter Thiel somehow conspired Covid 19, 911, and the housing crash simply because Thiel and his companies made money off the disasters. I don't believe Thiel has any founded political ideology because he's smart enough to know it's all smoke and mirrors for a greater objective.
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- DJ
- 10-20-23
Snore fest; Elon Musk’s story is way better.
Well researched and gives nuanced perspectives but even at the end Thiel seems just as distant and puzzling a character as in the beginning. As for the value of his impact on the valley and the world; questionable. Use your credit for Elon’s book by Isaacson instead.
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- Reeka
- 11-23-21
Scary
it is truly frightening to see how deeply flawed an individual can amass such wealth and power. it is ironic that those that rail against deep states and New world orders are themselves the ones the most entrenched in it.....
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- Richard
- 10-02-21
WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?
YIKES! This is a character study of someone I would not want/hope to be.
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- Matt
- 11-02-21
an important story and keystone in valley lore
at times felt biased, other times justified. I feel ready to watch Thiels involvement in 2024 politics more than ever. and while I once dreamed of working at an early stage founders fund company, now I'm not so sure.
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- Rurik McKaiser
- 12-27-21
Exposé of note
I must confess that the book "Zero to One" prompted me to buy and read this book. I must confess that Thiel is quite a DARK person as portrayed by this book. As must as I find Thiel's business thinking intriguing, I find his political thinking repulsive... I suspect his days in Apartheid South Africa really messed with him in a bad and permanent way.
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- Carlos Solorio
- 11-12-21
Interesting read on Peter’s Machiavellian style
I had second thoughts getting this book due to the reviews. Although this isn’t a positive portrayal, I think it gave an honest take on how Thiel has managed to climb his way to the top. Taking unpopular bets with large upsides, grabbing power at opportune times and creating groups with him as a central figure to achieve his means. It’s a great read and I enjoyed this behind the scenes look at Thiel’s life.
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