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497 reviews
The Way Through The Woods: Of Mushrooms And Mourning by Long Litt Woon
This is one of the most surprising and original books I have read in a long time — so much to learn and reflect about the human condition and about a natural phenomenon.
Knut Olav Åmås (Norwegian Critic, Commentator, and Writer)
It is poetic, warm and moving, and steeped in life wisdom.
Sissel Gran (Norwegian Psychologist and Author)
[A] heartfelt and honest account of overcoming loss that will give hope to readers in a simple, yet profound way. In her beautifully written first book, Long shares a way to feel anew by setting foot on a different path, discovering a spark of joy, and finding meaning again. Readers who appreciate the journeys through grief found in memoirs like Cheryl Strayed’s Wild (2012) or Shannon Leone Fowler’s Traveling with Ghosts (2017) should pick this up.
Melissa Norstedt, Booklist
Anyone with an interest in the natural world will delight in Long’s sharp-eyed descriptions (and line drawings) of fungi and her therapeutic rambles through Norwegian woods. A wonder-inducing dive into the unique kingdom of fungi.
Kirkus
In her search for new meaning in life after the death of her husband, Long Litt Woon undertook the study of mushrooms. What she found in the woods, and expresses with such tender joy in this heartfelt memoir, was nothing less than salvation.
Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia and Microbia
In this enchanting debut memoir, anthropologist Long tells of her life in Norway after the sudden death of her 54-year-old husband left her “alone in the world”. A beginner’s course in mushrooming was an unexpected life raft, leading her to find community and a sense of meaning while wandering the woods ... This unique tale of rebirth after loss doubles as a riveting foray into the world of mushrooming.
Publishers Weekly
This thoughtful, touching account explores Woon’s experience learning mushroom foraging in the aftermath of tragedy ... With charming sketches of the various mushrooms Woon encounters, this moving memoir explores one woman’s journey through grief and will please fans of personal narratives as well as those who may be interested in mushroom foraging.
Venessa Hughes, Library Journal
Among the 20 “utterly engrossing” non-fiction books for the summer of 2019.
Bookbub
One of the most beautiful books of the year. A touching and funny story which also is familiar because it touches on one of the most common and dreaded experiences. A scholarly and literary work to embellish your life.
Bookstore Le Square in Grenoble
Poetic, moving, original. One of the books we talked about this year.
L’Escapade Bookstore
An ode to resilience, humour and change.
Simple Things
Long Litt Woon delivers, in addition to an accurate mycology, a little lesson in wisdom.
Hebdo Books
Existential questions as tasty as morels.
L’Obs
An informative and playful book, sensitive and without pathos. Long Litt Woon’s enthusiasm is highly contagious.
Tela Botanica
A jewel.
La revue numérique de l’alca
She can make her subject captivating by pressing all the buttons of the curious reader of nature.
Cri de l’ormeau
Remarkable, pedagogical, original, delightful.
Voyage dans les lettres nordiques
The Way Through the Woods will make a lovely gift for the curious bushwalker, recently bereaved person, or even the niche hobbyist in your life.
Georgia Delaney, Readings
When Malaysian-born anthropologist Long Litt Woon’s husband of 32 years dropped dead at work one summer’s morning, she lost not only the love of her life but her passport to society in her adopted home of Norway. Numb with grief, she had only platitudes to navigate her way through the wilderness of bereavement – until she found unexpected joy and a new tribe of friends who shared an offbeat interest: picking mushrooms in the Norwegian woods.
Andrea Ripper, Courier Mail
A Malaysian woman mourns the death of her Norwegian husband by foraging for mushrooms—from morels to Yellow Knights—in this singular memoir in which the author becomes a “traveler in the fungi kingdom”.
