Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams
A workplace memoir charting a loss of idealism at Facebook, from the optimism of its role in the Arab Spring to when it was largely responsible for Trump’s first electoral victory, with horrifying stops along the way for their in the Rohingya genocide and collusion with the Chinese government to spy on, and censor, its citizens.
Author Wynn-Williams joined Facebook as their first real director of global public policy; a New Zealand born lawyer and diplomat, her naiveté and optimism is easy to laugh at now, for those that don’t remember the initial euphoria widely shared that the internet, and social platforms, could change the world for the better. A now sadly predictable account follows of a toxic workplace rife with sexual harassment, racism, nepotism, hypocrisy and above else, respect for the bottom line above all else.
Wynn-Williams convincingly makes the point that FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg could have gone in a different direction – towards good – and still been one of the richest men in the world, but simply didn’t bother, obsessed instead with his own vanity projects and sudden whims. Sandberg doesn’t come off much better; as many suspected from when Lean In was first published, it’s easier to do so when you’re already obscenely wealthy and have a staff to take care of your children and various homes, and that it’s one thing to speak truth to power when you are the power than it is as an employee desperate to hold onto your health insurance and mortgage.
The most notable thing about this book may be how readable it is. So much of the content is horrifying (if unsurprising) and yet it’s a fun, fast read that would be as well suited to a five hour plane ride as a new Michael Connelly or Emily Henry book. The author starts things off with being attacked by a shark while on a family camping trip, and I continued turning pages in a blur straight through to the end. Unless you’re a CEO or a COO yourself, this a fast read with wide appeal.
Adult Non-Fiction pr8029940