Careless People

This book hooked me. I finished it in a night.

Sarah does an excellent job being honest about the horrid behavior of Meta's executives without the book feeling like a screed or an act of vengeance. Simply put, these were powerful people who misused their influence, either through active malice or (more often, as the title suggests) carelessness.

The author opens the book by narrating a powerful experience from her childhood. She uses it to explain the origins of her idealistic worldview. She's consistently self-critical, and investigates her complicity in Facebook/Meta's actions, as well as the strain she placed on her family by giving everything to the company.

Her psychoanalysis of Sheryl, Mark, and other Facebook leaders never feels overwrought. She draws conclusions about these people based on her actual experience. She is responsible, and doesn't extend her analysis into the realm of speculation (and she easily could have - it would have been fun for the reader).

I'm not a journalist, but a great deal of her observations on Facebook's inner workings are substantiated by publicly-available information. And her allegations that Facebook was essentially building spyware for the CCP are rightfully being investigated by Congress.

Sarah was courageous in publishing this book and I'm glad she did. It's a whistleblower's account, but it's also just a good book.