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Truth in the Dark: The Hidden Playbook of the Corporate Jungle
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 9, 2026
I will begin with the positives. This book is written in short, digestible chapters that are easy to understand. It discusses economics and how to protect your finances and your best interests. There are some great recommendations for things we can do that support your health and wellbeing, especially reading. I will always agree with that as I am a reader at my core. There are also hopeful messages about how to live life in an ethical way that supports you and does not take advantage of others. There's also a good chapter that speaks about how boredom is good for us and nourishes our creativity. There is also the truth that companies and corporations we work for are doing everything they can to exploit us. This is a good reminder for most of us. It also made me grateful that I don't work in the corporate sphere and instead am in education. Marouf gives many pointers on "Progressive Fair Capitalism" being the solution to the problems of the world and to creating a utopian society.
Then, there are the negatives.
The book is misogynistic at its core. It is written entirely for men, and never considers that a woman would ever read it. Even when referencing children, it mentions your baby needs "his" mother - daughters are not even a thought to our author. There are multiple mentions of wearing clothing that is not "modest", calling this a "cheapened look".
Our author is also against film and music, and considers these a distraction. In his world, classical music is the only music worth listening to. I think it bears mentioning that there are so many brilliant genres of music, and it seems our author has no appreciation for them.
Marouf is also gainst watching sports, pro practicing them. FIFA lover? Watching the Olympics? These have "no impact on human history"...according to our author and only our author.
Marouf is against superstition but thinks that dreams featuring the deceased ones we love are their spirits communicating with us...and has a whole woo-woo chapter on spirit. Pick a lane.
There are also some hilarious quotes, like "the claim that emotions are created by the brain is incorrect in essence" - my Biology degree begs to differ.
This book can be summarized as: start a side business and become a capitalist cog! Make sure your children want to also start their own businesses and become further capitalists, despite the system of capitalism being broken!
Overall, another book trying to sell you the idea that you must be an entrepreneur for your life to be worthwhile.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Then, there are the negatives.
The book is misogynistic at its core. It is written entirely for men, and never considers that a woman would ever read it. Even when referencing children, it mentions your baby needs "his" mother - daughters are not even a thought to our author. There are multiple mentions of wearing clothing that is not "modest", calling this a "cheapened look".
Our author is also against film and music, and considers these a distraction. In his world, classical music is the only music worth listening to. I think it bears mentioning that there are so many brilliant genres of music, and it seems our author has no appreciation for them.
Marouf is also gainst watching sports, pro practicing them. FIFA lover? Watching the Olympics? These have "no impact on human history"...according to our author and only our author.
Marouf is against superstition but thinks that dreams featuring the deceased ones we love are their spirits communicating with us...and has a whole woo-woo chapter on spirit. Pick a lane.
There are also some hilarious quotes, like "the claim that emotions are created by the brain is incorrect in essence" - my Biology degree begs to differ.
This book can be summarized as: start a side business and become a capitalist cog! Make sure your children want to also start their own businesses and become further capitalists, despite the system of capitalism being broken!
Overall, another book trying to sell you the idea that you must be an entrepreneur for your life to be worthwhile.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 25, 2026
Netgalley tricked me into this one by an advert on their dashboard, but I can never support a book that's anti-art. Trashing movies and actors as "useless" is in extremely poor taste.
I came for criticism of capitalism, instead I got preached to how "The Creator" gave everyone a life test (this wasn't advertised as religious/spiritual fiction) and how we must protect children from being taught wrong ideas (hmm, let me think which political faction is against open-mindedness and learning a variety of opinions...), and many times the author would say "you and your wife" assuming the reader is a cishet man. Because probably the only people he imagines reading this are other techbros who scoff at anything that isn't "science" or making money. "Science" in quotations, because there's a lot of pseudo-science in this book.
I'm also wondering did the author in his disdain for artists use generative ai to write this, because it's a forest of m-dashes out there, and the same ideas are repeated over and again as if someone gave chatgpt a summary and asked it to expand it to a specific wordcount.
Overall, a bunch of personal ramblings sold as "self-help". It won't help you get rich, become more productive, or teach you anything besides repeating popular opinions like "tax the rich!" or "go touch grass for your own health". I wouldn't recommend.
I came for criticism of capitalism, instead I got preached to how "The Creator" gave everyone a life test (this wasn't advertised as religious/spiritual fiction) and how we must protect children from being taught wrong ideas (hmm, let me think which political faction is against open-mindedness and learning a variety of opinions...), and many times the author would say "you and your wife" assuming the reader is a cishet man. Because probably the only people he imagines reading this are other techbros who scoff at anything that isn't "science" or making money. "Science" in quotations, because there's a lot of pseudo-science in this book.
I'm also wondering did the author in his disdain for artists use generative ai to write this, because it's a forest of m-dashes out there, and the same ideas are repeated over and again as if someone gave chatgpt a summary and asked it to expand it to a specific wordcount.
Overall, a bunch of personal ramblings sold as "self-help". It won't help you get rich, become more productive, or teach you anything besides repeating popular opinions like "tax the rich!" or "go touch grass for your own health". I wouldn't recommend.
April 1, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for a review.
This was a weird one for me, however I don't think I belong to the target audience.
The author made some interesting and thought provoking points, and has provided references to back up some of his claims. Unfortunately though, a lot of it came across as his personal views, some of which I thoroughly disagree with.
The writing is quite repetitive, and the reader is repeatedly labelled naive. According to the author, wearing revealing clothes, watching sports or movies/television or listening to any music apart from Beethoven or Mozart is 'trashy', as is watching porn. There is also an odd section in the middle where he repeatedly talks about a spiritual 'higher power' in charge of our destiny and the universe.
In summary, some interesting points were made but these were unfortunately eclipsed by the condescending and judgemental tone the book speaks in.
This was a weird one for me, however I don't think I belong to the target audience.
The author made some interesting and thought provoking points, and has provided references to back up some of his claims. Unfortunately though, a lot of it came across as his personal views, some of which I thoroughly disagree with.
The writing is quite repetitive, and the reader is repeatedly labelled naive. According to the author, wearing revealing clothes, watching sports or movies/television or listening to any music apart from Beethoven or Mozart is 'trashy', as is watching porn. There is also an odd section in the middle where he repeatedly talks about a spiritual 'higher power' in charge of our destiny and the universe.
In summary, some interesting points were made but these were unfortunately eclipsed by the condescending and judgemental tone the book speaks in.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews