Character Limit

Character Limit is the definitive business book of the 2020s — a meticulously reported tale of tech-industry hubris, narcissism, and egomania collapsing in on itself at the end of the ZIRP era. Alternately shocking, thrilling, tragic, and hilarious, it perfectly encapsulates the entrenched and warring cultures of Silicon Valley, the deceptively thorny problems of the social-media age, and the fine line between stupidity and genius straddled by a generation of tech entrepreneurs. This book will be read for decades to come, both as the definitive documentation of the end of an era, and as a how-not-to manual for future generations of managers and investors, not to mention M&A bankers and lawyers

Max Read, author of the newsletter READ MAX

Conger and Mac have written an engrossing and detailed history, not just of Elon Musk, but of how we got to a place where the world’s richest man wants to buy the world’s biggest megaphone. This is a story about power, yes, but it's also about how the corrosion of online life and the addictions of social media can come for us all, even the richest man in the world

Jay Caspian Kang, author of THE LONELIEST AMERICANS

Character Limit is a masterclass in investigative reporting. Mac and Conger’s meticulous research provides readers with an unflinching and intimate portrait of Musk’s chaotic decision making and high-stakes power plays, and the far-reaching impact of his reckless actions and ethical lapses on users and society at large. This gripping exposé reveals previously unreported insights into the acquisition, challenging the mainstream narrative of Musk as a visionary tech genius and revealing how he has upended one of the world's most influential social media platforms. With vivid prose, captivating narrative storytelling, and insightful analysis, Character Limit will be the tech book of the year, and is a must-read for anyone fascinated by the intersection of technology, business, and culture—and anyone who seeks to understand the true cost of innovation without accountability

Taylor Lorenz, author of EXTREMELY ONLINE

Engrossing, precise. . . New York Times reporters Conger and Mac collaborate successfully on an ambitious narrative capturing how Musk engineered Twitter’s downfall, set against the vast financial stakes and dehumanizing aspects of the tech economy. . . Compelling fusion of business history and worrisome social narrative

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

So unappealing is the portrait this pair of New York Times technology reporters paint that a more fitting title might be Character Assassination

Observer

Character Limit is an absorbing account of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. It covers the big themes of modern politics – unrestrained billionaires and the lawyers, bankers and other yes-men who enable them; how social media has degraded the public square and melted the brains of its most enthusiastic users; and the eternal quest to find the border between free speech and hate speech

Helen Lewis, The New Statesmen

A dramatic, fly-on-the-wall narrative

New York Times