The Oprah Magazine, ‘10 August Books You Should Read Right Now’
There’s something of the really life fairytale about the way mushrooms guided Long Litt Woon through the woods of grief after her husband’s sudden death ... “To feel the flow is to find meaning, and to find meaning is to quiet and transform the storm inside.” In this way, mushrooming becomes an apt and mysterious metaphor for mourning’s “fieldwork of the heart” and the unexpected consolations it can yield.
Fiona Capp, The Age
[W]ritten by an exceptional woman who deigns to let us in on her unusual way through grief ... you will learn a lot about how she perceives people (indeed they appear to be her favourite subject second only to fungi) and her notes on human existence will delight and humour you ... you will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever knew you needed. [Woon] balances hefty scientific antidotes with the truly fantastic places her mushroom research has taken her. From perfumers to poison guides, there is nothing Woon will describe that won’t leave you hungry for more. A truly wonderful book about life and grief and mushrooms, The Way Through The Woods deserves all the praise it has been reaping and more.
Rave Cay Lane Wren, The Seattle Book Review
Woon writes about meeting new friends happy to wander through the Norwegian woods with her, spellbound by the hunt. As peculiar as that may sound to most people, mushroom hunters will understand immediately the peculiar joy of discovering fungi, especially rare ones, deep in the beautiful and mysterious woods ... Long is a poetic writer who melds what at first seem to be the most disparate possible topics into a profound and beautiful memoir, and one that is not at all just for mushroom enthusiasts.
Rave Newsday
Knut Olav Åmås (Norwegian Critic, Commentator, and Writer)
It is poetic, warm and moving, and steeped in life wisdom.
Sissel Gran (Norwegian Psychologist and Author)
[A] heartfelt and honest account of overcoming loss that will give hope to readers in a simple, yet profound way. In her beautifully written first book, Long shares a way to feel anew by setting foot on a different path, discovering a spark of joy, and finding meaning again. Readers who appreciate the journeys through grief found in memoirs like Cheryl Strayed’s Wild (2012) or Shannon Leone Fowler’s Traveling with Ghosts (2017) should pick this up.
Melissa Norstedt, Booklist
Anyone with an interest in the natural world will delight in Long’s sharp-eyed descriptions (and line drawings) of fungi and her therapeutic rambles through Norwegian woods. A wonder-inducing dive into the unique kingdom of fungi.
Kirkus
In her search for new meaning in life after the death of her husband, Long Litt Woon undertook the study of mushrooms. What she found in the woods, and expresses with such tender joy in this heartfelt memoir, was nothing less than salvation.
Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia and Microbia
In this enchanting debut memoir, anthropologist Long tells of her life in Norway after the sudden death of her 54-year-old husband left her “alone in the world”. A beginner’s course in mushrooming was an unexpected life raft, leading her to find community and a sense of meaning while wandering the woods ... This unique tale of rebirth after loss doubles as a riveting foray into the world of mushrooming.
Publishers Weekly
This thoughtful, touching account explores Woon’s experience learning mushroom foraging in the aftermath of tragedy ... With charming sketches of the various mushrooms Woon encounters, this moving memoir explores one woman’s journey through grief and will please fans of personal narratives as well as those who may be interested in mushroom foraging.
Venessa Hughes, Library Journal
Among the 20 “utterly engrossing” non-fiction books for the summer of 2019.
Bookbub
One of the most beautiful books of the year. A touching and funny story which also is familiar because it touches on one of the most common and dreaded experiences. A scholarly and literary work to embellish your life.
Bookstore Le Square in Grenoble
Poetic, moving, original. One of the books we talked about this year.
L’Escapade Bookstore
An ode to resilience, humour and change.
Simple Things
Long Litt Woon delivers, in addition to an accurate mycology, a little lesson in wisdom.
Hebdo Books
Existential questions as tasty as morels.
L’Obs
An informative and playful book, sensitive and without pathos. Long Litt Woon’s enthusiasm is highly contagious.
Tela Botanica
A jewel.
La revue numérique de l’alca
She can make her subject captivating by pressing all the buttons of the curious reader of nature.
Cri de l’ormeau
Remarkable, pedagogical, original, delightful.
Voyage dans les lettres nordiques
The Way Through the Woods will make a lovely gift for the curious bushwalker, recently bereaved person, or even the niche hobbyist in your life.
Georgia Delaney, Readings
When Malaysian-born anthropologist Long Litt Woon’s husband of 32 years dropped dead at work one summer’s morning, she lost not only the love of her life but her passport to society in her adopted home of Norway. Numb with grief, she had only platitudes to navigate her way through the wilderness of bereavement – until she found unexpected joy and a new tribe of friends who shared an offbeat interest: picking mushrooms in the Norwegian woods.
Andrea Ripper, Courier Mail
A Malaysian woman mourns the death of her Norwegian husband by foraging for mushrooms—from morels to Yellow Knights—in this singular memoir in which the author becomes a “traveler in the fungi kingdom”.
The Oprah Magazine, ‘10 August Books You Should Read Right Now’
There’s something of the really life fairytale about the way mushrooms guided Long Litt Woon through the woods of grief after her husband’s sudden death ... “To feel the flow is to find meaning, and to find meaning is to quiet and transform the storm inside.” In this way, mushrooming becomes an apt and mysterious metaphor for mourning’s “fieldwork of the heart” and the unexpected consolations it can yield.
Fiona Capp, The Age
[W]ritten by an exceptional woman who deigns to let us in on her unusual way through grief ... you will learn a lot about how she perceives people (indeed they appear to be her favourite subject second only to fungi) and her notes on human existence will delight and humour you ... you will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever knew you needed. [Woon] balances hefty scientific antidotes with the truly fantastic places her mushroom research has taken her. From perfumers to poison guides, there is nothing Woon will describe that won’t leave you hungry for more. A truly wonderful book about life and grief and mushrooms, The Way Through The Woods deserves all the praise it has been reaping and more.
Rave Cay Lane Wren, The Seattle Book Review
Woon writes about meeting new friends happy to wander through the Norwegian woods with her, spellbound by the hunt. As peculiar as that may sound to most people, mushroom hunters will understand immediately the peculiar joy of discovering fungi, especially rare ones, deep in the beautiful and mysterious woods ... Long is a poetic writer who melds what at first seem to be the most disparate possible topics into a profound and beautiful memoir, and one that is not at all just for mushroom enthusiasts.
Rave Newsday
The Re-Origin of Species: A Second Chance for Extinct Animals by Torill Kornfeldt
Pick up this book and you’ll be glued to its pages, and soon convinced that bioengineering will continue to change the world in ways difficult to imagine.
Good Reading 4.5 Stars
Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?
[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian
[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser
The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews
Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish
It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste
Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist
Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly
This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness
The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker
In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University
Good Reading 4.5 Stars
Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?
[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian
[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser
The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews
Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish
It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste
Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist
Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly
This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness
The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker
In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University
The Re-Origin of Species: a second chance for extinct animals by Torill Kornfeldt
Pick up this book and you’ll be glued to its pages, and soon convinced that bioengineering will continue to change the world in ways difficult to imagine.
Good Reading 4.5 Stars
Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?
[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian
[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser
The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews
Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish
It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste
Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist
Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly
This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness
The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker
In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University
Good Reading 4.5 Stars
Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?
[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian
[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser
The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews
Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish
It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste
Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist
Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly
This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness
The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker
In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University
Kopp Sisters on the March by Amy Stewart
Told in Stewart’s nimble, witty prose, this fifth in the popular series is based largely on fact and offers a paean to patriotism and the role women have played in war, even a century ago. Devoted fans will be pleased with the tantalising hint Stewart provides about what lies ahead for Constance. STARRED REVIEW
Booklist
Constance Kopp takes on the military establishment in Kopp Sisters on the March, the fifth in Amy Stewart’s entertaining series about three fiercely feminist sisters who refuse to believe that men are meant to rule the world.
