Review
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“Antisocial is . . . Marantz’s searching attempt to understand
people he describes as truly deplorable without letting his moral
compass get wrecked. . . . [Antisocial] is trenchant and
intelligent; wry but not glib; humane but never indulgent."
—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
“Imagine a world bereft of gates and uncrossable lines, with no
discernable rules. That’s the Hadean landscape that has been
painted expertly, in dark hues, by Andrew Marantz in his book
Antisocial.”
—Kara Swisher, The New York Times Book Review
“By turns amusing and alarming. . . . Like an old Hunter S.
Thompson report from the campaign trail, Antisocial is an
entertaining read about a distressing subject.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Antisocial is an engrossing work of literary journalism. . . .
A genuine first of its kind: ambitious, attuned to the novel
features of social media, and written with enough detail and
perspective to survey the subtle grain of a multifaceted
movement. . . . Marantz is a master of this beat, and he excels
at unwinding the subtle ironies, personal tics, and moments of
vulnerability that reveal his subjects. . . . Antisocial is an
engaging, relentlessly detailed, and observant study of the
characters and personal motivations at play in the far right’s
information pipeline.”
—The Nation
“With force and elegance, New Yorker staff writer Marantz clearly
documents social media’s empowerment of bigotry, propaganda, and
right-wing extremism. Deeply reported.”
—The National Book Review
“Antisocial by Andrew Marantz is so humane and lucid and
absorbing and good!! Everything in it is a nightmare and I
couldn’t put it down.”
—Jia Tolentino, via Twitter
“A searching study of the right-wing gate-cers who have
overwhelmed social media in the Trump era. . . . Marantz’s
travels into the camps of those right-wingers prove [Richard]
Rorty correct, and the author clearly documents their use of
social media to advance right-wing causes. . . . Invaluable
political reportage in a time of crisis."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Marantz, a staff writer at the New Yorker, makes a timely and
excellent debut. . . . Marantz doesn’t shy away from asking
pointed questions or noting his subjects’ inconsistencies. This
inful and well-crafted book is a must-read account of how
quickly the ideas of what’s acceptable public discourse can
shift.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[A] breathtaking, page-turning foray into the clash between
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and online extremists. . . .
Marantz’s narrative is like going along for the ride in a foreign
landscape, bouncing into the unknown on a bumpy road. . . .
Marantz has a keen eye for character. . . . His intentions are
serious, and ultimately Antisocial is an inful look at two
powerful forces shaping American society. . . . Whether you use
social media or not, Antisocial is an important look at groups
that are molding the nation.”
—BookPage
“Antisocial is at once funny and y, antic and illuminating.
It's a must-read for anyone still struggling to understand the
last election or hoping to make sense of the next one.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth
Extinction
“Anyone who wants to know how Silicon Valley's dream turned into
democracy's nightmare should read Antisocial, Andrew Marantz's
fascinating firsthand exploration of the trolls and nihilists who
have hijacked the internet. This book puts contemporary politics
in an alarming new light.”
—Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money
“A riveting exploration of the causes and consequences of our
current societal nervous breakdown. Antisocial is absolutely
essential reading to understand this moment, and it will stick in
your brain long after you’ve devoured it.”
—Chris Hayes, author of A Colony in a Nation and host of All In
with Chris Hayes
“We live in an era when current events are driven as much by
scrolls of binary code as they are by matters in the physical
world. With Antisocial, Andrew Marantz has crafted a of this
digital landscape, charted how it came to be, and pointed to its
implications for all of us. This is an important book whose
relevance will only grow over time.”
—Jelani Cobb, Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia
University and author of The Substance of Hope
“Antisocial is a close-up portrait of the new species of online
shock artists who have taken over the American conversation. It
is the most detailed and concrete account of how our politics
have been changed by social media. This book is essential
reading.”
—Jaron Lanier, interdisciplinary scientist at Microsoft Research
and author of You Are Not a Gadget
“Marantz has produced an essential work of reporting—one that
illuminates not only how our information landscape emerged, but
also how it has become so corrupted and dangerous. If you want to
comprehend the world in which we live, Antisocial is a book you
must read.”
—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon
“Nowhere is the propagation of racist ideas more apparent today
than on the social media platforms Silicon Valley created—but
failed to govern. In Antisocial, Andrew Marantz crafted a
complex, unsettling portrait of how blind techno-utopianism can
lead to disaster. This is necessary reading if we intend to keep
the next generation of social networks from becoming yet another
American source of oppression.”
—Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped
from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist
“This is a book about how the unthinkable becomes thinkable: how,
in the Age of Trump, the alt-right, and outright fascists, have
come to cl a central place in American discourse. This book
ed the hell out of me, but every American could benefit from
reading it. Andrew Marantz has written a chilling, deeply
sourced, rivetingly told account of how a few fringe figures saw
the potential of the internet as a vehicle for mass
disinformation, and became prophets of the new fascism.
Antisocial is political reporting at its finest.”
—Suketu Mehta, author of This Land Is Our Land
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About the Author
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Andrew Marantz is a staff writer at The New Yorker,
where he has worked since 2011. His work has also appeared in
Harper's, New York, Mother Jones, the New York Times, and many
other publications. A contributor to Radiolab and The New Yorker
Radio Hour, he has spoken at TED and has been interviewed on CNN,
MSNBC, NPR, and many other outlets.
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