Uncanny Valley

The groundbreaking autobiography of our digital age: a page-turning, prophetic story of a voyage through Silicon Valley

During the peak of the tech industry's idealism in her mid-twenties, Anna Wiener—like any other millennial stranded in the middle of nowhere and searching for purpose in her career—left her book publishing position to pursue the opportunities presented by the emerging digital economy. After leaving New York, she relocated to San Francisco and took a job at a big-data firm in the center of the Silicon Valley bubble. There, she entered a world of bizarre extravagance, questionable success, and youthful entrepreneurs determined to dominate, dominate, and, of course, advance.

When Anna came, there was a huge cultural revolution going on as the tech sector quickly became a powerhouse on par with Wall Street. However, in the midst of the boyish camaraderie, ride-or-die corporate allegiance, in-office speakeasies, and ski holidays sponsored by the firm, a new Silicon Valley started to emerge—one that was in over its head and enriched itself at the price of the ideal future it professed to be forging.

Anna Wiener's book is a unique first-hand look at the fast-paced, reckless startup culture during a period of unbridled ambition, uncontrolled surveillance, unbridled luck, and rapidly growing political power. It is part coming-of-age tale, half portrayal of an already-gone era. Together with a personal account of aspiration, ambivalence, and disillusionment, Anna skillfully tracks the internet industry's transition from self-appointed world savior to democracy-endangering liability with humor, candor, and heart.

Sharp and merciless, Uncanny Valley is a warning story and a groundbreaking examination of a civilization facing issues its inadvertent creators are only now starting to realize.