Washington Post
Loosely inspired by an actual crime fighter ... the brisk Kopp Sisters on the March, with Constance and her sisters — crabby Norma and dreamy Fleurette — enrolling in one of the National Service Schools that prepared women for what World War I would require of them, on the home front or overseas.
Star-Tribune
A thrilling mix of history and feminism, this new ‘Kopp’ story contains the same captivating storytelling as the first one, with plenty of nuggets for series fans. STARRED REVIEW
Library Journal
Set in the spring of 1917, Stewart’s enjoyable fifth Kopp Sisters novel finds the three Kopp sisters ready to do their bit as the U.S. prepares to enter WWI ... Convincing characters behave in ways true to their era. Stewart does a wonderful job of illuminating a fascinating period in American history.
Publishers Weekly
A feisty, fact-based series ... After losing her dream job as Bergen County deputy sheriff, Constance Kopp regroups at a Maryland Army camp for women on the eve of World War I ... Plenty of loose ends are dangled for future volumes as Constance and Beulah both make peace with their pasts and plans to move forward.
Kirkus Reviews
A pleasing tale with a touch of excitement.
Clive Hodges, Good Reading
Booklist
Constance Kopp takes on the military establishment in Kopp Sisters on the March, the fifth in Amy Stewart’s entertaining series about three fiercely feminist sisters who refuse to believe that men are meant to rule the world.
Washington Post
Loosely inspired by an actual crime fighter ... the brisk Kopp Sisters on the March, with Constance and her sisters — crabby Norma and dreamy Fleurette — enrolling in one of the National Service Schools that prepared women for what World War I would require of them, on the home front or overseas.
Star-Tribune
A thrilling mix of history and feminism, this new ‘Kopp’ story contains the same captivating storytelling as the first one, with plenty of nuggets for series fans. STARRED REVIEW
Library Journal
Set in the spring of 1917, Stewart’s enjoyable fifth Kopp Sisters novel finds the three Kopp sisters ready to do their bit as the U.S. prepares to enter WWI ... Convincing characters behave in ways true to their era. Stewart does a wonderful job of illuminating a fascinating period in American history.
Publishers Weekly
A feisty, fact-based series ... After losing her dream job as Bergen County deputy sheriff, Constance Kopp regroups at a Maryland Army camp for women on the eve of World War I ... Plenty of loose ends are dangled for future volumes as Constance and Beulah both make peace with their pasts and plans to move forward.
Kirkus Reviews
A pleasing tale with a touch of excitement.
Clive Hodges, Good Reading
Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
In this searing investigation, Moaveni explores the phenomenon of Muslim women — many of them educated, successful, and outwardly Westernised — choosing to travel to Syria in support of jihad ... In concise, visceral vignettes, Moaveni immerses her readers in a milieu saturated with the romantic appeal of violence. The result is a journalistic tour de force that lays bare the inner lives, motivations, and aspirations of her subjects. STARRED REVIEW
Publishers Weekly
Eloquent, empathetic, insightful — and essential reading. A book that goes beyond slogans and stereotypes on a journey into a world we know too little about, in an attempt to understand young women whose stories startle and sadden.
Lyse Doucet, BBC chief international correspondent
Azadeh Moaveni offers what is sure to become a modern classic, answering the question of how Muslim women become, as the Western media puts it, “radicalised” ... Moaveni not only provides granular views of particular women as they navigate this sociopolitical minefield but also situates these stories in a broader cultural context, rendering them legible in compelling ways ... I couldn’t put the book down.
