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Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber Hardcover – September 3, 2019
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New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A New York Times technology correspondent presents the dramatic story of Uber, the Silicon Valley startup at the center of one of the great venture capital power struggles of our time.
In June 2017, Travis Kalanick, the hard-charging CEO of Uber, was ousted in a boardroom coup that capped a brutal year for the transportation giant. Uber had catapulted to the top of the tech world, yet for many came to symbolize everything wrong with Silicon Valley.
Award-winning New York Times technology correspondent Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped presents the dramatic rise and fall of Uber, set against an era of rapid upheaval in Silicon Valley. Backed by billions in venture capital dollars and led by a brash and ambitious founder, Uber promised to revolutionize the way we move people and goods through the world. A near instant “unicorn,” Uber seemed poised to take its place next to Amazon, Apple, and Google as a technology giant.
What followed would become a corporate cautionary tale about the perils of startup culture and a vivid example of how blind worship of startup founders can go wildly wrong. Isaac recounts Uber’s pitched battles with taxi unions and drivers, the company’s toxic internal culture, and the bare-knuckle tactics it devised to overcome obstacles in its quest for dominance. With billions of dollars at stake, Isaac shows how venture capitalists asserted their power and seized control of the startup as it fought its way toward its fateful IPO.
Based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Uber employees, along with previously unpublished documents, Super Pumped is a page-turning story of ambition and deception, obscene wealth, and bad behavior that explores how blistering technological and financial innovation culminated in one of the most catastrophic twelve-month periods in American corporate history.
- Print length408 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication dateSeptember 3, 2019
- Dimensions6.5 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
- ISBN-100393652246
- ISBN-13978-0393652246
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Review
- John Carreyrou, author of Bad Blood
“[Isaac’s] meticulously reported account of Uber’s trajectory avoids the easy paths.”
- Nitasha Tiku, WIRED
“Isaac is great at the ticktock of events as they unfold, but his best work comes when he steps back to examine the bigger picture.”
- Leslie Berlin, New York Times Book Review
“[Isaac] spins a compelling yarn. . . [Super Pumped] is no dry business profile but a tale that Isaac has deeply reported yet still made accessible.”
- William Nottingham, Los Angeles Times
“A devastating expose.”
- John Arlidge, The Times
“The first thing to know about Mike Isaac’s new book is that it’s wildly entertaining. But it’s also a very important read, because Isaac shows how Uber’s messy inner workings and dramatic power struggles have made a company that, for better and worse, is now part of the fabric of modern life.”
- Bethany McLean, author of The Smartest Guys in the Room
“Travis Kalanick changed an entire industry, made billions of dollars, and made a company into a verb, and he did so by destroying anything and anyone who stepped in his way. A riveting read about bro culture gone awry.”
- Nick Bilton, special correspondent, Vanity Fair
“A gripping, masterfully reported book that offers an essential window into what can go wrong with Silicon Valley’s growth-at-any-cost culture.”
- Sheelah Kolhatkar, author of Black Edge
“Reading more like a soap opera than a business book. . . Super Pumped goes beyond the business profile to reveal something deeper and darker. The Uber of Super Pumped―most likely still the Uber of today―is not just a business; it’s a Beast.”
- B. David Zarley, Paste
“A detailed, unsparing account of entrepreneurial arrogance, breathtaking excess, and cutthroat competition at one of the tech industry’s most vaunted, loathed, and socially transformative companies. In tracking Uber’s turbulent trajectory and Kalanick’s eventual fall from grace, Mike Isaac illuminates―and indicts―some of the business practices, cultural values, and mythologies shaping our new social infrastructure.”
- Anna Wiener, author of Uncanny Valley
“[R]ollickingly entertaining.”
- Edward Niedermeyer, The Drive
“Many people have an Uber story – this is the Uber story, and it’s a corporate nightmare. Once poised to take its place beside Amazon, Facebook and Google as a blue-chip tech giant, Uber’s disastrous IPO was the result of ruthless ambition, misconduct and billions of dollars gone awry.”
- Newsday
“[E]xpansive and lucid. …the definitive Uber book.”
