The best 15 Big Tech books

1
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

George Orwell
A Dystopian Classic on the Dangers of Totalitarianism
4.8 (1,110 ratings)

What's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) about?

Nineteen Eighty-Four, also published as 1984, is a dystopian novel from 1949 that deals with the perils of totalitarianism. It’s set in an imagined future in a superstate called Oceania, which is ruled by an authoritarian government that maintains power through constant surveillance and other insidious means.

Who should read Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)?

  • Anyone who’d like to know more about this must-read classic
  • People interested in politics and history
  • Those who are worried about freedom of thought

2
Pegasus

Pegasus

Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud
How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy
4.3 (273 ratings)

What's Pegasus about?

Pegasus (2023) follows the thrilling, worldwide investigation into one of the most powerful and insidious pieces of cyber surveillance software known to date. Beginning with a massive data leak to a small, independent news outlet, it tells the story of how Pegasus came to be, the hundreds of innocent individuals who have had their privacy taken away by it, and the global team of reporters and editors who risked everything to bring the story to light.

Who should read Pegasus?

  • Followers of the Pegasus Project and other cyber security international bombshells like the Panama Papers, or Wikileaks.
  • Fans of investigative journalism who want to know the stories behind the reports that shake the world.
  • Anyone who owns a phone and wants to know just how fragile their privacy really is.

3
Cloudmoney

Cloudmoney

Brett Scott
Cash, Cards, Crypto, and the War for Our Wallets
4.2 (512 ratings)

What's Cloudmoney about?

Cloudmoney (2022) provides an overview of our present payment landscape. As it turns out, the age-old question of “cash or card” is not as simple as it seems. Underneath the push toward cashless is a murky world of powerful interests trying to extract profit and data from people’s purchases. And the disappearance of cash has more disadvantages than you might think. 

Who should read Cloudmoney?

  • Literally everyone – we all use money
  • Anyone considering getting rid of cash altogether
  • Students of finance, economics, or politics

4
Woke, Inc.

Woke, Inc.

Vivek Ramaswamy
Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam
4.0 (160 ratings)

What's Woke, Inc. about?

Woke, Inc. (2021) explores how the ideology of wokeness has come to infect America’s corporate sphere. While paying lip service to various social-justice causes, major American companies are acting in ways that are anything but just –⁠ and generating major profit in the process. Aside from being a nefarious way for corporations to make money, this strategy is also doing lasting damage to American democracy in surprising ways, and it’s time to snuff it out.

Who should read Woke, Inc.?

  • Conservatives and centrists worried about the excesses of progressivism
  • Liberals who want to hear the other side’s perspective
  • Anyone interested in American social ills

5
Power Play

Power Play

Tim Higgins
Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
4.3 (256 ratings)

What's Power Play about?

Power Play (2021) tells the story of Tesla’s rise from overambitious start-up to one of the most valuable players in the global auto industry. It charts the company’s rapid rise, its operational and financial struggles, and the leadership of its volatile CEO, Elon Musk.

Who should read Power Play?

  • People interested in tech start-up history
  • Auto industry and car aficionados
  • Entrepreneurs interested in tech innovation

6
The Four

The Four

Scott Galloway
The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google
4.0 (126 ratings)

What's The Four about?

The Four (2017) examines the great superpowers of our digital age – Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google – and attempts to answer a few tough questions: How have these companies changed the world we live in and what is their formula for success? How can other companies rise to similar echelons of power? And what does it take to thrive in a world shaped by the Four?

Who should read The Four?

  • Facebook and iPhone users
  • Anyone who regularly performs searches on Google, shops on Amazon, uses an Apple device or spends time on Facebook
  • Business enthusiasts and business analysts

7
The Everything Store

The Everything Store

Brad Stone
Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
4.4 (167 ratings)

What's The Everything Store about?

Despite being a billion-dollar company today, Amazon was built on humble beginnings in Jeff Bezos’ garage. From the get-go, Bezos was driven by the grand vision of creating an Everything Store – which has, in the meantime, virtually come true. Focusing equally on the company and its founder, this book shows how he turned his dream into a reality.

The Washington Post and Forbes both dubbed The Everything Store the best book of 2013. 

Who should read The Everything Store?

  • Anyone interested in the history of the online megastore Amazon
  • Anyone who wants to know what makes its founder, Jeff Bezos, different from the rest
  • Anyone with a general interest in entrepreneurship 

8
Amazon

Amazon

Natalie Berg & Miya Knights
How the World’s Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionize Commerce
4.4 (152 ratings)

What's Amazon about?

Amazon (2019) investigates the rise of the most disruptive online retailer of the twenty-first century, from humble online bookstore to global business empire. Drawing on industry data and insider knowledge, retail experts Natalie Berg and Miya Knights explain why Amazon dominates today’s e-commerce market, how it will continue to revolutionize retail, and what other businesses can do to keep up.

