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The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir and the Rise of the Surveillance State
‘An excellent look at what Palantir does, as well as a fascinating insight into the mind of its eccentric chief executive’
Telegraph
Palantir Technologies is the most interesting company in the world – and the most controversial.
Palantir builds data integration its technology ingests vast quantities of information and quickly identifies patterns, trends and connections that might elude the human eye. Founded in 2003 to help the U.S. government in the war on terrorism – an early investor was the CIA – Palantir is now a $400 billion global colossus whose software is used by major intelligence services (including the Mossad), the U.S. military, the National Health Service in England, and corporate giants like Airbus and BP. From AI to counterterrorism to climate change to immigration to financial fraud to healthcare to the future of warfare, the company is at the nexus of the most critical issues of the twenty-first century.
Its billionaire CEO, Alex Karp, is a distinctive figure on the global business scene. A biracial Jew who is also severely dyslexic, Karp has built Palantir into a tech giant despite having no background in either business or computer science. Instead, he’s a trained philosopher who has become known for his strongly held views on a range of issues and for his willingness to grapple with the moral and ethical implications of Palantir’s work. Those questions have taken on added urgency during the Trump era, which has also brought attention to the political activism of Karp’s close friend and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.
In The Philosopher in the Valley, journalist Michael Steinberger is the first to tell the story of Alex Karp and Palantir from the beginning. Steinberger offers new biographical details and a rich psychological portrait of the man leading one of the world’s most secretive companies. Full of revelations, this is an urgent and insightful book about technological power, the surveillance state and the future we all face.
Palantir Technologies is the most interesting company in the world – and the most controversial.
Palantir builds data integration its technology ingests vast quantities of information and quickly identifies patterns, trends and connections that might elude the human eye. Founded in 2003 to help the U.S. government in the war on terrorism – an early investor was the CIA – Palantir is now a $400 billion global colossus whose software is used by major intelligence services (including the Mossad), the U.S. military, the National Health Service in England, and corporate giants like Airbus and BP. From AI to counterterrorism to climate change to immigration to financial fraud to healthcare to the future of warfare, the company is at the nexus of the most critical issues of the twenty-first century.
Its billionaire CEO, Alex Karp, is a distinctive figure on the global business scene. A biracial Jew who is also severely dyslexic, Karp has built Palantir into a tech giant despite having no background in either business or computer science. Instead, he’s a trained philosopher who has become known for his strongly held views on a range of issues and for his willingness to grapple with the moral and ethical implications of Palantir’s work. Those questions have taken on added urgency during the Trump era, which has also brought attention to the political activism of Karp’s close friend and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.
In The Philosopher in the Valley, journalist Michael Steinberger is the first to tell the story of Alex Karp and Palantir from the beginning. Steinberger offers new biographical details and a rich psychological portrait of the man leading one of the world’s most secretive companies. Full of revelations, this is an urgent and insightful book about technological power, the surveillance state and the future we all face.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
November 22, 2025
Only read about 3/4 and couldn’t finish. Author is a turbo shitlib and couldn’t help injecting his political views everywhere. Most of the book doesn’t even feel like a biography of Karp, his details probably only account for 1/4 of the book.
November 13, 2025
wasted opportunity
The book is supposed to be a biography of Karp, but the author’s politics gets in the way and is distracting and annoying. Look, I voted democrat for 30 years, so what!! The author presents Karp and Palanter through a philosophical and judgmental left wing progressive moral prism. What does the reader learn from this book? Answer: The author hates trump, loathes and detests him. Truly good biographers may reveal their personal political opinions from time to time in a biography ; great biographers almost never do. The author here is neither. So, this was a disappointing read.
The book is supposed to be a biography of Karp, but the author’s politics gets in the way and is distracting and annoying. Look, I voted democrat for 30 years, so what!! The author presents Karp and Palanter through a philosophical and judgmental left wing progressive moral prism. What does the reader learn from this book? Answer: The author hates trump, loathes and detests him. Truly good biographers may reveal their personal political opinions from time to time in a biography ; great biographers almost never do. The author here is neither. So, this was a disappointing read.
November 15, 2025
the author tainted a great biography
Alex Karp is Fascinating, but the author and all of his wokeness, destroyed the great insights about Alex. I wanted to read a book about the life of Alex Karp, not to hear the opinions of an author riddled with TDS.
