Battle for the Bird

Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk and the $44 Billion Fight for Twitter's Soul

By: Kurt Wagner

Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The gripping corporate saga of Twitter's titans and their journey towards power, innovation, and controversy.

'Comprehensive . . . a definitive history' The Times

'Battle For The Bird is an absolute triumph of reporting and storytelling.' Ashlee Vance, bestselling author of Elon Musk

'If you want to understand how one of the most powerful social networks in history managed to be such a dramatic corporate disaster, you must read Kurt Wagner's deeply reported inside story.' Sarah Frier, author of Financial Times and McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram

On October 28th, hours after completing a $44 billion takeover of Twitter, Elon Musk Tweeted to his millions of followers 'The bird is freed.'

Musk's takeover of Twitter was one of the most audacious and remarkable deals in tech history. The Battle for Twitter takes listeners back to the very beginning and how we reached this point. It looks at the origins of the platform, the vision of its cofounder Jack Dorsey, and how it became a battleground for ideas, controversies, and viral moments that shaped the world we live in today.

With meticulous research and unprecedented access, author Kurt Wagner paints a vivid portrait of power struggles, bitter rivalries, and groundbreaking decisions that have shaped the evolution of Twitter. From Musk's audacious tweets to Dorsey's enigmatic persona, Battle for the Bird uncovers the depths of their involvement, revealing the forces that have propelled them to the forefront of global attention.

In this gripping corporate saga, delve into the minds of these visionary figures as they engage in a high-stakes battle for dominance, reshaping the very fabric of social media.

©2024 Kurt Wagner (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"In Battle for the Bird, Kurt Wagner tells a gripping tale of the high-stakes struggle to control Twitter, one of the world's most influential companies, and the insane, mind-boggling, chaotic battle between Elon Musk, the Twitter board and Jack Dorsey, as the entire concept of free speech hung in the balance." -- Nick Bilton, author of Hatching Twitter and Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair

"Battle For The Bird is an absolute triumph of reporting and storytelling. Kurt Wagner puts the reader into the room - all the rooms - as one of the great business dramas unfolds and provides an unmatched account of the chaos, power struggles and excitement that have defined the company's existence." -- Ashlee Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk and host of Bloomberg's "Hello World"

"If you want to understand how one of the most powerful social networks in history managed to be such a dramatic corporate disaster, you must read Kurt Wagner's deeply reported inside story. Battle for the Bird is a warning for Elon Musk: running Twitter is not rocket science." -- Sarah Frier, author of Financial Times and McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram