Careless People
By Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Release Date: 2025-03-11
- Genre: Social Science
Description
#1 New York Times Bestseller
A 2025 best book of the year so far by The New York Times, The Economist, NPR, and more
“Careless People is darkly funny and genuinely shocking...Not only does [Sarah Wynn-Williams] have the storytelling chops to unspool a gripping narrative; she also delivers the goods." -Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
“When one of the world’s most powerful media companies tries to snuff out a book — amid other alarming attacks on free speech in America like this — it’s time to pull out all the stops.” –Ron Charles, The Washington Post
An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Facebook, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to “lean in.”
Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.
Reviews
Read this, then delete your Facebook account
5By Elizabeth SAIf you think Big Business doesn’t operate as the author describes, you have never worked for a global company nor seen the executive suite behind closed doors. I have, and what she writes rings true. If she’s “lying” then she has a career as a best selling novelist ahead of her.Compelling
5By Dmarden2The book allows one an inside track to the inner workings of corporate America. Explains a lot as to why Facebook/Meta/Zuckerberg is where we are at in 2025. Sad state of affairs.Awesome
5By ApperloverI’m recommending this to everyone I know.Fantastic read!
5By ruchi01993Relevant in the 21st centuryAbout as ingenuous as the subject
1By Dadfish55Sad it wasn’t better written, and all the sanctimonious virtue signaling. Book needed to be written, sad the agenda ruined facts. When someone is part of the problem, their recollections suffer.Incredibly engaging
5By 12patty12Great read end to end. Where do I delete my FB?Jaw Dropping
5By Alyssa WhoamiAbsolutely jaw dropping. Worth a read.Frightening!
4By CBFL52063A must-read for anyone who uses social media. Understand how they are attempting to control every aspect of your life!Fantastic and Shocking
5By cv1234txA fantastic read on the evolution of Facebook and the people behind it.Scary Read
5By Rob.HagertyDid not realize this would be such a sobering look at Facebook/meta as a company. Very helpful to understand and fascinating to learn Mark Zuckerberg wants to run for president.Frustrating Whistleblower Memoir
2By Meme123**If Careless People proves anything, it’s that we, as individuals, need to be more aware of when we’re not just standing by and watching something harmful happen—but actively facilitating it. Sarah may not have been the mastermind behind all this, but she was an enabler. And for all her whistleblowing, she never really reckons with that. Which made it a fascinating but frustrating read.Engrossing and gross
4By BLBKGGhost written or not, this is a riveting read with something important to say. It links the dots between the many investigations and journalist efforts in the last decade about Facebook’s undeniable role in tilling, sowing, watering, ripening, and harvesting radical influences on everyone of all ages. Sarah would know best, but I question if this is careless at all … it seems all very carefully ignored or part of the plan by the most senior leaders of the company. It’s instructive in how money and power absolutely warp the realities of not just the powerful but everyone. There is nothing shocking about Mark’s blatant power grasping with world leaders the last 12 months. As with any big expose, I wouldn’t mind there being as many citations as possible and that is wholly missing in this book.Thriller
5By Jersey Shore Girl 1014Oh my goodness. What can I write about this book that will convince you to purchase? First of all, it reads like a thriller. Second of all, it’s extremely well written. Thirdly, it’s hard to believe how people in power waste (because of their privilege) what good they could do vs. their horrible decisions, all in pursuit of money, more money and more power. And behind all of this is a woman wanting to do the honorable and right thing, being blocked at almost every corner. Bravo to the author. Every one should read this book.Amazing read
5By Daniel123456789101112Amazing read!Read. This. Book.
5By Auggie's ManThen please post it to your Facebook account, tell others to read it, then delete your account. Please.Lot of hand wringing and pearl clutching
1By jesuschriststopaskingMeh…This is the evil of our time
5By kalil chris 13These tech corporations are the darkness of our time. TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, etc…they are evil, vile, and vapid. This book might be about Zuckerberg’s specific flavor of narcissism and incompetence but rest assured that if you peeled up the rocks at any of these places you would see the exact same rot.Fascinating, believable, well done
5By Dw11811This is a very good read. The author is skilled and takes us through spaces ranging from very personal (baby delivering) through global (Davos, UN conclaves). She brings a sense of decency and cultural awareness to her observations of the internal workings of the top management at FB. Qualities the ‘careless people’ clearly do not share. I wish this book and its author the best of luck. For the rest of us - let’s not necessarily believe what we see online. DWAn important read. Page turning.
5By PB CooksCareless people is about what happens when individuals take all of the power and wealth from their influence, but none of the responsibility. It’s also a reflection on feminism in the modern workplace - an example of leaders championing women’s rights publicly, while brushing them under the rug in practice. For the author, it’s a story of her slowly realizing how the world works, and how her dreams of making it better through Facebook slowly fall apart as she realizes the company doesn’t care about anything but itself.