Alex Karp is Fascinating, but the author and all of his wokeness, destroyed the great insights about Alex. I wanted to read a book about the life of Alex Karp, not to hear the opinions of an author riddled with TDS.
January 4, 2026
I devoured this book. Read paragraphs any empty moment I had. Thus the rating. Perhaps I read a different book than some of the reviewers. I did not find the book biased by author's politcal point of view. But of course that could be me. I read Karp's book but found this much more informative on the man himself.
One cannot escape the irony of his background, 1/2 black, Jewish, no formal education in management or technology, a self-proclaimed progressive who for most of his adult life had no respect for Trump. Yet here he is, a successful CEO of perhaps the world leading intelligence gathering companies, where his biggest customers are military and police, and various other government organizations.
His ideology seems to the opposite of Thiel's even as Karp began to be a Trump supporter, Thiel no longer supported the President, and had some fairly harsh words for Trump.
His job as CEO of a public company is to raise profits and stock price. You can check both of those boxes. IPO of around $10, and is currently $167.
Certainly the company has made many ethical/moral mistakes, and perhaps Karp's admiration of Trump is nothing more than a ploy to gain more government contracts, but equally true is that the software they distribute have saved 1000s of American lives.
They are at the forefront of the conflict between personal privacy vs global security. An easy target for many groups.
The trend continues. I have not yet met a CEO of a public company I would like to have dinner with. Great read, expertly written. A few points off for not interviewing Karp and Thiel at the same time and asking the tough questions with both in the room.
One cannot escape the irony of his background, 1/2 black, Jewish, no formal education in management or technology, a self-proclaimed progressive who for most of his adult life had no respect for Trump. Yet here he is, a successful CEO of perhaps the world leading intelligence gathering companies, where his biggest customers are military and police, and various other government organizations.
His ideology seems to the opposite of Thiel's even as Karp began to be a Trump supporter, Thiel no longer supported the President, and had some fairly harsh words for Trump.
His job as CEO of a public company is to raise profits and stock price. You can check both of those boxes. IPO of around $10, and is currently $167.
Certainly the company has made many ethical/moral mistakes, and perhaps Karp's admiration of Trump is nothing more than a ploy to gain more government contracts, but equally true is that the software they distribute have saved 1000s of American lives.
They are at the forefront of the conflict between personal privacy vs global security. An easy target for many groups.
The trend continues. I have not yet met a CEO of a public company I would like to have dinner with. Great read, expertly written. A few points off for not interviewing Karp and Thiel at the same time and asking the tough questions with both in the room.
December 9, 2025
it's absolutely hilarious that the negative reviews of this book come from maga losers who are complaining that steinberger is biased for reporting on the criticisms of karp/palantir and well-meaning progressives who criticize karp for his support of a genocide.
news flash. EVERYONE is biased. the only coverage you will find unbiased is coverage you agree with. so yeah, if you're maga, you'll probably find this book biased because steinberger does not worship at the feet of alex karp and peter thiel. if you're progressive, you'll find this book biased as it does not explicitly condemn genocide.
what i will add to this clusterf*ck:
- this book was not very well-written. it read like a long-form wikipedia article rather than a piece of journalism (which is what i would expect from a journalist like steinberger). i wanted more! give me something that wouldn't be there in a wikipedia article.
- also, the audiobook for this book was really weird. i have no idea who this narrator is, but he mispronounced multiple words.
news flash. EVERYONE is biased. the only coverage you will find unbiased is coverage you agree with. so yeah, if you're maga, you'll probably find this book biased because steinberger does not worship at the feet of alex karp and peter thiel. if you're progressive, you'll find this book biased as it does not explicitly condemn genocide.
what i will add to this clusterf*ck:
- this book was not very well-written. it read like a long-form wikipedia article rather than a piece of journalism (which is what i would expect from a journalist like steinberger). i wanted more! give me something that wouldn't be there in a wikipedia article.
- also, the audiobook for this book was really weird. i have no idea who this narrator is, but he mispronounced multiple words.
November 26, 2025
For a biography about Karp, it is weird to walk away knowing more about the author’s personal political beliefs
January 4, 2026
Rather a strange angle to take, and a disappointment for most readers looking to better understand Karp.
The narrative is much too personal to the author for no benefit, and barely examines a single thing that is claimed by the book’s subject, naively taking him entirely at his word on everything. It actually becomes funny when it’s apparent how little Karp cares about this guy, and how irked he must be at the constant intrusive mentions of their damn undergrad.