Who should read Amazon?

  • Aspiring business strategists and marketing experts
  • Anyone wondering how their business can thrive in an Amazon world
  • Online shoppers interested in the future of retail

9
Liftoff

Liftoff

Eric Berger
Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
4.5 (119 ratings)

What's Liftoff about?

Liftoff (2021) tells the story of SpaceX’s beginnings – from the day that Elon Musk resolved to send rockets to Mars, through the first failed launch attempts on the tropical island of Omelek, to the make-or-break fourth flight. From a scrappy new venture to the world-renowned rocket company we know today, Liftoff has the inside scoop on SpaceX.

Who should read Liftoff?

  • Fans of SpaceX and Elon Musk
  • Tech enthusiasts and budding aerospace engineers
  • Would-be space explorers

10
What Would Google Do?

What Would Google Do?

Jeff Jarvis
Reverse engineering the world's fastest growing company
4.0 (32 ratings)

What's What Would Google Do? about?

The age of the Internet has dawned, but very few companies seem to understand how profoundly it has changed the business landscape and what they must do to thrive. The most obvious exception? Google. What Would Google Do? endeavors to explain what strategic choices fuel the success of Google and other web 2.0 companies like Amazon.

Who should read What Would Google Do??

  • Anyone who wants to learn the secrets to the success of Google and other web 2.0 companies
  • Anyone who wants to drive more traffic to their websites
  • Anyone who wants to emulate Google’s strategy in their own business

11
Privacy Is Power

Privacy Is Power

Carissa Véliz
Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data
4.6 (194 ratings)

What's Privacy Is Power about?

Privacy is Power (2020) is a shocking exposé of the inner workings of surveillance capitalism. It reveals how, every day, hundreds of interested parties are violating your privacy and capitalizing on your personal data. Corporations, governments, and criminals alike are all busy collecting and exploiting your data in an effort to influence the way you think and behave. In these blinks, you’ll learn why your privacy is so important and what you can do to protect it.

Who should read Privacy Is Power?

  • Those perturbed by governments and corporations snooping on our private lives
  • People untroubled by digital surveillance because they believe they have nothing to hide
  • Anyone looking for actionable ways to protect their privacy now

12
Google Leaks

Google Leaks

Zach Vorhies
A Whistleblower's Exposé of Big Tech Censorship
3.4 (337 ratings)

What's Google Leaks about?

Google Leaks (2021) is the no-holds-barred story of one former Google employee, who claims that the search giant has been corrupted by political bias and is pursuing a course of deliberate online censorship. It details the author’s journey after Donald Trump’s election from satisfied employee to unflinching corporate whistleblower .

Who should read Google Leaks?

  • Tech lovers concerned by the the growth of online megacorporations 
  • Political aficionados interested in the years of Trump’s presidency
  • Free-speech advocates concerned by the erosion of civil liberties

13
Hatching Twitter

Hatching Twitter

Nick Bilton
A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal
4.5 (10 ratings)

What's Hatching Twitter about?

Hatching Twitter tells the story of the four men responsible for Twitter as we know it. It’s a tale of backstabbing, superstar glory and billions of dollars that chronicles the drama and defining decisions that made Twitter what it is today.

Who should read Hatching Twitter?

  • Anyone who uses Twitter
  • Anyone who is interested in Twitter’s impact and origins
  • Anyone who works in a start-up
  • Anyone interested in the dangers of mixing business and friendship

14
An Ugly Truth

An Ugly Truth

Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang
Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
4.1 (253 ratings)

What's An Ugly Truth about?

An Ugly Truth (2021) is a critical look behind the scenes of Facebook. This in-depth investigation reveals the politics and personalities animating the rise and subsequent missteps of this controversial social media behemoth.

Who should read An Ugly Truth?

  • Internet addicts looking to understand cyberspace
  • Political junkies addicted to their News Feed
  • Anyone who has ever logged on to social media

15
Never Lost Again

Never Lost Again

Bill Kilday
The Google Mapping Revolution that Sparked New Industries and Augmented Our Reality
4.4 (35 ratings)

What's Never Lost Again about?

Never Lost Again (2018) details the story of Google Maps and Google Earth – from their origins with Keyhole, a little-known Silicon Valley start-up, to their roll-out under Google in 2005. In addition to following the different characters who made the applications happen, Never Lost Again explores how the world has changed forever since the Google mapping revolution began.

Who should read Never Lost Again?

  • Anyone interested in Silicon Valley 
  • Coders, software developers, and tech enthusiasts
  • Company leaders looking for an inspiring vision

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