-
The Cult of We
- WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Professionals & Academics
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $31.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
An Ugly Truth
- Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination
- By: Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang
- Narrated by: Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang, Holter Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 420
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 372
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 370
Once one of Silicon Valley’s greatest success stories, Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Juicy and well researched
- By Jacki C on 07-13-21
By: Sheera Frenkel, and others
-
Power Play
- Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
- By: Tim Higgins
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 250
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 247
Elon Musk is among the most controversial titans of Silicon Valley. To some he's a genius and a visionary; to others he's a mercurial huckster. Billions of dollars have been gained and lost on his tweets; his personal exploits are the stuff of tabloids. But for all his outrageous talk of mind-uploading and space travel, his most audacious vision is the one closest to the ground: the electric car. Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins had a front-row seat for the drama: the pileups, wrestling for control, meltdowns, and the unlikeliest outcome of all, success.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good, but you've heard these stories before
- By Daniel on 08-18-21
By: Tim Higgins
-
Peril
- By: Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,502
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,764
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. stands as one of the most dangerous periods in American history. But as number one internationally best-selling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts - and a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not Exactly Ground Breaking
- By Navillus82 on 09-22-21
By: Bob Woodward, and others
-
The Contrarian
- Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power
- By: Max Chafkin
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 145
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 145
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very little mention of Trump
- By robert boyd on 09-22-21
By: Max Chafkin
-
Amazon Unbound
- Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire
- By: Brad Stone
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 473
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 472
Almost 10 years ago, Bloomberg journalist Brad Stone captured the rise of Amazon in his best seller The Everything Store. Since then, Amazon has expanded exponentially, inventing novel products like Alexa and disrupting countless industries, while its workforce has quintupled in size and its valuation has soared to nearly two trillion dollars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and content. Awful narration
- By Asutosh Tripathy on 05-14-21
By: Brad Stone
-
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
- By: Peter L. Bergen
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 212
The world’s leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century, and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and exciting
- By Nancy on 08-19-21
By: Peter L. Bergen
-
An Ugly Truth
- Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination
- By: Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang
- Narrated by: Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang, Holter Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 420
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 372
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 370
Once one of Silicon Valley’s greatest success stories, Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Juicy and well researched
- By Jacki C on 07-13-21
By: Sheera Frenkel, and others
-
Power Play
- Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
- By: Tim Higgins
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 250
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 247
Elon Musk is among the most controversial titans of Silicon Valley. To some he's a genius and a visionary; to others he's a mercurial huckster. Billions of dollars have been gained and lost on his tweets; his personal exploits are the stuff of tabloids. But for all his outrageous talk of mind-uploading and space travel, his most audacious vision is the one closest to the ground: the electric car. Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins had a front-row seat for the drama: the pileups, wrestling for control, meltdowns, and the unlikeliest outcome of all, success.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good, but you've heard these stories before
- By Daniel on 08-18-21
By: Tim Higgins
-
Peril
- By: Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,502
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,764
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. stands as one of the most dangerous periods in American history. But as number one internationally best-selling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts - and a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not Exactly Ground Breaking
- By Navillus82 on 09-22-21
By: Bob Woodward, and others
-
The Contrarian
- Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power
- By: Max Chafkin
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 145
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 145
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very little mention of Trump
- By robert boyd on 09-22-21
By: Max Chafkin
-
Amazon Unbound
- Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire
- By: Brad Stone
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 473
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 472
Almost 10 years ago, Bloomberg journalist Brad Stone captured the rise of Amazon in his best seller The Everything Store. Since then, Amazon has expanded exponentially, inventing novel products like Alexa and disrupting countless industries, while its workforce has quintupled in size and its valuation has soared to nearly two trillion dollars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and content. Awful narration
- By Asutosh Tripathy on 05-14-21
By: Brad Stone
-
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
- By: Peter L. Bergen
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 212
The world’s leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century, and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and exciting
- By Nancy on 08-19-21
By: Peter L. Bergen
Publisher's Summary
Wall Street Journal best seller
“The riveting, definitive account of WeWork, one of the wildest business stories of our time.” (Matt Levine, Money Stuff columnist, Bloomberg Opinion)
The inside story of WeWork, its audacious founder, and what its epic unraveling says about a financial system drunk on the elixir of Silicon Valley innovation - from the Wall Street Journal correspondents (featured in the WeWork Hulu documentary) whose scoop-filled reporting hastened the company’s downfall.
Longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
WeWork would be worth $10 trillion, more than any other company in the world. It wasn’t just an office space provider. It was a tech company - an AI startup, even. Its WeGrow schools and WeLive residences would revolutionize education and housing. One day, mused founder Adam Neumann, a Middle East peace accord would be signed in a WeWork. The company might help colonize Mars. And Neumann would become the world’s first trillionaire.