But the information feels very selective and context is given quite superficially among standard awed pronouncements about the tech without much further detail backing it, with mostly ambivalent results for the customers, though the Airbus example is interesting (I imagine not a hard one to document), there’s a missed opportunity to evaluate the geopolitical side more objectively.
The narrative is much too personal to the author for no benefit, and barely examines a single thing that is claimed by the book’s subject, naively taking him entirely at his word on everything. It actually becomes funny when it’s apparent how little Karp cares about this guy, and how irked he must be at the constant intrusive mentions of their damn undergrad.
But the information feels very selective and context is given quite superficially among standard awed pronouncements about the tech without much further detail backing it, with mostly ambivalent results for the customers, though the Airbus example is interesting (I imagine not a hard one to document), there’s a missed opportunity to evaluate the geopolitical side more objectively.
December 24, 2025
I enjoyed the book, especially the account of how Palantir was founded, Alex Karp’s worldview, and Peter Thiel’s involvement.
The author highlights how influential Palantir has been, both on the battlefield, most notably in Ukraine, and also in tackling highly complex supply-chain problems. Those sections were interesting too.
Some reviewers have criticised the book for displaying a political bias. While that bias does surface in parts, it ultimately serves as a useful juxtaposition as it highlights Palantir’s founding ethos of defending democratic values, while also examining the tension created by doing business with governments and public agencies that may undermine those very principles.
The author highlights how influential Palantir has been, both on the battlefield, most notably in Ukraine, and also in tackling highly complex supply-chain problems. Those sections were interesting too.
Some reviewers have criticised the book for displaying a political bias. While that bias does surface in parts, it ultimately serves as a useful juxtaposition as it highlights Palantir’s founding ethos of defending democratic values, while also examining the tension created by doing business with governments and public agencies that may undermine those very principles.
December 31, 2025
I enjoyed this and learned a lot about Alex Karp, the origins and growth of Palantir, and its dealings with the U.S. government. It appears several reviewers didn’t read the title and are upset this book wasn’t solely a biography of Karp.
January 5, 2026
Pretty good. Very rosy treatment for Karp, Palantir, and Thiel (the three main subjects of the book). But I learned a bit about what Palantir actually does, why people are suspicious of it, and how different clients use it. Undoubtedly worthwhile.
January 3, 2026
Glad I know more about Palantir and Karp’s backstory. The book probably could have been 20% the length.
December 1, 2025
Not great. A bit painful to read with all the authors political views woven in the whole way through. Not as much substance on the company as I’d hoped.
November 30, 2025
Author was so politically biased he ruined what could have been a good book. Disappointing, don't bother.
January 2, 2026
An incredibly well-researched and timely biography of Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir. Steinberger does a great job of explaining the "Rise of the Surveillance State," but the subject himself is so polarizing that it makes for a complicated reading experience.
● What Worked:
Insightful Reporting: Steinberger provides a deep psychological portrait of Karp. He explains how a PhD in Philosophy ended up running one of the most powerful data-mining companies in the world.
● The "Big Picture": The book is excellent at showing how Palantir’s technology is being used by governments and militaries. It really opens your eyes to how much power these "surveillance" tools have in the 21st century.
● Balanced Writing: Even though I didn't like Karp, I liked the book. The writing is clear, direct, and doesn't shy away from the controversies surrounding the company.
● What Didn't Work (The "Karp" Factor):
The Political Divide: I struggled with Alex Karp as a person. His "raging Zionist" views and his very aggressive, sensitive political leanings made it hard to stay objective. He is a very intense, often combative figure, and that "in-your-face" personality can be exhausting to read about for 300+ pages.
Moral Conflict: It’s hard to give a "perfect" 5-star rating to a book when the person at the center of it holds views you find so difficult to agree with.
● Final Thoughts:
If you want to understand the intersection of Silicon Valley, the military, and global politics, this is a must-read. Michael Steinberger is a great guide, but be prepared to spend a lot of time in the head of a CEO who is as controversial as he is powerful.
● What Worked:
Insightful Reporting: Steinberger provides a deep psychological portrait of Karp. He explains how a PhD in Philosophy ended up running one of the most powerful data-mining companies in the world.
