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Quick answer: If you loved Bad Blood, try The Smartest Guys in the Room, Billion Dollar Whale, Super Pumped, The Cult of We, Billion Dollar Loser and The Wizard of Lies. Each one exposes corporate fraud, startup hype or the people who were willing to look away.
John Carreyrou's prize-winning book tells how Elizabeth Holmes built Theranos, a startup worth billions that promised blood tests from a single drop. The technology did not work, but she kept the lie going with famous board members and threats of legal action. Carreyrou's Wall Street Journal investigation brought it all down. Readers love the suspense and the brave whistleblowers. These books share its reporting, its cautionary tales and its high stakes.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Topic | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Smartest Guys in the Room | Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind | Enron | readers who want the classic fraud story |
| Billion Dollar Whale | Tom Wright and Bradley Hope | 1MDB | readers who want a global scam |
| Super Pumped | Mike Isaac | Uber | readers who like startup chaos |
| The Cult of We | Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell | WeWork | readers who want the WeWork story |
| Billion Dollar Loser | Reeves Wiedeman | WeWork | readers who want another WeWork view |
| The Wizard of Lies | Diana B. Henriques | Bernie Madoff | readers who want the biggest Ponzi scheme |
| The Big Short | Michael Lewis | 2008 crisis | readers who like offbeat heroes |
| Liar's Poker | Michael Lewis | Wall Street | readers who like funny memoirs |
| Too Big to Fail | Andrew Ross Sorkin | 2008 crisis | readers who want the blow-by-blow |
| Barbarians at the Gate | Bryan Burrough and John Helyar | RJR Nabisco | readers who like corporate takeovers |
| Empire of Pain | Patrick Radden Keefe | Opioids | readers who want a family's secrets |
| Going Infinite | Michael Lewis | FTX | readers who want the crypto story |
| Number Go Up | Zeke Faux | Crypto | readers who like skeptical reporting |
| Catch Me If You Can | Frank W. Abagnale | Con artist | readers who want a fun con |
| Catch and Kill | Ronan Farrow | Media | readers who want a journalist's story |
1. The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
Reporters explain how Enron's collapse shocked America.
Best for: readers who want the classic fraud story.
2. Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope
A young financier siphons billions from a Malaysian fund.
Best for: readers who want a global scam.
3. Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
The inside story of Uber's rise and Travis Kalanick's fall.
Best for: readers who like startup chaos.
4. The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell
How Adam Neumann raised billions before WeWork imploded.
Best for: readers who want the WeWork story.
5. Billion Dollar Loser by Reeves Wiedeman
A second account of Neumann's rise and spectacular collapse.
Best for: readers who want another WeWork view.
6. The Wizard of Lies by Diana B. Henriques
A reporter investigates how Madoff fooled so many people.
Best for: readers who want the biggest Ponzi scheme.
7. The Big Short by Michael Lewis
A few outsiders bet against the housing bubble and win.
Best for: readers who like offbeat heroes.
8. Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
Lewis recalls his time as a young 1980s bond salesman.
Best for: readers who like funny memoirs.
9. Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin
How Wall Street and Washington handled the crisis.
Best for: readers who want the blow-by-blow.
10. Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
The greedy, wild fight to buy a huge American company.
Best for: readers who like corporate takeovers.
11. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
The story of the Sackler family and their fortune from OxyContin.
Best for: readers who want a family's secrets.
12. Going Infinite by Michael Lewis
Lewis profiles Sam Bankman-Fried before and after FTX collapsed.
Best for: readers who want the crypto story.
13. Number Go Up by Zeke Faux
A reporter travels the world to examine the crypto boom.
Best for: readers who like skeptical reporting.
14. Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale
A young man claims to have posed as a pilot and a doctor.
Best for: readers who want a fun con.
15. Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
Farrow describes the fight to report on Harvey Weinstein.
Best for: readers who want a journalist's story.
How to Choose
The closest match is The Smartest Guys in the Room, which has a similar rise-and-fall plot, a similarly charming leader and a similar reporting hero. If it was the startup culture that fascinated you, Super Pumped and The Cult of We show the same blind faith in charismatic founders. Billion Dollar Whale is a wild and very entertaining scam story. For crypto readers, Number Go Up gives you the skeptical view, and Going Infinite shows how a reporter can get close to his subject. If you enjoyed the journalism itself, Catch and Kill is another gripping account of a reporter under pressure. The Big Short is a fun read when you want the same outrage with more jokes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bad Blood about?
It tells how the startup Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes misled investors and patients about faulty blood tests.
Is Bad Blood a true story?
Yes. It is based on Carreyrou's reporting for The Wall Street Journal.
What happened to Elizabeth Holmes?
She was convicted of fraud in 2022 and sentenced to more than eleven years in prison.
Is there a TV show or podcast about it?
Yes. The Dropout, a podcast and Hulu series starring Amanda Seyfried, tells the same story.
Did Bad Blood win an award?
Yes. It won the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award in 2018.