The prescient account of a journey in Silicon Valley: a defining memoir of our digital age. In her mid-twenties|at the height of tech industry idealism|Anna Wiener—stuck|broke|and looking for meaning in her work|like any good millennial—left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy. She moved from New York to San Francisco|where she landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble: a world of surreal extravagance|dubious success|and fresh-faced entrepreneurs hell-bent on domination|glory|and|of course|progress. Anna arrived during a massive cultural shift|as the tech industry rapidly transformed into a locus of wealth and power rivaling Wall Street. But amid the company ski vacations and in-office speakeasies|boyish camaraderie and ride-or-die corporate fealty|a new Silicon Valley began to emerge: one in far over its head|one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building. Part coming-of-age-story|part portrait of an already bygone era|Anna Wiener’s memoir|Uncanny Valley|is a rare first-person glimpse into high-flying|reckless startup culture at a time of unchecked ambition|unregulated surveillance|wild fortune|and accelerating political power. With wit|candor|and heart|Anna deftly charts the tech industry’s shift from self-appointed world savior to democracy-endangering liability|alongside a personal narrative of aspiration|ambivalence|and disillusionment.