● The "Big Picture": The book is excellent at showing how Palantir’s technology is being used by governments and militaries. It really opens your eyes to how much power these "surveillance" tools have in the 21st century.
● Balanced Writing: Even though I didn't like Karp, I liked the book. The writing is clear, direct, and doesn't shy away from the controversies surrounding the company.
● What Didn't Work (The "Karp" Factor):
The Political Divide: I struggled with Alex Karp as a person. His "raging Zionist" views and his very aggressive, sensitive political leanings made it hard to stay objective. He is a very intense, often combative figure, and that "in-your-face" personality can be exhausting to read about for 300+ pages.
Moral Conflict: It’s hard to give a "perfect" 5-star rating to a book when the person at the center of it holds views you find so difficult to agree with.
● Final Thoughts:
If you want to understand the intersection of Silicon Valley, the military, and global politics, this is a must-read. Michael Steinberger is a great guide, but be prepared to spend a lot of time in the head of a CEO who is as controversial as he is powerful.
January 5, 2026
3.25/5 Besides learning about Alex Karp, and Palantir you also learn about the author's political leaning's as well - not great for a biography about someone else.
Gives some insight to the web of the VC invested military technology sector that have started from investors in relation to Silicon Valley. The book does give an history of Palantir and it's software projects used for mostly data organization and management for different sectors such as healthcare, ICE, PENTAGON and Army/Navy (not much detail besides some contracting information). One thing that stuck out to me was Alex Karp's constant harping on the alma mater of Haverford college not asking him to be a speaker and him being ignored by them seems to bother him quite a bit. Also he claims to wanting to make Palantir to be the defender of western values and liberalism, while providing technology that can easily be exploited by authoritarian/fascist leaning regimes. It does seem to me that new military defense tech firms are going to rapidly bring us to war with China or never ending conflict (e.g War on Terrorism) is maybe an understatement at this point, in order to defend western values (which they don't believe in liberal democracy at this point anyway. These same individuals that feel they need to rally against these liberal elite institutions (that they also attend) and stating these elitists are out of touch when they simultaneous also become out of touch individuals by only interacting with other billionaires.)
I can tell you after reading this book, he loves Palantir, Tai Chi, cross country skiing and Israel.
Gives some insight to the web of the VC invested military technology sector that have started from investors in relation to Silicon Valley. The book does give an history of Palantir and it's software projects used for mostly data organization and management for different sectors such as healthcare, ICE, PENTAGON and Army/Navy (not much detail besides some contracting information). One thing that stuck out to me was Alex Karp's constant harping on the alma mater of Haverford college not asking him to be a speaker and him being ignored by them seems to bother him quite a bit. Also he claims to wanting to make Palantir to be the defender of western values and liberalism, while providing technology that can easily be exploited by authoritarian/fascist leaning regimes. It does seem to me that new military defense tech firms are going to rapidly bring us to war with China or never ending conflict (e.g War on Terrorism) is maybe an understatement at this point, in order to defend western values (which they don't believe in liberal democracy at this point anyway. These same individuals that feel they need to rally against these liberal elite institutions (that they also attend) and stating these elitists are out of touch when they simultaneous also become out of touch individuals by only interacting with other billionaires.)
I can tell you after reading this book, he loves Palantir, Tai Chi, cross country skiing and Israel.
November 9, 2025
This is an incredibly nuanced view of Alex Karp, a CEO full of contradictions. Karp himself admits, “I only made two good decisions as an adult: going to Germany and starting Palantir.” Everything else, he says, was either preparation or a mistake. Steinberger unpacks those formative choices well, from Karp’s education in philosophy and law (unusual for a tech CEO) to his eventual conviction that military might, not moral superiority, explains the endurance of Western values.
Yet Karp believes that a world led by those values is preferable to the alternatives presented by China and Russia. Therefore, our tech companies should support the military power that sustains them. Since Silicon Valley at the time was too busy with social networks, data harvesting, and consumer products, Karp felt more than motivated to join Palantir’s cause.
The company has been mired in controversy for years, yet Steinberger does an admirable job of keeping the book centered on Karp’s persona and Palantir’s genuinely useful technology. Ultimately, any data analytics and artificial intelligence company selling to defense customers will always be viewed through a particular lens. Palantir will never fully escape the broader debate between privacy and security. That said, I find it somewhat reassuring that its CEO has a strong academic grounding in philosophy, making him uniquely prepared for the endless ethical debates he is sure to encounter.
