{"product_id":"how-to-rule-the-world-an-education-in-power-at-stanford-university","title":"How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe instant\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003ebestseller • Named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, Barnes \u0026amp; Noble, Amazon, and Apple Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A rigorous, self-assured, propulsive, at times terrifying portrait of a dweebocracy that ‘sets the agenda for the planet’ . . . in the tradition of Michael Lewis’s Wall Street chronicle\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eLiar’s Poker\u003c\/em\u003e.” —\u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e“A romp and rollick of a read.” —Andrew Ross Sorkin, #1\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebestselling author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e1929\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom Theo Baker, winner of the George Polk Award for his investigation that brought down Stanford’s president, comes a revelatory and gripping account of Silicon Valley hubris.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSlush funds. Shell companies. Yacht parties. This is life for Silicon Valley’s favored teenagers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeventeen-year-old Theo Baker showed up for freshman year at Stanford University as a tech-obsessed coder. It seemed like paradise. There were Rodin sculptures next to nuclear laboratories and inventors lounging with Olympians. But Baker soon discovered a culture that embraced corner-cutting, that vested infinite excess and access in the hands of kids with few safeguards to catch bad behavior.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStanford, he realized, was less a school than a business. Its annual budget was nearly twice that of Harvard or Yale and higher than those of 116 countries. The product? Students. Especially those special few identified as the next trillion-dollar startup founders. For them, there were secret societies, “pre-idea” funding offers, and social calls from billionaires, all with the expectation that these geniuses would soon join the ruling elite.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt the helm of this business was Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a superstar neuroscientist and wealthy biotech executive. But when Baker joined the student newspaper and started poking around the Stanford president’s record, he discovered never-reported allegations of research misconduct in studies published across two decades bearing Tessier-Lavigne’s name.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnly one month into college and thousands of miles from home, Baker began receiving anonymous letters, going on stakeouts, and tracking down confidential sources. High-powered lawyers and public relations teams were hired to attack his reporting. Stanford opened an investigation into its own leader. And by the end of the year, Tessier-Lavigne was out as president.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is the incredible journey of a reluctant teenage reporter who uncovered a story that shook the scientific world and became front-page news across the country. It is also an unprecedented inside view of the students learning to rule the world—and what they’re learning from those who already do.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eHow to Rule the World\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a shocking, hilarious, and moving debut, showcasing Silicon Valley’s training ground as never before.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished on May 19, 2026\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46279252082745,"sku":null,"price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0634\/9868\/2425\/files\/9780593832837.jpg?v=1785963990","url":"https:\/\/youshouldreadbox.com\/products\/how-to-rule-the-world-an-education-in-power-at-stanford-university","provider":"You Should Read","version":"1.0","type":"link"}