Wild Ride: Inside Uber's Quest for World Domination

Lashinsky (assistant managing editor, Fortune; Inside Apple) takes readers inside the world of Uber and its enigmatic CEO, Travis Kalanick. Drawn from extensive research including interviews with Kalanick and others involved in the company, the author presents a vivid account of the story of Uber. The company came about when Kalanick and his friend Garrett Camp could not catch a cab during a blizzard in 2008. The idea was "if only there were a way to turn one's phone into a taxi dispatcher." Uber's first prototype called UberCab was created by Camp along with Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan, with Kalanick as "chief incubator" and adviser. Kalanick became CEO in 2010, with the company ultimately changing its name to Uber. It grew to be worth $69 billion, and along the way, Kalanick has faced government regulators and turned the taxi industry upside down. Uber continues to explore new ventures, including working toward adding self-driving cars (facing competition with Google, Tesla, Lyft, and General Motors).