Bad Blood
Bad Blood by John Carreyrouby John Carreyrou
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 15 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
A journalist's account of the Theranos scandal, praised as suspenseful, well written and revealing, and recommended for anyone interested in the people involved.
A journalist's account of the Theranos scandal, praised as suspenseful, well written and revealing, and recommended for anyone interested in the people involved.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 93%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 13 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good companion to the Theranos documentaries
“I read the book (Bad Blood) and watched the mini-series (The Dropout) -- both absolutely great!”
Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “Theranos.world” “You can just read Bad Blood, too, and skip the movie”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “The Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything” is deceiving”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Some readers think Holmes was treated unfairly
“Holmes might have been unfairly treated in Bad Blood”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? My Quest to Unmask Bitcoin's Creator”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Bad Bloodby John CarreyrouThis page | 13 | 1 | 93% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
10 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Would recommend those if someone is interested in the paths of the people involved in Theranos”
“thorough, well written and, to me, an excellent read”
“by the journalist who broke the story while Theranos was peaking”
“You can just read Bad Blood, too, and skip the movie”
“I read the book (Bad Blood) and watched the mini-series (The Dropout) -- both absolutely great!”
“My impression from the book is that companies "knew" is was bogus, but the FOMO was so strong”
“an obvious one is Bad Blood, about the Theranos scam”
“Holmes might have been unfairly treated in Bad Blood”
“a classic about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes”
“Full of suspense, amazing revelations. I highly recommend it.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.