- Noah Kulwin, The Baffler
“Mike Isaac’s new book about Uber provides many lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs, technologists and elected officials, and for society as a whole.”
- Dylan Schleicher, Porchlight Books
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
- Publication date : September 3, 2019
- Edition : 1st
- Language : English
- Print length : 408 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0393652246
- ISBN-13 : 978-0393652246
- Item Weight : 1.4 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #404,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #60 in Venture Capital (Books)
- #67 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
- #159 in Workplace Culture (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Mike Isaac is a technology reporter at the New York Times whose Uber coverage won the Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business reporting. He writes frequently about Uber, Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants for the Times, and appears often on CNBC and MSNBC. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book to be a gripping read with detailed storytelling and easy-to-read writing style. Moreover, the book provides valuable insights into the company, with one customer noting it's particularly relevant in the era of tech billionaires. Additionally, customers appreciate its entertainment value, with one describing it as a non-stop thrill ride. However, the pacing receives mixed reactions, with some finding it fast-paced while others note it's a long read.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book readable and important, with one describing it as an intense read.
"Halfway through and yes, it's quite remarkable. It is like the author was hiding behind doorways in some conversations...." Read more
"Mike Isaac's Super Pumped on Uber is an overall good first effort from the NYT journalist, although it doesn't live up to the high watermark set by..." Read more
"I just finished reading an excellent new book that was just released last week...." Read more
"...So not sure I have an unbiased way of reading this excellent book...." Read more
Customers find the book's storytelling engaging and gripping, with detailed coverage of the Uber saga.
"...Isaac is without a doubt a stellar reporter, having unearthed a number of details I did not know from previous coverage of the (in)famous Silicon..." Read more
"...It’s the complete inside story of Uber from it’s earliest beginnings all the way up to and including the ouster and replacement of its founder and..." Read more
"...down Silicon Valley culture, vernacular, and history that was crucial to understanding the story...." Read more
"...The story as it's told is quite compelling-- it cobbles together interviews with VCs, current and former employees, allies as well as adversaries..." Read more
Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting that it reads like a novel and is easy to read.
"...The writing is also very good -- fast reading and I'm finding myself obsessed with this story...." Read more
"...It is one of the best written and thoroughly researched books about the technology world that I have read...." Read more
"...Engaging and well written and clearly exceptionally well sourced...." Read more
"...My biggest gripe is that it's rife with odd factual and narrative errors. A lot of these things are easy to find via a cursory Google search...." Read more
Customers find the book highly entertaining and engaging, with one describing it as a non-stop thrill ride.
"...haven't seen all of it, I think it feels fair and even-handed, not over-sensational...." Read more
"...Engaging and well written and clearly exceptionally well sourced...." Read more
"...This entertaining book gives valuable insight into how the company was created and run, with Travis Kalanick at the center of all major decisions,..." Read more
"...It is a non-stop thrill ride that really brings you into the boardroom and how ego turned endangered the hottest company of the last decade...." Read more
Customers find the book highly insightful, appreciating its thorough research and how it provides valuable insights into the company, with one customer noting that nothing is unexplained or lacking in context.
"...Nothing is ever unexplained or lacking in context...." Read more
"...It contains some interesting information about the story of Uber but fails at being an enjoyable read...." Read more
"...I definitely got some interesting insights into the company...." Read more
"...The background and context was just the right amount of info to really give insight into the people involved...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's investment value, with one customer highlighting the significant profit margins and another noting its relevance in the era of tech billionaires.
"...anyone interested in the Silicon Valley world of startups, big money venture capital, technology, rampant arrogance and all things excess...." Read more
"...All this turned out well for the venture capital funds because they were able to unload the stock in the public markets...." Read more
"...saddened the the problems will not go away because there's too much money sloshing around looking for the next big thing, with investors all FOMO..." Read more
"...Most of the informations I found there, although very valuable, appeared to me to be publicly available...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's well-researched and detailed look at Uber, with one customer noting its unique perspective on Silicon Valley.
