How To Rule The World

An Education In Power At Stanford University

Theo Baker (author)

When seventeen-year old Theo Baker arrived at Stanford University one brisk September morning, its manicured lawns, palm trees and sparkling fountains, all under azure Californian skies, provoked in him both wonderment and a sense of anticipation. After all, this legendary campus, where Rodin sculptures rub shoulders with nuclear laboratories, is where Silicon Valley was birthed. Its research park housed the headquarters of Facebook and Hewlett Packard, with venture capitalists a stone's throw away, ready to fund the next promising teenager's startup. With an annual budget eclipsing the budgets of 116 countries, yet a reputation for being laid-back and innovative, Stanford seemed like tech heaven. Instead, Baker discovered a cultural rot.

Theo Baker is an undergraduate at Stanford University. His reporting led to former Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s resignation and made Baker the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious George Polk Award. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, New York magazine, The New York Times, and elsewhere. He will graduate from Stanford in June 2026.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen Lane

Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2026

Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

ISBN : ‎ 9780241733912