Totaled

The Billion-Dollar Crash of the Startup that Took on Big Auto, Big Oil and the World

Non-Fiction - Business/Finance
358 Pages
Reviewed on 09/04/2017
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Totaled: The Billion-Dollar Crash of the Startup that Took on Big Auto, Big Oil and the World by Brian Blum tells the incredible story of how an electric car start-up company, called Better Place, shot up and then fell back to earth with a crash. Everyone wants to know why. After all, this was the technology that was going to change the entire world. CEO Shai Agassi appeared everywhere, on television, at TED talks, and he had world leaders jumping to join him. Yet, within a few years, Better Place was gone, a victim of the recession, corporate scandal, and disruptions in technology. There are many theories about what went wrong, but this is the truth, the real story behind the crash of Better Place.

Totaled: The Billion-Dollar Crash of the Startup that Took on Big Auto, Big Oil and the World by Brian Blum is one of those stories that I didn’t think I would enjoy but, wow, what a story! This is a fascinating look at the ups and downs of Better Place, of where and why it all went wrong. It is a complicated story and there are many players in it - lose a second and you will lose the thread! It’s a real page-turner and an eye-opener, clearly and concisely written and an absolute must-read for those who like to read about startup companies, especially those in the technical world, and for those who are interested in dirty politics. Better Place wanted to change the world and they certainly did – just not in the way they had hoped!