"Super fascinating look into a company I thought I knew about. The book was very readable and enjoyable...." Read more
"A fascinating and well researched inside look into the world of one of Silicon Valley's most successful companies, its visionary and controversial..." Read more
"...The story of Uber and Travis Kalanick are unique and profoundly interesting at every step." Read more
"Unusual look behind the scenes at the SV venture world. Lots of key players interviewed. Fascinating!" Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it a fast-paced read while others note it is unnecessarily lengthy.
"...The writing is also very good -- fast reading and I'm finding myself obsessed with this story...." Read more
"...It is focused on the personalities and doesn't spend considerable time on the business of Uber...." Read more
"...The book provides a good portrait of Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, and the early days of Uber...." Read more
"...The book is un-put-downable, and he moves things quickly but without losing sight of the underlying themes...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2019Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseHalfway through and yes, it's quite remarkable. It is like the author was hiding behind doorways in some conversations.
So far, and admittedly I haven't seen all of it, I think it feels fair and even-handed, not over-sensational.
The writing is also very good -- fast reading and I'm finding myself obsessed with this story.
Hard not to compare it to Bad Blood, equally juicy. The difference is that we all saw this -- we were all riding Ubers and loving the convenience and celebrating the fact that is has transformed urban transportation.
And we all knew someone who worked there and hated the culture -- but who wanted to stay to cash out.
Will update more in a day or two, with more thoughts and details.
UPDATE: <100 pages to go
I am obsessed with this book and the story. I find it so amazing that such a large, transformative company was run just so poorly. I'm at the point where Bad Boy Travis is taking a break from the company -- and I do feel sorry for him, up to a point. I don't feel sorry for the enablers -- some whom I think Isaac let off pretty lightly. In fact, many of the characters he describes show up (at least up to this point) as quite admirable, such as the CTO Thuan Pham, among others.
I cannot wait to talk about this book with friends and observers. I am less sanguine that it cannot happen again, and again and again, because the whole startup/crazy money chasing the next big thing/bro culture has no reason to change.
UPDATE: finished the book and just raced through toward the end. I think everyone interested in startups/disruption and tech in general should read this book, for what it says about the whole cycle of money-funding-new-ideas.
Was riveted by the ins and outs of Benchmark's actions and how one of the most founder-friendly firms in Silicon Valley, could push out a CEO who controls the shares and the board!
Yes, I loved reading the book but am saddened the the problems will not go away because there's too much money sloshing around looking for the next big thing, with investors all FOMO about the next bro startup. Kalanick, who Mike Isaac described as having a philosophy of "Ayn Rand meets Wolf of Wall Street," is part of the system, not an outlier. Susan Fower's "very strange year" at Uber is happening again in firms all over, venture firms are ignoring women founders, and tools like AI propogate the same old ideas. Sigh.
Still, it's great to dissect how this very visible company jumped the shark, and keep the conversation going about how Silicon Valley, innovators, and investors can do much, much better.
OK, sermon over.
Thanks for reading.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2019Format: KindleVerified PurchaseMike Isaac's Super Pumped on Uber is an overall good first effort from the NYT journalist, although it doesn't live up to the high watermark set by John Carreyrou's Bad Blood on Theranos.
Super Pumped truly shines in its later chapters: Isaac's blow-by-blow coverage of Uber founder Travis Kalanick's ouster kept me on the edge of my seat, as did his description of the successor CEO selection process. Isaac is without a doubt a stellar reporter, having unearthed a number of details I did not know from previous coverage of the (in)famous Silicon Valley company. He is thorough with the scoops and maintains a consistent voice throughout.
The things I liked less about Super Pumped could all be ascribed to the fact that Isaac struggles somewhat in making the transition from writing newspaper articles to writing a book. The beginning and ending chapters are linear, resulting in a smooth story. The middle chapters' timeline doesn't follow the same path, resulting in a more confusing narrative as there is a lot going on: Uber's growth in cities, outside the US, as well as its challenges.
At times, Isaac is more concerned about highlighting how the journalistic scoop unfolded rather than zooming in on the actual story. Additionally, Isaac's providing a few sentences on background is perfectly acceptable for a newspaper article, but seems "jumpy" in a book. For instance, we've already been introduced to Plouffe (Uber's political strategist) in the prologue, no need to reiterate his resume in Chapter 12 - it's just an unnecessary "break" in the story.
