Careless People - by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Book Synopsis

#1 New York Times Bestseller

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK. NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY TIME, THE NEW YORKER, AP, THE ECONOMIST, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 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.

Review Quotes

Named a Best Book of 2025 by TIME, The New Yorker, The Associated Press, Scientific American, The Globe and Mail, and more!

"Devastating . . . funny . . . highly enjoyable . . . A Bridget Jones's Diary-style tale of a young woman thrown into a series of improbable situations" - The New York Times

"Amazing: of all the books in all the world Mr. Free Speech Zuckerberg wants to ban, it's the one about him'"- Marina Hyde, Guardian

"Jaw-dropping . . . A tell-all tome" - Financial Times

"A darkly hilarious, shocking tale that starts as farce and ends as tragedy. It combines withering portraits of Facebook's insular, callous leadership with harrowing details of what Wynn-Williams calls the company's "lethal carelessness" on the global stage." -Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times

"The book...reads like a spicy office memoir if your officemates travel by private jet and your boss asks for a rally of 1 million people" -Ron Charles, The Washington Post

"Careless People is really well-written, funny, horrifying, and quite compelling. I was on the edge of my seat, turning pages as fast as I could and ended up reading the book in less than a day. I cackled. I gasped. I laughed. I cringed. I cackled some more. I cringed some more."-Roxane Gay

"This book is unbelievable and necessary. First off, it's wonderfully written, propulsive, novelistic, and LOL at times. It details the morally bankrupt forces atop Facebook who are personally, knowingly responsible for a swath of crimes against yes, humanity...I so, so recommend this book. It's a zippy read, and like I said, at times truly funny to be in the room where it happens with these morally bankrupt snowflakes...an amazing gift that this book was written."-Maria Semple

About the Author