Uber's Complicated Story

Mike Issac’s new book Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber looks at the rise and fall of the startup whose immense influence has affected cities, mobility, labor, and business. 

"As a private start-up, Uber represented pure possibility — at its peak, a $69 billion wrecking ball threatening entities as vast as the taxi industry, mass transit networks and automotive giants, all at the same time," writes Issac.

He traces the series of events and circumstances that have led to Uber’s more recent downfall, starting with founder Travis Kalanick’s propensity to flout the rules and promote a company culture that alienated employees and drivers. Uber has also grappled with new business ventures that did not take off, safety concerns that it was slow to address, and financial losses since the company went public.

"Two years since Mr. Kalanick’s ouster, and three months since a humdrum public offering, the company is in many ways a shadow of the juggernaut whose global presence once felt just shy of inevitable," says Issac.