Person
Every book Max Chafkin recommended on podcasts
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Max Chafkin appears on, in one place — not just one.
Max Chafkin is an author and journalist. While appearing on This Week in Startups, Chafkin discussed his biographical business book 'The Contrarian', addressing feedback and reviews that characterized the work as critical of Peter Thiel. He explained that his book was a fair, journalistic examination of Thiel that sought to complicate his public image without being driven by personal animus. Chafkin noted that the book explores the uncertainty surrounding how many lawsuits Thiel funded against Gawker and details Thiel's associations. Alongside his own work, Chafkin discussed Peter A. Thiel and Blake Masters's book 'Zero to One', citing it while explaining the intellectual case and specific philosophy behind startup building. He also remarked that Thiel's own books and speeches remain available for readers seeking to understand his public platform and perspectives, and noted that these materials had informed his own reporting on the technology executive and venture capitalist.
Books recommended by Max Chafkin
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Zero to One
Why people recommend it: Peter Thiel and Blake Masters's Zero to One offers a provocative guide to startup creation, arguing that true economic progress comes from building entirely new things rather than copying existing models.
Discussed“but in terms of like articulating kind of an intellectual case for um startups and a very specific kind of um you know startup building philosophy i think say the same thing about um zero to one”
Where to get it
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The Contrarian
The Contrarian by Max Chafkin is an investigative biography examining the career, political ideology, and growing influence of Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel.
Discussed“flood the system with lawsuits i think maybe he did five or six well it's never been exactly clear how many he fund you'll see in the book it's pretty careful because because we don't actually know”
Where to get it
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An Ugly Truth
An Ugly Truth by Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang is an investigative non-fiction book that examines Facebook's internal battles for dominance, corporate culture, and the real-world consequences of its algorithms.
Discussed“there's a line in um there's a line in the um cecilia carrying cheryl frankel book of i think it's a quote from kara swisher about it basically is like something to the effect”
Where to get it
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The Diversity Myth
The Diversity Myth by David O.
Critiqued“and if you go back to teal's um you know to the newspaper or stanford review or the or the or the book he wrote diversity myth you will find some views on um uh you know sexuality that are are really you know pretty backwards”
Where to get it
