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leilaorszag's review against another edition
4.0
Marantz provides insight into the alt-right movement through profiles of a few members. His journalistic work (i.e., figuring out what in the world these people do all day) was the most interesting to me. He humanizes the members of the alt-right without endorsing their points of view.
gabgenuario's review against another edition
I really wanted to like this based on his description on Armchair Expert. I made it 40 pages in and we just entered the Deploraball. I’m not totally following what the point of the story is other than to point out very specific people who have ill intentions. I agreed with his narrative on the podcast but I don’t have it in me to read the exhaustive details of one single party. Lord knows what the rest of the book contains
monitaroymohan's review against another edition
4.0
I doubt I would have found this book were it not for the online library. Certainly an arresting subject matter though I am most amazed at the author’s ability to maintain his sanity while being embedded with the alt-right. I like that he doesn’t try and sugarcoat their rhetoric, nor is he forgiving of them. He provides a rounded outlook on all the people featured in the book.
It amazes me that anyone would think this way and that in today’s world you can get away with and get popular by thinking and talking as these people do.
If this was a work of fiction, none of us would believe it. But these people are real and a worrying trend. The author remains hopeful by the end of the book but his faith in humanity may be misplaced.
It amazes me that anyone would think this way and that in today’s world you can get away with and get popular by thinking and talking as these people do.
If this was a work of fiction, none of us would believe it. But these people are real and a worrying trend. The author remains hopeful by the end of the book but his faith in humanity may be misplaced.
siobhanward's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
NYT Notable Books 2019: 26/100
This was a challenging read days out from the US election. Marantz talks a lot about the connections between the rise of online extremism and the rise of Trump. And the book is five years old, so it doesn't cover things like the creation of Truth Social, or Musk's purchase of Twitter in the name of "free speech." This book is hard to read because I also don't really care to humanize people like the people Marantz talks about. It's well-written, but knowing what I know now, and seeing where we are one day before the US election, I just don't care to give space to people like this, even if it's in the same of research and trying to make sense of how we got to where we are.
This was a challenging read days out from the US election. Marantz talks a lot about the connections between the rise of online extremism and the rise of Trump. And the book is five years old, so it doesn't cover things like the creation of Truth Social, or Musk's purchase of Twitter in the name of "free speech." This book is hard to read because I also don't really care to humanize people like the people Marantz talks about. It's well-written, but knowing what I know now, and seeing where we are one day before the US election, I just don't care to give space to people like this, even if it's in the same of research and trying to make sense of how we got to where we are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
webdoyenne's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating...but profoundly depressing. Wondering if the author ended up with PTSD from spending so much time with so many reprehensible people.
zaxtreme's review against another edition
5.0
I was at simultaneously furious, deeply sad, flabbergasted, and fascinated while reading this book. I really want to unplug the servers of the social internet…
blankpagealex's review against another edition
4.0
The subjects of Anti-Social are trolls whose power is derived from their ability to gain attention. They care little about truth, fact-checking, or journalism - their only goal is to gather outrage clicks by being as loud as possible. So why dedicate an entire book to examining their "movement?"
Marantz does an excellent job of explaining why we should know about these individuals. They are smart and organized and they understand that the mainstream wants to categorize them as singular bad guys. Call them nazis, and they'll put forward their Jewish members to defend the movement. Call them hateful and their gay and minority voices will get louder. Marantz understands that there is more nuance to the alt-right, alt-light, and new right than the mainstream political parties and news outlets fully understand. Also, everyone is underestimating the power they have and are ready to wield to ensure white nationalist arguments remain in the national discourse. They've moved "the overton window" and they want to keep on pushing.
I'd encourage people to read this book. It's an informative and often times infuriating read, but it's enlightening to see what common decency is up against.
Marantz does an excellent job of explaining why we should know about these individuals. They are smart and organized and they understand that the mainstream wants to categorize them as singular bad guys. Call them nazis, and they'll put forward their Jewish members to defend the movement. Call them hateful and their gay and minority voices will get louder. Marantz understands that there is more nuance to the alt-right, alt-light, and new right than the mainstream political parties and news outlets fully understand. Also, everyone is underestimating the power they have and are ready to wield to ensure white nationalist arguments remain in the national discourse. They've moved "the overton window" and they want to keep on pushing.
I'd encourage people to read this book. It's an informative and often times infuriating read, but it's enlightening to see what common decency is up against.