Kelly Blewett, BookPage
Azadeh Moaveni has written a powerful, indispensable book on a challenging subject: the inner lives and motivations of women who joined or supported the Islamic State militant group. It is a great read, digestible and almost novelistic, but it is much more than that. Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS tackles many taboos that have hampered clear-eyed discussion of Islamist extremism in general and ISIS in particular. The book provides an illuminating, much-needed corrective to stock narratives, not only about the group that deliberately and deftly terrified officials and publics across the world, but also about the larger ‘war on terror’ and the often ineffective, even counterproductive policies of Western and Middle Eastern governments.
Anne Barnard, New York Times
Peeling back layers of gender, Islamophobia, faith, loyalty, and socialisation, Moaveni situates the women’s stories within the larger historical and sociopolitical context of the time. Following 13 women in total, Guest House for Young Widows is an ambitious attempt to understand the attraction of ISIS for many disaffected youth who were ready to believe.
Laura Chanoux, Booklist
Brilliantly provocative and genuinely eye-opening ... It is truly fascinating as well as being an incredibly well-written work of narrative nonfiction.
Alison Huber, Readings
Azadeh Moaveni has achieved a feat of reporting to provide a rare glimpse into the private lives of these ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Brave, visceral, moving; essential reading for anyone seeking to understand so much of the violence in our troubled world.
Ben Rawlence, author of City of Thorns
Essential reading.
Martha Gill, The Times
Forensic yet empathetic … Always nuanced, Azadeh tears up the caricature of psychopaths unfazed by beheadings, and paints a more comprehensible portrait of culturally dislocated girls won over by recruiters who knew exactly which buttons to press.
Dani Garavelli, The Herald
This narrative nonfiction is written as a pastiche of sorts, vividly painting a picture of the journeys many Muslim women followed during their interactions with ISIS … a cohesive and engaging story.
Aisling Philippa, Lip
Moaveni humanises her subjects — 13 women who joined IS from Europe and the Middle East — through skillful storytelling and novelistic intimacy.
Kawther Alfasi, Prospect
An incredibly detailed piece of journalistic research … It’s genius.
Baillie Gifford Prize podcast
The book is a ripping yarn and has been named one of The New York Times’ top 100 books of 2019. It provides a fascinating insight into the complex realities at play for those drawn to the fight.
Kerrie O’Brien, The Age
[A] clear-eyed exploration.
Geordie Williamson, The Weekend Australian
Publishers Weekly
Eloquent, empathetic, insightful — and essential reading. A book that goes beyond slogans and stereotypes on a journey into a world we know too little about, in an attempt to understand young women whose stories startle and sadden.
Lyse Doucet, BBC chief international correspondent
Azadeh Moaveni offers what is sure to become a modern classic, answering the question of how Muslim women become, as the Western media puts it, “radicalised” ... Moaveni not only provides granular views of particular women as they navigate this sociopolitical minefield but also situates these stories in a broader cultural context, rendering them legible in compelling ways ... I couldn’t put the book down.
Kelly Blewett, BookPage
Azadeh Moaveni has written a powerful, indispensable book on a challenging subject: the inner lives and motivations of women who joined or supported the Islamic State militant group. It is a great read, digestible and almost novelistic, but it is much more than that. Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS tackles many taboos that have hampered clear-eyed discussion of Islamist extremism in general and ISIS in particular. The book provides an illuminating, much-needed corrective to stock narratives, not only about the group that deliberately and deftly terrified officials and publics across the world, but also about the larger ‘war on terror’ and the often ineffective, even counterproductive policies of Western and Middle Eastern governments.
Anne Barnard, New York Times
Peeling back layers of gender, Islamophobia, faith, loyalty, and socialisation, Moaveni situates the women’s stories within the larger historical and sociopolitical context of the time. Following 13 women in total, Guest House for Young Widows is an ambitious attempt to understand the attraction of ISIS for many disaffected youth who were ready to believe.
Laura Chanoux, Booklist
Brilliantly provocative and genuinely eye-opening ... It is truly fascinating as well as being an incredibly well-written work of narrative nonfiction.
