Uncanny Valley - Anna Wiener

Uncanny Valley

By Anna Wiener

  • Release Date: 2020-01-14
  • Genre: Industries & Professions
Score: 4
4
From 229 Ratings

Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2020.

Named one of the Best Books of 2020 by The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, ELLE, Esquire, Parade, Teen Vogue, The Boston Globe, Forbes, The Times (UK), Fortune, Chicago Tribune, Glamour, The A.V. Club, Vox, Jezebel, Town & Country, OneZero, Apartment Therapy, Good Housekeeping, PopMatters, Electric Literature, Self, The Week (UK) and BookPage. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and a January 2020 IndieNext Pick.

"A definitive document of a world in transition: I won't be alone in returning to it for clarity and consolation for many years to come." --Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion


The prescient, page-turning account of a journey in Silicon Valley: a defining memoir of our digital age


In her mid-twenties, at the height of tech industry idealism, Anna Wiener—stuck, broke, and looking for meaning in her work, like any good millennial--left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy. She moved from New York to San Francisco, where she landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble: a world of surreal extravagance, dubious success, and fresh-faced entrepreneurs hell-bent on domination, glory, and, of course, progress.

Anna arrived amidst a massive cultural shift, as the tech industry rapidly transformed into a locus of wealth and power rivaling Wall Street. But amid the company ski vacations and in-office speakeasies, boyish camaraderie and ride-or-die corporate fealty, a new Silicon Valley began to emerge: one in far over its head, one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building.

Part coming-of-age-story, part portrait of an already-bygone era, Anna Wiener’s memoir is a rare first-person glimpse into high-flying, reckless startup culture at a time of unchecked ambition, unregulated surveillance, wild fortune, and accelerating political power. With wit, candor, and heart, Anna deftly charts the tech industry’s shift from self-appointed world savior to democracy-endangering liability, alongside a personal narrative of aspiration, ambivalence, and disillusionment.

Unsparing and incisive, Uncanny Valley is a cautionary tale, and a revelatory interrogation of a world reckoning with consequences its unwitting designers are only beginning to understand.

Reviews

  • Sit somewhere quiet and read this book!

    4
    By gabper97
    Imagine walking through a linen store. As you pass, you put your hand on one piece of fabric and let it slide across onto the next. Some fabrics you linger on longer than others. Some textures blend together as other thoughts come to mind. Some textures can’t help but bring your attention back. That is how it feels to read this book. Some may like this style of writing, and some may find themselves wanting a clear destination in mind as the author takes you on her journey through Silicon Valley. I enjoyed her insights and observations about the industry at large and I thoroughly enjoyed the way she immerses you in the moments of her life, never reducing the individuals (or herself) she encountered into one dimensional characters. We live in a very complicated and interconnected time that it’s easy to sacrifice nuance and compassion.
  • Skip it.

    2
    By KRACOPP
    Boring read. Nothing insightful, helpful or even juicy. Just a day in the life.
  • Stellar insight into tech

    5
    By hellaplur
    While I don’t necessarily agree with every opinion, this book crafts an excellent, critical look into the world of tech. It is quite accurate and has helped shaped my own actions as someone in the industry.
  • Great

    4
    By Dr.BigAl
    Excellent Well written story. Author has incredible talent. Reading reminded me of reading Dickens, but with less effort
  • What was the point...

    1
    By Peacegal61
    This read as if the author just wanted to prove she could write a book. Just words on a page with nothing intriguing or engaging about it.