Yet Karp believes that a world led by those values is preferable to the alternatives presented by China and Russia. Therefore, our tech companies should support the military power that sustains them. Since Silicon Valley at the time was too busy with social networks, data harvesting, and consumer products, Karp felt more than motivated to join Palantir’s cause.
The company has been mired in controversy for years, yet Steinberger does an admirable job of keeping the book centered on Karp’s persona and Palantir’s genuinely useful technology. Ultimately, any data analytics and artificial intelligence company selling to defense customers will always be viewed through a particular lens. Palantir will never fully escape the broader debate between privacy and security. That said, I find it somewhat reassuring that its CEO has a strong academic grounding in philosophy, making him uniquely prepared for the endless ethical debates he is sure to encounter.
December 13, 2025
Palantir is a company that seems to enable surveillance states. Their technology originated in anti-fraud software developed at PayPal. Palantir was funded by Peter Thiel.
Alex Karp is the CEO of Palantir. His formal training is in Philosophy, in particular German philosophy. Karp today feels that the ideology of the West is slowly being subverted. This is not particularly surprising in that European (German) philosophy was used to justify what Germany did during WWII; it seems Karp has fallen victim to these same toxic ideas. The ideology of those in the Middle East and Iran is bad (here we have a confusion of Theological and Philosophical ideas). A golden age happened in the Middle East before Europe's Dark Ages). Arabic thought is a key part of the western world's philosophical and scientific heritage. Karp is part of a group of leaders in Silicon-Valley that see technologists as the only people who can properly run things (Musk is another), and that democracy is bad.
Initially, Palantir provided software to help governments/businesses analyze large amounts of data. Today, Palantir seems to be more involved in large databases that may be used to infringe on civil liberties.
Since Trump's second term has seen Karp double down on support for Israel, and is among the voices that state being anit-Israel is being anti-semitic. Karp sees the current incarnation of ICE as necessary in spite of the flagrently illegal tactics ICE uses.
Alex Karp is the CEO of Palantir. His formal training is in Philosophy, in particular German philosophy. Karp today feels that the ideology of the West is slowly being subverted. This is not particularly surprising in that European (German) philosophy was used to justify what Germany did during WWII; it seems Karp has fallen victim to these same toxic ideas. The ideology of those in the Middle East and Iran is bad (here we have a confusion of Theological and Philosophical ideas). A golden age happened in the Middle East before Europe's Dark Ages). Arabic thought is a key part of the western world's philosophical and scientific heritage. Karp is part of a group of leaders in Silicon-Valley that see technologists as the only people who can properly run things (Musk is another), and that democracy is bad.
Initially, Palantir provided software to help governments/businesses analyze large amounts of data. Today, Palantir seems to be more involved in large databases that may be used to infringe on civil liberties.
Since Trump's second term has seen Karp double down on support for Israel, and is among the voices that state being anit-Israel is being anti-semitic. Karp sees the current incarnation of ICE as necessary in spite of the flagrently illegal tactics ICE uses.
January 4, 2026
Karp and Palantir no doubt will go down in history, but representing what will be harder to know. This biography on Karp allowed probably more access to him than any other material (so far) but it felt pretty lacking to me. I didn't finish the book feeling like I understood what Karp or Palantir stand for (cynically, maybe that is just it: they stand for making $).
Karp is just an odd dude (which, it seems like he'd be happy to admit) and full of contradictions, clearly an intelligent person but seems to have lost the thread. But his story is probably not as unique as he tries to make it: as he's become more wealthy, he's become surrounded by more yes-men and has lost the need to make sense. I feel like he feels important and wanted a biography to be written about him (and, fairly, probably merits it) but this is a person who seems either so guarded (or the author is not great at getting material from him) and/or seems to be in desperate need of therapy.
Karp has increasingly moved "right" and has recently railed against identity politics, but is happy to use his Jewish heritage to justify Palantir's support of Israel, even when the nation is doing things that go against Palantir's "code" (though, much like Google's "don't be evil," it seems that as the company evolved the code went by the wayside). He rails against remote work, while making his employees travel to work from his home. Like most founders of startups, he's totally screwed his employees on their shares and seemed almost proud of it when Palantir went public.
Overall, I wish the author did a better job of either pulling more from Karp or from analyzing what was said to him, because it seemed to be a mish-mosh of a bio.
