The best 15 Big Tech books

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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?

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.