Alison Huber, Readings
Azadeh Moaveni has achieved a feat of reporting to provide a rare glimpse into the private lives of these ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Brave, visceral, moving; essential reading for anyone seeking to understand so much of the violence in our troubled world.
Ben Rawlence, author of City of Thorns
Essential reading.
Martha Gill, The Times
Forensic yet empathetic … Always nuanced, Azadeh tears up the caricature of psychopaths unfazed by beheadings, and paints a more comprehensible portrait of culturally dislocated girls won over by recruiters who knew exactly which buttons to press.
Dani Garavelli, The Herald
This narrative nonfiction is written as a pastiche of sorts, vividly painting a picture of the journeys many Muslim women followed during their interactions with ISIS … a cohesive and engaging story.
Aisling Philippa, Lip
Moaveni humanises her subjects — 13 women who joined IS from Europe and the Middle East — through skillful storytelling and novelistic intimacy.
Kawther Alfasi, Prospect
An incredibly detailed piece of journalistic research … It’s genius.
Baillie Gifford Prize podcast
The book is a ripping yarn and has been named one of The New York Times’ top 100 books of 2019. It provides a fascinating insight into the complex realities at play for those drawn to the fight.
Kerrie O’Brien, The Age
[A] clear-eyed exploration.
Geordie Williamson, The Weekend Australian
Politics Now by David Rowe
What better way to capture the chaos of recent politics than a book by Australian Financial Review cartoonist David Rowe, Politics Now? It’s all in the detail with Rowe: the harder you look, the more hilarity you discover. Australian politicians are not his only targets; he also turns his pitiless gaze on George Pell, Donald Trump and our banks. Genius.
Nicole Abadee, Good Weekend
From one of Australia’s sharpest political cartoonists comes a book boasting the best of his truly unique work over the past five years. David Rowe’s daily cartoons for The Australian Financial Review can sum up in one, often grotesque, drawing the truly chaotic nature of Australian and global politics.
Michael Rowland, Domain
Nicole Abadee, Good Weekend
From one of Australia’s sharpest political cartoonists comes a book boasting the best of his truly unique work over the past five years. David Rowe’s daily cartoons for The Australian Financial Review can sum up in one, often grotesque, drawing the truly chaotic nature of Australian and global politics.
Michael Rowland, Domain
Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust by Hédi Fried
Timeless lessons taught with simple eloquence.
Kirkus
Hédi Fried is a remarkable woman and her writing offers important insights into truly terrible events and the slow, insidious way in which hatred can be fostered. Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is an easy to read account of things that are almost too horrible to comprehend. The essays represent an individual’s reflections on matters that touch the whole of humanity and, as Fried hopes, the lessons she has to teach about the past should serve as a warning for the future. FIVE STARS
Erin Britton, NB
Candid and unflinching, deeply personal and sensitive, this is the perfect book for anyone, young or old, wanting to learn more about the Holocaust and why we must never forget – especially as the last surviving witnesses are lost to us.
Leanne Edimistone, Courier Mail
Now 94, Fried’s largeness of spirit emanates from every considered response to even the most confronting questions asked of her. One senses that her replies are not only educative but therapeutic, especially for young people grappling with their own questions about the meaning of life. While most of her experiences of this period are inescapably dark, there were moments of light that assumed enormous significance.
Fiona Capp, The Saturday Age
Fried was 19 when she and her family were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. Her parents were murdered, but she and her sister survived. They both made a home in Sweden and, ever since, Fried, now 94, has talked to students about her experiences. This slim but powerful volume, sensitively translated by Alice Olsson, comprises answers to the questions she is most frequently asked, such as: “Why did you not fight back?” and “What helped you to survive?”, “Are you able to forgive?” Fried answers with humanity, candour and thoughtfulness in a book that should be required reading for all young people.
