Palantir’s Weirdest Book Recommendation - by Mario Gabriele

“Some of the best analytical work out there - we learn something new from every post!” — Peter, a paying member Friends, In October of last year, former Palantir employee Nabeel Qureshi reflected on his eight-year spell at the defense giant. It is an intriguing peek at the inner workings of a secretive company. Among ruminations about Palantir’s famous “forward-deployed” model and contentious moral alignment was a list of four books the company used to prescribe to every new employee: The Looming Tower, Interviewing Users, Getting Things Done, and Impro. One of these is not like the other. The Looming Tower is a natural recommendation for Palantir to make. Lawrence Wright’s work chronicles the rise of Al-Qaeda, culminating in the attacks of September 11th. Likely no book would do a better job of articulating Palantir’s existence and significance. The second and third books are almost a little disappointing, a harsh critique from someone who has read neither. Palantir’s culture has alwa

“Some of the best analytical work out there - we learn something new from every post!” — Peter, a paying member Friends, In October of last year, former Palantir employee Nabeel Qureshi reflected on his eight-year spell at the defense giant. It is an intriguing peek at the inner workings of a secretive company. Among ruminations about Palantir’s famous “forward-deployed” model and contentious moral alignment was a list of four books the company used to prescribe to every new employee: The Looming Tower, Interviewing Users, Getting Things Done, and Impro. One of these is not like the other. The