Karp is just an odd dude (which, it seems like he'd be happy to admit) and full of contradictions, clearly an intelligent person but seems to have lost the thread. But his story is probably not as unique as he tries to make it: as he's become more wealthy, he's become surrounded by more yes-men and has lost the need to make sense. I feel like he feels important and wanted a biography to be written about him (and, fairly, probably merits it) but this is a person who seems either so guarded (or the author is not great at getting material from him) and/or seems to be in desperate need of therapy.
Karp has increasingly moved "right" and has recently railed against identity politics, but is happy to use his Jewish heritage to justify Palantir's support of Israel, even when the nation is doing things that go against Palantir's "code" (though, much like Google's "don't be evil," it seems that as the company evolved the code went by the wayside). He rails against remote work, while making his employees travel to work from his home. Like most founders of startups, he's totally screwed his employees on their shares and seemed almost proud of it when Palantir went public.
Overall, I wish the author did a better job of either pulling more from Karp or from analyzing what was said to him, because it seemed to be a mish-mosh of a bio.
November 28, 2025
Karp is at once a patriot and a savvy CEO
Alex rising from humble background to lead a top tier tech company without a grounding in information technology or business management. He is a most non-conventional leader of a group of "Hobbits" to become a company that develops "Software that Dominates"
A graduate of Haverford with studies in Europe of philosophy, Karl with co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel and fellow entrepeneur, created Palantier to focus of managing massive amount of data. From contracts in the commercial sector to government (ICE and Department of Defense) Papa tier succeeded without a Sales Force while Karp was chief promoter and a technique of forward deployment of engineers embedded in prospective clients to fully understand ooerations.
A biracial Jew, Karp has a strong commitment to Israel and is a visionary regarding Russia and China as enemy of America. He focused Palantir as a leader in technology as a defense if America.
The reader will find the work interesting and at times dense in details and by persistence well rewarded with intellectually stimulating challenges.
Alex rising from humble background to lead a top tier tech company without a grounding in information technology or business management. He is a most non-conventional leader of a group of "Hobbits" to become a company that develops "Software that Dominates"
A graduate of Haverford with studies in Europe of philosophy, Karl with co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel and fellow entrepeneur, created Palantier to focus of managing massive amount of data. From contracts in the commercial sector to government (ICE and Department of Defense) Papa tier succeeded without a Sales Force while Karp was chief promoter and a technique of forward deployment of engineers embedded in prospective clients to fully understand ooerations.
A biracial Jew, Karp has a strong commitment to Israel and is a visionary regarding Russia and China as enemy of America. He focused Palantir as a leader in technology as a defense if America.
The reader will find the work interesting and at times dense in details and by persistence well rewarded with intellectually stimulating challenges.
January 8, 2026
This is yet another opaque technologist,who created Palantir along with Peter Theil. Karp is half Jewish and half black and claims to be liberal in his views. He has flip flopped between supporting Trump and supporting the Democratic candidates. His software is said to have been used to capture Bin Laden and he has supported the Ukraine and Israel using his technology.His company is currently the 22nd. most valuable company in the world. He's said to speak fluent German and after listening to this book I feel as if his software has been used to unfairly round up foreigners and even send them to jail in El Salvador. This guy wants to violate citizens right to privacy,which I suppose was given up once anyone whatsoever goes on line,since the virtual world is said not to be covered by the constitution. He doesnt appear to tolerate dissent from his employees. Be worried about billionaires like Karp and Theil and if this book grabs you try,The Contrarian,which is the history of Peter Theil and his alliance with Elon Musk and his support for Mark Zuckerberg.
December 11, 2025
I chose this book because I wanted to see if it would change my opinion that Alex Karp is a con artist and Palantir is a meme stock.
It didn't, but, there again, the book didn't really try to. Despite the author's friendship with Karp, the book is an even-handed portrayal of Palantir's rise and Alex Karp's leadership style. It's neither overly critical nor flattering, though at many points it is appropriately sardonic about Karp's erratic behavior and bizarre speech patterns.
The best aspect of this book is that the author had considerable one-on-one time with his subject, making it similar to Walter Isaacson's biographies of tech industry figures. I also found the writing style to be quite approachable.
The book's weaknesses are that it makes little effort to explain how Palantir's products work, or to address the 'rise of the surveillance state' issue featured in its subtitle.
