Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

"Machiavelli said that conspiracy were weapons of the people. Only princes could afford to send an army against another army, he observed, but the conspiracy is available to every man which is why it is usually the desperate who turn to conspiracy and why the powerful fears them so much". This is a quote from chapter 3 of the book. If you ever wanted to read a book on how to take revenge or how to plan a conspiracy? This is the book. With the wisdom of michaevelli guiding you and the story of Peter Theil you will understand how you too can take karma in your hands. Pitfalls of the conspiracy are also listed in this book. Overall a very knowledgeable and thought provoking book. A must read for everybody who loves revenge plots.

On the surface, Conspiracy might appear like Silicon valley version of 'The Count Of Monte Cristo'. A Conspiracy by a Billionaire against a multi-millionaire who wronged him. Ryan Holiday has written a engaging book on Thiel & Co's legal battle against Gawker and their victory after a decade. He makes a good case why the world needs more conspiracy and not less. Because Transparency carries the weight of moral imperative only in the modern mind. And History is a long exercise in the triumph of secrets. A Conspiracy, according to Machiavelli, moves through three distinct phases: the planning, the doing, and the aftermath. Ryan take us through the three said phases from the genesis of the conflict in 2007 when Gawker outed Peter Thiel. One of the important lesson in the book for me is that Peter Thiel strongly believe in the power of human agency to change things instead of accepted the status quo. Peter is one of those “High agency people” who pursued legal means to recourse despite everyone around him said nothing can be done and that's how the world operates. The book is replete with intrigues and strategies for one to follow. As a non-American, its appears to me that Gawker has violated the fourth amendment by publishing Hogan's videos and the law has taken its course. Its shame that there is a media witch-hunt against Peter Thiel following the revelation that he sponsored Hulk Hogan's case against Gawker. We don't what cool and controversial ideas he keeps to himself. Overall an engaging page turner.

Here is a book that takes you through a decade of scheming, secrecy and conspiring with a goal to destroy a questionable publisher. The question that remains is whether the effort was really worth it given the backlash against the conspirators.

Pros: Thoroughly researched Fast paced page turner. Finished reading it in less than 24 hours Cons: Lot of unnecessary tangential quotes from history and other books. It kind of distracted the narrative. The book could have been reduced by 1/3rd in size.

Peter Thiel develops a strategy to take the might of Gawker media. The chances are bleak. However, with some favourable winds and a lot of thinking, he takes on the notorious media company. Ryan Holiday is an excellent author who analyses in characters as well as the events in detail and presents in a lucid language. A must read indeed.

It's an amazing book! It made me re-read The Prince and the Discourses again. I've loved Peter Thiel's Zero to One, and it contains many references from that book.

Nice book,

Insightful.