This was the vision of Neumann and his primary cheerleader, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. In hindsight, their ambition for the company, whose primary business was subletting desks in slickly designed offices, seems like madness. Why did so many intelligent people - from venture capitalists to Wall Street elite - fall for the hype? And how did WeWork go so wrong?
In little more than a decade, Neumann transformed himself from a struggling baby clothes salesman into the charismatic, hard-partying CEO of a company worth $47 billion - on paper. With his long hair and feel-good mantras, the six-foot-five Israeli transplant looked the part of a messianic truth teller. Investors swooned, and billions poured in.
Neumann dined with the CEOs of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, entertaining a parade of power brokers desperate to get a slice of what he was selling: the country’s most valuable startup, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a generation-defining moment.
Soon, however, WeWork was burning through cash faster than Neumann could bring it in. From his private jet, sometimes clouded with marijuana smoke, he scoured the globe for more capital. Then, as WeWork readied a Hail Mary IPO, it all fell apart. Nearly $40 billion of value vaporized in one of corporate America’s most spectacular meltdowns.
Peppered with eye-popping, never-before-reported details, The Cult of We is the gripping story of careless and often absurd people - and the financial system they have made.
Critic Reviews
"A juicy guided tour through the highly leveraged, not-quite-rags-to-billion-dollar-parachute saga of WeWork and its cofounder Adam Neumann.... Brown and Farrell show an agility for explaining key business dynamics.... It’s also very funny.” (The New York Times)
“Absorbing...The Cult of We is both a ticktock of Neumann’s self-immolation and a primer on the ways and mores of a start-up culture populated by visionaries, grifters and moneymen.... Like Bad Blood...The Cult of We is novelistic in detail and often thrilling.... It’s like watching a car careening toward a wall at 90 miles an hour.” (Allison Stewart, The Washington Post)
“If I had to make a list of top five business books of all time, this would be on it. It’s just so damn engrossing.” (Christopher Mims, Wall Street Journal tech columnist)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Cult of We
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reeka
- 08-02-21
Incredible
it's hard to imagine what charisma can do for somebody that can pull the wool over people's eyes for such a long period of time. meticulously detailed and a great read,. and hopefully a warning to others that there has to be a there there. I hope this guy ends up facing some sort of prosecution problem since robbing a bank and robbing investors like he did are pretty much one of the same.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christine McDannell
- 08-05-21
Wow! Really well done
They must have done so much research to cover as much as they did in this book. It was hard to stop listening it was that good.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- GG
- 08-04-21
Well researched and well written
What a fascinating account of a megalomaniac. His rise and catastrophic fall. This is a well written and very well researched accounting of the craziness that was we work under its founder, Adam Neumann. Well done!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- GT
- 08-03-21
Unbelievable!
One of the more fascinating books I have read in a long while, on the same level as “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” by Charles Mackay, in essence both describes persuasion and gullibility - of epic proportions.
I highly recommend this book. A page turner that reads like a thriller.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cassi
- 08-02-21
Peer into the Rabbit Hole
Engaging, intriguing look at the train wreck of We Work in slow motion. The cult of personality can drain pockets and drain dreams.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hanna W.
- 08-01-21
Gripping!
Such an interesting story - I couldn’t stop listening. A wild glimpse into the startup world, that may or may not have learned lesson from the arc of WeWork.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alexis N.
- 07-31-21
Comprehensive and saddening
This was well written, researched and painted a great timeline of the rise and fall of We Work. I walked away from this thinking - wow, Neumann really is just an immature narcissist and the bankers and employees who let him play with this company like a child without raising concerns are also complicit in its demise. Time and time again it is shocking to me how people just overlook fatal flaws in business because of a charismatic leader. This was super fascinating and definitely well done, I don’t think many people realize just how much influence We Work has had over the startup economy.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-27-21
Recommended
Great listen!! I'm a big fan of digressions in stories to help you understand the bigger picture. Really liked that they explained the roles that MBS and Masayoshi Son had in creating The Vision Fund and Softbank's investment in WeWork.
Fascinating story with a solid narration.
The epilogue was also an interesting commentary on what is allowing companies to be overvalued in the market today.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Morana
- 11-12-21
Brilliant
The story reads almost as fiction. It really kept me on the edge of my seat, even though I’ve been following the WeWork story and have heard it told in many ways. The insights are deep and the details are spectacular. Really recommend to anyone interested in startup culture and venture capital.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Melanie A Hwalek
- 10-31-21
Excellent read
Loved the book and the narrator. It read like fiction. Hard to out down. Liked how all the loose ends were tied up in the epilogue.