Other nits to pick: Isaac mentions that the term "unicorn" was coined in 2013 by a venture capitalist, but doesn't call out that venture capitalist’s name (Aileen Lee) - a bummer for a book where the treatment of women in tech is a prominent subject. Also, I occasionally scratched my head at the author's apparent obsession with people's height. Few of the characters escaped a comment on that topic, even when it seemed irrelevant to their story (with the exception of Bill Gurley, of course).
I'm grateful for the read though, not least because it ends on what I think is an optimistic note. Isaac shows us glimpses of the seeds of redemption for Kalanick. I'm hopeful one day I'll read the book on that story too.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2019Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI just finished reading an excellent new book that was just released last week. It is one of the best written and thoroughly researched books about the technology world that I have read.
It’s the complete inside story of Uber from it’s earliest beginnings all the way up to and including the ouster and replacement of its founder and egocentric CEO Travis Kalanick and how the company he started came perilously close to going down in flames and for which the jury is still out.
I really enjoyed this book and would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in the Silicon Valley world of startups, big money venture capital, technology, rampant arrogance and all things excess. The author, Mike Isaac, is a senior technical reporter for the New York Times who has closely followed and written hundreds of articles about Uber since 2014.
This is a GREAT read!!!👍👍👍👍👍
- Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2020Format: KindleVerified PurchaseA shocking to me number of people named in this book are folks I know from having been in SF and Silicon Valley since 2005. So not sure I have an unbiased way of reading this excellent book. But biased as I am (towards the camp that Uber represents a lot of bad patterns) this book was a fantastic read. Engaging and well written and clearly exceptionally well sourced.
The story is far from over but ending just after the IPO is as good a place as any - though I anticipate that there may need to be further updates/postscripts added to future editions of this book. Editions which I’m confident will likely be needed as this book should be part of a library of books recommended to anyone building or considering working at a startup.
Top reviews from other countries
- Neshan Dias, CEO BhooztReviewed in Australia on October 3, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - even if you know the story
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseFrom an ex tech journo, who has read every book on the Valley and knew the Uber story before reading this, the book can br sumed up in one word: brilliant.
You won't put it down once you start. Amazing story, told well. Super pumped. Respect.
- Shawne MohlReviewed in Canada on September 22, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read if you like reading about Silicon Valley
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI really enjoy true story books. For some reason I cannot get into "make belief" stories, so I enjoyed this book for that reason along with a few others. The start-up World of Silicon Valley is cut throat and this book explains exactly what into the making of Uber, and primarily about it's founder. Uber is a huge success but it could have failed at a few different points, so made it interesting to learn about thing - a lot of things I never knew about the company. The author is a journalist as well, so he writes a good read that is easy to follow, he explains things well, and it's a solid read. I would recommend this book if you like reading about true events and tech start-ups.
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Sérgio Augusto GazzolaReviewed in Brazil on May 6, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Vale por um MBA sobre startups
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseNarrativa completa e abrangente sobre tudo que envolve uma startup - concretização da ideia, empreendedores, investidores e relação com a sociedade. Imperdível para quem quer entender esse mundo
- Mr Dibyasingha ParijaReviewed in India on October 28, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Best choice to read
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase"I found [super pumped] by Mike Isaac to be a fantastic read! The book was both informative and inspiring, filled with useful insights that can be applied in real life. Ubers’s journey and innovative ideas are well-captured. ''
- Luke software developerReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written detailed factual account of a start up that went global. Strongly recommended
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseProfessionally written and a superb, engrossing story. It follows the initial start up and evolution of the idea from an elite limousine service to one where anyone with a car can become a taxi driver. The use of ex spies to identify potential law enforcement officials and then the development and use of the 'grey ball' software to evade them is breathtaking. The negotiations with venture capitalists are instructive. The use and misuse of customer data is an important case study. The denouement where CEO Travis is forced out is riveting and instructive about corporate governance. Travis leaves with $5 billion after 8 years work but casualties along the way.