Super Pumped

The Battle for Uber

By: Mike Isaac

Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Isaac

A New York Times technology correspondent presents the dramatic rise and fall of Uber, set against the rapid upheaval in Silicon Valley during the mobile era.

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. In the tradition of Brad Stone’s Everything Store and John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, award-winning investigative reporter Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped delivers a gripping account of Uber’s rapid rise, its 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.

Based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Uber employees, along with previously unpublished documents, Super Pumped is a pause-resisting story of ambition and deception, obscene wealth and bad behavior that explores how blistering technological and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 12-month periods in American corporate history.

©2019 Mike Isaac (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Fantastic Investigative Reporting

I've been following Mike Isaac on Twitter for a couple years, and he has become one of the most entertaining figures in my Twitter timeline, both for his humor and his reporting. I preordered this book based on my enthusiasm for his Tweets and NY Times stories, and was not disappointed. If you enjoyed Carreyrou's Bad Blood, then Isaac's investigation into another (in)famous Silicon Valley company will also be a treat for you. I never had a desire to watch a movie about Travis Kalanick, but after finishing Super Pumped I think a film adaptation would be fantastic. Some of the most dramatic moments in the history of Uber would make for great movie scenes, especially with Isaac's masterful storytelling.

Exhilarating Unbiased Startup Story

Best audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Must have for any aspiring entrepreneur. Critiques Kalanick and Uber while praising them for what they got right

Top Level

I would have read this too fast as a paper book. I appreciate the author intro followed by the popular pro narrator. This book gives me adrenaline and I feel up to date on contemporary tech.

Great Business Biography

Detailed look at Uber and Travis Kalanick, from early startup to global corporation. Manages to tell the story without being biased on Kalanick.

A look into the dark side of tech-world

A fascinating perspective on good and evil. Mike Isaac did a masterful job of writing this book. I especially enjoyed the comprehensive details such as San Francisco taxi companies blacklisting Garrett Camp's mobile phone, which made him game the taxi system and launch the Uber.. I recommend this to everyone, especially young students of psychology and computer science. Your mother will love you!

Rollercoaster!

Strap in and get ready for one wild ride! This book had my attention from start to finish. Really interesting story about Uber, TK and how startups work. Also great insights into how much leaders influence culture, and in this case, created a toxic, untenable environment that almost brought about the downfall of this company.

Enjoyed It

loved it. stright forward and flows really well. after listening to this, I love Travis!

peace ☮️

Uber, inside and out

Mike Isaac does an incredibly thorough job documenting and presenting Uber’s successes and scandals through the company’s first near-decade. The reading can get a little melodramatic at times when the content is already compelling, but it certainly isn’t off putting.

Decent history of Über

Isaac provides many details in a somewhat chronological manner that makes it eager for the reader to follow the complex growth of the company. The only drawback is that he starts injecting his own beliefs blatantly towards the end of the book.

Great story, odd recording

both narrators' voices suffer from high audio distortion. e.g. the first narrator clicks often and the sometimes main narrator sounds like he's in a cave. would benefit from audio remastering.