Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh

Grind and Sayre’s book about Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (who died in 2020) explores his contributions to Las Vegas, as well as his personal struggles, by means of a comparison to the investor Howard Hughes, who arrived in Vegas in 1966 and never left the top floor of the Desert Inn; by 1970, Hughes was Nevada’s largest private employer and largest owner of casinos, but his storied reclusiveness was an odd note in the life of a man known for parties. Grind and Sayre argue that the legacy of Hsieh’s Zappos tenure was a management style famously focused on whimsy, fun, and kindness, even as the ghost of Hughes hung over Hsieh’s private life and mental illness. Hsieh’s pre-Zappos tech career is covered early on, but the book largely focuses on the last two years of his life, when Hsieh hid substance addiction and massive spending sprees. Beyond their discussion of Hsieh’s tragic death and legacy, Grind and Sayre also provide insight on the larger issue of mental illness and addiction hidden under Silicon Valley’s sunny surface.