The Contrarian

from mainstream outlets such as CNN and The New York Times, but to leave out stories from right-wing media as well as those about fringe topics popular among conservatives, such as the unverified claim that the IRS had been targeting Tea Party affiliated nonprofits.

The scoop was modest Trending Topics had nothing to do with the regular news feed, which was curated by algorithm and was full of right- wing content but it enraged conservatives, who saw it as proof that Facebook was biased in a broader way. The Drudge Report, which had been among the banned outlets, led with a giant and unflattering pic- ture of Zuckerberg s deputy Sheryl Sandberg, the author of the book Lean In. not leaning in . . . leaning left! the headline screamed. facebook under fire was the Fox News chyron.

Facebook denied the allegations, but Zuckerberg sensed that this was a crisis to be managed, and he turned to Thiel to help him. On Wednesday, May 18, a group of sixteen prominent right-wing media personalities were summoned to Menlo Park for a meeting. They included talk show hosts Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, and Dana Perino; the presidents of the Tea Party Patriots, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Heritage Foundation; and a handful of others. Officially, they were there to see Zuckerberg and Sandberg, but Thiel was the reason many of them had made the trip.


At forty-eight, he was more than a decade older than the Facebook founder, but the two men had much in common. Like Zuckerberg, Thiel was ruthlessly competitive and awkward in social situations. They d been close Thiel had been Zuckerberg s mentor and his patron, the first out- side investor in his company and the first person in authority to grasp that Zuckerberg actually knew what he was doing.

Years earlier, Thiel had se

another rapacious solipsist, in it for the money, but I used to tell myself that about another rapacious solipsist, and he became president. The New York Times Book Review

There are enough juicy details in this portrait of the controversial tech billionaire Peter Thiel to keep you on the hook. Vulture

Max Chafkin s The Contrarian makes for deeply uncomfortable reading. This meticulous biography of big tech s leading conservative figure (Thiel was a prominent Trump backer, and spoke at the 2016 Republican convention) is full of moments that would startle those with the hardiest constitutions. The Spectator

Horribly fascinating. . . . Chafkin carefully documents a detestable man of extraordinary contradictions. The Irish Times

Punchy and caustic . . . an engrossing look at one of Silicon Valley s most eccentric and abrasive figures. Publishers Weekly

[Chafkin] does an excellent job of unpicking the disparate elements of the Thiel mythology. Nothing is quite what it seems. London Review of Books

A revealing portrait. . . . A savvy biography. . . . Chafkin deftly portrays his subject as a calculating operator, nihilist, and predator who has constructed an image so compelling that it has come to obscure the man behind it. A brisk, well-researched life of an enigmatic billionaire. Kirkus

Max Chafkin s The Contrarian is much more than a consistently shocking biography of Peter Thiel, the most important investor in tech and a key supporter of the Donald Trump presidency. 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

The Contrarian is a captivating, incisive, rigorously reported examination of Silicon Valley s most mysterious and controversial powerbroker. Max Chafkin doesn t just illuminate the life of Peter Thiel and the unsettling world he has created. With peerless authority, he tells the broader story of our age, showing us how Silicon Valley s early utopianism was attacked from within, succumbing to largely unseen forces and giving rise to the darker, more dangerous world we inhabit today. Joshua Green, author of Devil s Bargain



In 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 Edge
Max Chafkin has taken on the daring task of profiling one of the most secretive and powerful men in the history of Silicon Valley. A dogged reporter and an entertaining writer, he weaves an epic tale filled with startling ambition, cold calculation, and a large helping of contrarian and contradictory opinions. Emily Chang, author of Brotopia

Whether you admire him or fear him, Peter Thiel s influence has been undeniable. In this deeply reported and gripping biography, Max Chafkin reveals the lessons behind Thiel s rise. 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 Better