The Contrarian

[Chafkin] does an excellent job of unpicking the disparate elements of the Thiel mythology – David Runciman, London Review of Books[A] deeply reported and gripping biography … It offers essential insights for anyone who wants to understand what Silicon Valley’s global ascendance has wrought—and it’s a really great read – Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster BetterThe Contrarian is much more than a consistently shocking biography of Peter Thiel … It’s also a disturbing history of Silicon Valley that will make you reconsider the ideological foundations of America’s relentless engine of creative destruction – Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store and Amazon UnboundA captivating, incisive, rigorously reported examination of Silicon Valley’s most mysterious and controversial powerbroker – Joshua Green, author of Devil’s BargainIn The Contrarian, Max Chafkin takes us on a fascinating journey into the life and mind of one of the most influential, and least understood, figures in business and politics’ – Sheelah Kolhatkar, author of Black EdgeA dogged reporter and an entertaining writer, [Chafkin] weaves an epic tale filled with startling ambition, cold calculation, and a large helping of contrarian—and contradictory—opinions – Emily Chang, author of Brotopia

Max Chafkin is a features editor and a tech reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek. His work has also appeared in Fast Company, Vanity Fair, Inc. and the New York Times Magazine. He lives in Queens, New York with his family.