It didn't, but, there again, the book didn't really try to. Despite the author's friendship with Karp, the book is an even-handed portrayal of Palantir's rise and Alex Karp's leadership style. It's neither overly critical nor flattering, though at many points it is appropriately sardonic about Karp's erratic behavior and bizarre speech patterns.
The best aspect of this book is that the author had considerable one-on-one time with his subject, making it similar to Walter Isaacson's biographies of tech industry figures. I also found the writing style to be quite approachable.
The book's weaknesses are that it makes little effort to explain how Palantir's products work, or to address the 'rise of the surveillance state' issue featured in its subtitle.
December 18, 2025
Interesting read about Alex Karp, the idiosyncratic CEO of the Palantir company.
Karp has a rather unusual background, a mixed black/jewish background (making him "bi-racial" in the US sense, I suppose), and academic in Philosophy, for which is got a PhD in Germany. And due to chance got into to contact with Peter Thiel who made him the boss of Palantir, the company writing, ... data analysis tool, in particular tools to combine disparate data-sets, and (in)famous for its use in law-enforcement, the military etc. And finally they make a profit!
So interesting character with strong believes in "The West", started as a socialist / leftist, but by the end of the book had move quite a bit in the "MAGA" direction.
Overall interesting, though, as in many of these books, I personally would have like a bit more technical discussion of how & what of Palantir's technology. I suppose enough information should be available?
Karp has a rather unusual background, a mixed black/jewish background (making him "bi-racial" in the US sense, I suppose), and academic in Philosophy, for which is got a PhD in Germany. And due to chance got into to contact with Peter Thiel who made him the boss of Palantir, the company writing, ... data analysis tool, in particular tools to combine disparate data-sets, and (in)famous for its use in law-enforcement, the military etc. And finally they make a profit!
So interesting character with strong believes in "The West", started as a socialist / leftist, but by the end of the book had move quite a bit in the "MAGA" direction.
Overall interesting, though, as in many of these books, I personally would have like a bit more technical discussion of how & what of Palantir's technology. I suppose enough information should be available?
December 27, 2025
Absolutely loved the subject. Alex Karp is fascinating, and his career is a noble undertaking. The book provides myriad examples of how Alex Karp faces cold, hard truths and is dedicated to quantitatively improving the safety and security of western civilization. I feel that author could have done a better job in representing Karp’s explanations for his motivations. It reads clearly that Steinberger is skeptical of Karp’s worldview and the ethics of Palantir’s use cases, which is totally fair. But I question the degree to which the author frames certain topics in what feels like his personal political framework. Nevertheless, the book is an awesome, relevant, fascinating read. I will be recommending this to many people.
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December 29, 2025"Our product is used on occasion to kill people" said Karp (chapter 9)
Palantir is a highly unconventional and an out lier among other tech firms: fascinating read concerning one of the most interesting and influential tech/ai companies that not everyone knows about. Palantir is a silicon valley oddity, part tech part consultancy and late to be profitable. Alex Karp is a fascinating character and we naturally feel uneasy about the uses and misuses of Palantir. Peter Thiel is there too lurking like an Uber libertarian, Trump loving, Ayn Rand devotee bond villain. For someone who appears to highly value his own privacy Thiel has little conscience for inventing highly invasive products at Palantir.
Palantir is a highly unconventional and an out lier among other tech firms: fascinating read concerning one of the most interesting and influential tech/ai companies that not everyone knows about. Palantir is a silicon valley oddity, part tech part consultancy and late to be profitable. Alex Karp is a fascinating character and we naturally feel uneasy about the uses and misuses of Palantir. Peter Thiel is there too lurking like an Uber libertarian, Trump loving, Ayn Rand devotee bond villain. For someone who appears to highly value his own privacy Thiel has little conscience for inventing highly invasive products at Palantir.
December 29, 2025
As someone that gives an average review of ~4.5 stars, I'd like to genuinely give this book a one star review. I can attest that I read the whole thing (minus the epilogue and 5-6 additional paragraphs where the author's liberal bias was just too absurd to get through).
Like everyone else posting reviews, I found the author's absurd interjection of his left-wing worldview into every fiber of the book highly inappropriate for an audience that just wanted to learn about Karp and Palantir. However, I was able to simply roll my eyes and look through the author's absurdities to learn what I wanted about Palantir/Karp/Silicon Valley/etc, and that part I did enjoy.
