The Dropout Innovators

If history is philosophy teaching by example, then "Paper Belt on Fire" is proof of concept. The ‘history’ in question is the author’s personal journey from disillusioned Oxford philosophy PhD student to co-founder of a fund that lures young innovators to realize their dreams by avoiding academia. Michael Gibson’s tale of self-discovery is mediated by a life-changing apprenticeship with that most cerebral of venture capitalists, Peter Thiel. Among other things, Gibson has provided the most sophisticated and sympathetic account of Thiel’s thinking yet to appear in print. But the book is much more than that.