''Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley'' is an autobiography written by American tech entrepreneur
Antonio García Martínez. The book likens
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
to the "
Chaos Monkeys" of society. In the book, the author details his career experiences with launching a tech startup, selling it to Twitter, and working at Facebook from its pre-IPO stage.
Summary
''Chaos Monkeys'' recounts Antonio Garcia Martinez's career path. It starts as Martinez explains his quant work at Goldman, to an existing startup, to his own startup, and ultimately to larger Silicon Valley companies. He writes about real situations and discloses the inside stories he believes fill every industry. Garcia attempts to explain how advertising technology, startups, and venture capital work.
Reception
''
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' reported, "Unlike most founding narratives that flow out of the Valley, ''Chaos Monkeys'' dives into the unburnished, day-to-day realities: the frantic pivots, the enthusiastic ass-kissing, the excruciating internal politics....
arciacan be rude, but he's shrewd, too." In
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's review, the headline says the book "compares Facebook's culture to fascism but fails to prove it". ''
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
I ...
'' wrote, "If you're in a startup or even plan to sue one, ''Chaos Monkeys'' is the book to read."
On May 10, 2021, ''
Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' reported that the author had been hired by
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
. Opposition quickly mounted within the firm, and the book
became notorious for what some claimed was misogynistic content, including the following and many similar passages:
The Verge quoted those passages in this fuller context where García Martínez was contrasting "women in the Bay Area" to the impressively capable woman he was involved with, who had the opposite characteristics.
Over 2,000 employees signing a letter demanding an investigation into the failures of the background check process that allowed him to be hired.
On May 12, Apple announced that Martínez had been fired.
References
External links
*
Author website
{{Authority control
Autobiographies
2016 non-fiction books
HarperCollins books
Books about computer and internet entrepreneurs