Like everyone else posting reviews, I found the author's absurd interjection of his left-wing worldview into every fiber of the book highly inappropriate for an audience that just wanted to learn about Karp and Palantir. However, I was able to simply roll my eyes and look through the author's absurdities to learn what I wanted about Palantir/Karp/Silicon Valley/etc, and that part I did enjoy.
December 31, 2025
The first half of the book is good, describing this highly unusual but interesting ceo.
The second half bogs down describing the company itself and overemphasizing its woke opposition, internal and external.
The anti-Trump sympathies of the author show through in his allegations, towards the end of the book, of the changes in Karp's politics, which can actually be ascribed to a growth in maturity and experience. One other blatant anti-Trumpism by the author: he decries Trump's human rights abuses separating children from illegal aliens and putting them in steel cages. He does not mention that Obama did the same, albeit to a lesser extent.
The second half bogs down describing the company itself and overemphasizing its woke opposition, internal and external.
The anti-Trump sympathies of the author show through in his allegations, towards the end of the book, of the changes in Karp's politics, which can actually be ascribed to a growth in maturity and experience. One other blatant anti-Trumpism by the author: he decries Trump's human rights abuses separating children from illegal aliens and putting them in steel cages. He does not mention that Obama did the same, albeit to a lesser extent.
January 2, 2026
This purported biography is easy to read and timely. That’s where the good ends.
The author’s political opinion taints nearly every chapter. And none of his opinions are particularly nuanced or savvy.
Nobody bought this book because they saw the author’s name on the cover - they bought it because of the man pictured on the cover. Unfortunately, the author believes that the book is all about himself and his proximity to one of the world’s most interesting people. The author’s incessant desire to insert himself and his opinions are uninteresting at best and irritating at worst.
Overall: not an awful book, but disappointing.
The author’s political opinion taints nearly every chapter. And none of his opinions are particularly nuanced or savvy.
Nobody bought this book because they saw the author’s name on the cover - they bought it because of the man pictured on the cover. Unfortunately, the author believes that the book is all about himself and his proximity to one of the world’s most interesting people. The author’s incessant desire to insert himself and his opinions are uninteresting at best and irritating at worst.
Overall: not an awful book, but disappointing.
November 13, 2025
This was an interesting subject to read about cos Palantir is one of those behind-the-scenes tech companies. So that's why I was interested in reading this. The book is more about Alex Karp than Palantir, of course, the title says as much, but Karp is so entwined with Palantir that there was plenty of talk on the company.
This is super readable. It's kinda dishy. (I love dish.) Karp goes from like, an eccentric philosopher to eccentric CEO to paranoid, bratty billionaire, which is exactly how that math should work out. All billionaires are paranoid, spoiled brats. I don't make the rules (they do.)
And it was really strange to see that after the proven financial success of Palantir Karp still acts like it's an underdog. His "The rebels have won!" cheer was so telling of the disconnect he has with this. Like, dude, you're literally contracting WITH THE EMPIRE. That's your rebel victory?
Anyway, good book if you like biographies and tech stuff.
This is super readable. It's kinda dishy. (I love dish.) Karp goes from like, an eccentric philosopher to eccentric CEO to paranoid, bratty billionaire, which is exactly how that math should work out. All billionaires are paranoid, spoiled brats. I don't make the rules (they do.)
And it was really strange to see that after the proven financial success of Palantir Karp still acts like it's an underdog. His "The rebels have won!" cheer was so telling of the disconnect he has with this. Like, dude, you're literally contracting WITH THE EMPIRE. That's your rebel victory?
Anyway, good book if you like biographies and tech stuff.
December 6, 2025
This was a fantastic look into what is typically a pretty opaque company and person. While I may not agree with all of the authors opinions, I do think the book was well written and engaging. For a company that works in a very technical and complex industry, I thought the author did a great job distilling the information in a way that is easy for anyone to understand. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a better understanding of Palantir as well as the defense tech industry at large.
December 31, 2025
Very interesting book on a complicated man whose evolving political views don’t settle nicely on one side or the other. This is one of the main reasons I read the book- people’s political views aren’t neatly categorized anymore (especially Gen Z) and it’s instructive to read how this might play out with someone as powerful as Karp. Reading about his irascible nature, his background, and Palantir’s evolution are captivating. The epilogue shows him taking a hard turn which will be interesting to follow in the coming months and years…
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