by Dan Lyons
First published 2017
Dan Lyons sits at his desk when the news hits: his journalism career at Newsweek is over. At fifty, with a family to support and bills to pay, he faces an uncertain future. Then an unexpected opportunity arrives from a fast-growing startup company. Lyons decides to trade his reporter's notebook for a corporate badge, entering the strange world of Silicon Valley business culture. His decades of professional experience mean nothing here. Employees sit on giant rubber balls instead of chairs. Colleagues who disappear under mysterious circumstances get labeled as "graduates" by management. Lyons struggles to understand what his busy coworkers actually accomplish each day. The startup environment operates by rules that make no sense to an outsider. Absurdity has become the normal way of doing business. Lyons watches this corporate theater with the sharp eye of a veteran journalist and the bewildered perspective of a middle-aged newcomer. His satirical observations reveal the gap between Silicon Valley's promises and its daily reality.
Genres: business, contemporary, non-fiction, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, workplace-comedy
Setting: Silicon Valley
Period: 21st Century
384 pages · Paperback · Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak