Coming May 20
“The Optimist is a wonder of fair-minded investigation and page-turning storytelling. It reveals Sam Altman—our self-styled messiah of the age of artificial intelligence—in all his charismatic self-contradiction. A must-read for anyone worried that AI will alter or even end human society.”
—Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ghost Wars and The Achilles Trap
“Sam Altman is a pure creation of Silicon Valley. And Keach Hagey artfully captures how the place thinks, operates and amasses power. A deft biography from a relentless investigative reporter who leaves no stone unturned.”
—Mark Bergen, author of Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTUbe’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination
“Keach Hagey is one of the best writers about media and tech. Here she tells the story of Sam Altman and the AI revolution. And a fantastic story it is not, only because it affects our lives and futures, but because it is told so well.”
— Michael Wolff, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Fire and Fury
“The Optimist is more than a consistently revelatory biography of the man at the center of Silicon Valley’s zeitgeist. It’s also a clear-eyed history of an important piece of the tech industry and its power structures. Deeply reported and gripping, Keach Hagey’s book is packed with insight into Sam Altman’s sometimes mystifying decisions, why investors seem mesmerized by him, and previously unreported revelations about his firing from OpenAI.”
— Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, author of We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory
"Hagey weaves together a narrative that holds the reader’s attention and that is buttressed by astonishing reporting. I always thought Sumner was not an immediate candidate for heaven, and she doesn’t disabuse me of this. But the level of greed and cowardice and perfidy of the supporting cast was unimaginable, at least by me."
— Ken Auletta, author of Frenemies
Author & journalist
Inside the worlds
that shape our own.
Keach Hagey writes about technology, media, and power. She is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and the author of The Optimist and The King of Content.
The latest book
The Optimist
Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future
W. W. Norton & Company · 2025
A deeply reported portrait of Sam Altman and the people, convictions, and struggles behind OpenAI. Drawing on more than 250 interviews, Hagey traces his path from St. Louis to the center of the artificial intelligence revolution.
Praise for The Optimist
More reviews ↓“Excellent and deeply reported.”
Tim Wu · The New York Times Book Review ↗
“The first major biography of tech’s newest titan, this sets a high bar for those to follow.”
Publishers Weekly ↗Starred review
“An exemplary blend of biography, financial technology reportage, and futurology.”
Kirkus Reviews ↗Starred review
Selected journalism
WSJ archive ↗Behind Sam Altman’s firing from OpenAI
Reporting on the boardroom struggle at the center of The Optimist.
The Facebook Files
Award-winning team reporting on Facebook, its internal research, and the consequences of its products.
About
Keach Hagey
Keach Hagey is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, covering artificial intelligence and the intersection of technology, media, and power.
She is the author of The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025) and The King of Content: Sumner Redstone’s Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of His Media Empire (HarperCollins, 2018).
She was part of the team behind the Journal’s Facebook Files, which won a George Polk Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, and a Deadline Award. Her reporting on Google’s advertising technology business and the power struggle at Viacom has also been recognized by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
Before the Journal, she reported for Politico, The National in Abu Dhabi, CBS News, and the Village Voice. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from Stanford University. She lives in New York.
Also by Keach Hagey
The King of Content
Sumner Redstone’s Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of His Media Empire
HarperCollins · 2018
The rise of a media empire and the struggle over who would inherit it: a portrait of Sumner Redstone, his family, and the battle for control of Viacom and CBS.
Find the book ↗In conversation
Books, technology, and the people behind the headlines.Solving the mystery of OpenAI’s “Blip”
With Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, on Sam Altman and reporting The Optimist.
Why we’re still talking about Sumner Redstone
With Kai Ryssdal, on succession, control, and The King of Content.
Get in touch
Contact
Keach Hagey
Literary representation
Alice Martell · The Martell Agency
afmartell@themartellagency.com
Book publicity
Rachel Salzman · W. W. Norton & Company
rsalzman@wwnorton.com