Conspiracy

A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire's Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire

By: Ryan Holiday

Narrated by: Ryan Holiday

An NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2018!

A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called "one helluva page-turner" and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as "riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a fantastic read." Pick up the book everyone is talking about.

In 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical of Gawker Media, outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private.

This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker, its bankruptcy and with Nick Denton, Gawker's CEO and founder, out of a job. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental--it had been masterminded by Thiel.

For years, Thiel had searched endlessly for a solution to what he'd come to call the "Gawker Problem." When an unmarked envelope delivered an illegally recorded sex tape of Hogan with his best friend's wife, Gawker had seen the chance for millions of pageviews and to say the things that others were afraid to say. Thiel saw their publication of the tape as the opportunity he was looking for. He would come to pit Hogan against Gawker in a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, while Gawker remained confidently convinced they would prevail as they had over so many other lawsuit--until it was too late.

The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean--for the First Amendment? For privacy? For culture?

In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious--and successful--secret plots in recent memory.

Some will cheer Gawker's destruction and others will lament it, but after reading these pages--and seeing the access the author was given--no one will deny that there is something ruthless and brilliant about Peter Thiel's shocking attempt to shake up the world.

Critic reviews

“...a profound masterwork by a talented young writer...one helluva page-turner"—The New York Times

“In this age when people compete to be contrarian, it’s rare to encounter a genuinely startling proposition. That’s what makes the premise of Ryan Holiday’s ‘Conspiracy’ such a delight...’” —The Washington Post

“Brilliant and terrifying.” —Rich Cohen, author of The Fish That Ate the Whale and contributing editor of Vanity Fair

“A fantastic read.”—The Sunday Times

"Startlingly deep cultural history of conspiracies, examined through the lens of the brutally effective Gawker takedown, with full access to the main players." --Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz

“An artful examination of how true power really works and how it affects all of us.”—Michael Lombardi, host of GM Street on The Ringer and former Cleveland Browns general manager

“Every one of Ryan Holiday’s books is appointment reading for me. If he writes it, I make the time to read it.”—Brian Koppelman,producer and creator of Billions

“CONSPIRACY will captivate you, terrify you, intrigue you, and piss you off. It’s a sizzling, can’t-put-down, read-it-in-one-sitting story. Ryan Holiday has crafted a hell of a book!” -Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of SPYMASTER

“Ryan Holiday is one of his generation’s finest thinkers.”—Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire

“This book is the Art of War for any twenty-first century conspirator....A brilliant meditation on strategy, with numerous lessons.”—Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery

"Riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy...that is a fantastic read. Holiday is a fine writer. He brilliantly elucidates... [with] a reporter's eye for detail." --The Sunday Times of London

“More than mere business history, Holiday elevates the story into something far more lasting, casting Thiel's actions into the timeless mold of the conspirator: the man who, armed with patience and an indignant urge to reshape the world, co-opts allies, musters resources, lulls adversaries, and ultimately strikes when the time is right, changing everything. 'Conspiracy' will be the last word, the veil-lifting exposé, on that Gawker/Thiel war all of us read about, but none of use really understood, until now.” – Antonio Garcia Martinez, author of Chaos Monkeys

Interesting story read (very) poorly

Ryan Holiday takes us behind the scenes of a story that involves power, politics, law, revenge, and arrogance. While it also includes we the public, Holiday shows us a world few ever get to see. His research appears to be solid and relatively unbiased. While he has a point of view, it isn't too heavy-handed and this allows his reader to observe the circus at the core of his narrative without being nudged to take a particular side. This is not a story of heroes but of fractured people battling for both large amounts of money but mainly of what they see as a moral right -- free speech on the side of Gawker and the right to privacy on the side of Theil.

While this is a book about a conspiracy, it also (and I'd argue mainly) a book about strategy both legal and personal. In hindsight, many significant events where the outcome is unexpected (Black Swan events) are the result of small moves made at exactly the right time, the amplification of those moves by luck, and a significant amount of grit on the parts of the people involved. Holiday does an excellent job of weaving these themes together to show how all three of these factors played a role in leading to the result they did. This is where the book shines and makes for an engaging real-life drama.

The problem with this audio book isn't with the book at all but with narration. I've noticed there's a trend in recent audio books (particularly non-fiction) to have the author read the text (my guess is that its a money-saving move). I haven't enjoyed a single listening experience yet where this has been done. While the books are fine, the narration has been mediocre to poor. In one book, the author knew what he wanted to emphasize but it came across as preachy. In other books, the tone of the author's voice isn't strong enough to listen to for hours on end. In contrast, great narrators can make even a mediocre book enjoyable. Unfortunately, this book represents a new narrative low for me. Holiday reads the text as if there is a single word in front of him at a time and his cadence is staccato and jarring to the point of being almost unlistenable. Even at 1.5 speed, listening to the book becomes grating after just a few minutes.

My ask to publishers is to spend what is needed on a strong, professional narrator. The reader can make or break the overall experience of an audio book and either enhances the text or destroys it. I've stopped books entirely (some quite good) because I'm unable to endure a poor reader. I use audio books because the format works best for my lifestyle. Writers invest their time and life energy into creating great books. Please invest in making the audio version one that enhances that work.

An excellent story

holiday does a masterful job of retelling the story in a way that helps the reader and the modern American understand a real life conspiracy.

Very Interesting

Ryan Holiday does a great job of laying out the situation in an easy to read story that captivates the reader/listener. I was un-aware of this case and didn't see the reason to care about it until a friend recommended the book as a must read/listen and I couldn't agree more. Ryan Holiday connects the actions that played out to how it effects free speech and media rights as well as individuals' right to privacy.

Slow talker good book

The book was great and Holliday is an excellent writer but his narration was too slow and full of pauses in strange places. Recommend you play it at 1.2x speed

Great book / bad narration

1. I am a Ryan Holiday fan - his books on stoic philosophy are awesome, and I enjoyed the way he weaved the plot of this narrative together. Very well written.

2. Ryan should not read his own work. It was uncomfortable to listen to his awkward timing and intonation, and it sounded like he may have had some nasal congestion when he recorded the audio. Please leave the narration to a voice actor in the future.

Fascinating

I learned a lot from this book, and it was entertaining, like a novella. I'm not sure what else you could want from a book.

Engaging and Thought Provoking.

An in depth investigation into Peter Thiel's conspiracy against Gawker media. Ryan Holiday does a great job of guiding the reader through the whole process, allowing a window into the thought process of both the conspirators, and their opponents.

Good book until the author spent the last 3 chapters bashing trump and his supporters

If I would have wanted to purchase an editorial I would have purchase The NY Times
The novel was very entertaining until the last 3 chapters in which the author decided to become critical of trump and his supporters even taking it to the extreme in questioning if Thiels support of trump conflicts his true actions and beliefs
Would have preferred the author give me the heads up in the beginning, of the stupid content of the last 3 chapters so I could have avoided wasting 3 hours of my life listening to his shit. This is the problem with the liberal media, it is impossible to report accurately and unbiased. If you are a libertarian and Thiel admirer you will enjoy the story with the exemption of the last 3 editorial chapters so suggest concluding the book there. If you are a crazy liberal you should skip all preceding chapters and only read the last 3 chapters.
This is the same shit that has infiltrated espn. If I want to watch sports I don’t want to hear your fucking political views

Narration mars a well-crafted story.

Holiday is an excellent writer. He makes real drama out of what is an externally uneventful legalistic story, relating the events to the great and not-so-great conspiracies in history and literature, citing authors as diverse as Shakespeare, Seneca, and Machiavelli. Unfortunately, he does not do his own prose any favors in his audio rendering. He reads without any sense of direction of phrase. I’d still recommend the book, but know that you’ll listen to a reading who stops. On almost. Every. Word. At the end. Of a sentence.

Outstanding Story

This is a fantastic story of power, secrecy, and how to change the world. It is extremely relevant to those who wish the world was a better place, and offers wisdom about how to make it so.

I do wish the narration had been done by an actor, but that doesn’t take away from this book.

Listen and learn.