Hannah Beckerman, The Guardian
This is terrific in that I was utterly engrossed in not only what questions are asked of Hedi but the astute and depthful way she answers them. I began to read the other evening and went all the way to the end before putting this book down. It’s also potent in the ways our author touches on current issues with how we treat ‘others’ as to how we become divided and in worst case hurtful to those unlike ourselves. a big thumbs up and NOT just for the younger generation!
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books
Through questions she has been asked most, Questions I Am Asked About The Holocaust is a stoically raw and deeply human account of the author’s experiences throughout the Holocaust and surviving Auschwitz. An important, wise, and extremely powerful book.
Amanda Zirn Hudson, Bethany Beach Books
While Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is very easy to read, the questions it raises are very hard to answer. Fried, in simple, straightforward prose, answers questions that children have asked her about her experiences. A must-have for parents, but be prepared to answer some hard questions yourself.
Lee Virden Geurkink, Monkey and Dog Books
It’s the straightforwardness of the book – and the fact that Fried is so candid in her answers – that makes this book so important.
Shelly Gare, The Sydney Institute
[S]ince these questions come from children, they quickly reach a level of intimacy that most adults would be afraid to venture into ... Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is a collection of Hédi's gentle, honest answers to these questions over the years. With sensitivity and complete candour, Fried answers these questions and more in this deeply human book that urges us never to forget and never to repeat.
The Jewish Standard, Ontario
Honest and insightful.
Ellen Langmead, History Teachers’ Association of Victoria
Kirkus
Hédi Fried is a remarkable woman and her writing offers important insights into truly terrible events and the slow, insidious way in which hatred can be fostered. Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is an easy to read account of things that are almost too horrible to comprehend. The essays represent an individual’s reflections on matters that touch the whole of humanity and, as Fried hopes, the lessons she has to teach about the past should serve as a warning for the future. FIVE STARS
Erin Britton, NB
Candid and unflinching, deeply personal and sensitive, this is the perfect book for anyone, young or old, wanting to learn more about the Holocaust and why we must never forget – especially as the last surviving witnesses are lost to us.
Leanne Edimistone, Courier Mail
Now 94, Fried’s largeness of spirit emanates from every considered response to even the most confronting questions asked of her. One senses that her replies are not only educative but therapeutic, especially for young people grappling with their own questions about the meaning of life. While most of her experiences of this period are inescapably dark, there were moments of light that assumed enormous significance.
Fiona Capp, The Saturday Age
Fried was 19 when she and her family were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. Her parents were murdered, but she and her sister survived. They both made a home in Sweden and, ever since, Fried, now 94, has talked to students about her experiences. This slim but powerful volume, sensitively translated by Alice Olsson, comprises answers to the questions she is most frequently asked, such as: “Why did you not fight back?” and “What helped you to survive?”, “Are you able to forgive?” Fried answers with humanity, candour and thoughtfulness in a book that should be required reading for all young people.
Hannah Beckerman, The Guardian
This is terrific in that I was utterly engrossed in not only what questions are asked of Hedi but the astute and depthful way she answers them. I began to read the other evening and went all the way to the end before putting this book down. It’s also potent in the ways our author touches on current issues with how we treat ‘others’ as to how we become divided and in worst case hurtful to those unlike ourselves. a big thumbs up and NOT just for the younger generation!
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books
Through questions she has been asked most, Questions I Am Asked About The Holocaust is a stoically raw and deeply human account of the author’s experiences throughout the Holocaust and surviving Auschwitz. An important, wise, and extremely powerful book.
Amanda Zirn Hudson, Bethany Beach Books
While Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is very easy to read, the questions it raises are very hard to answer. Fried, in simple, straightforward prose, answers questions that children have asked her about her experiences. A must-have for parents, but be prepared to answer some hard questions yourself.
Lee Virden Geurkink, Monkey and Dog Books
It’s the straightforwardness of the book – and the fact that Fried is so candid in her answers – that makes this book so important.
Shelly Gare, The Sydney Institute
[S]ince these questions come from children, they quickly reach a level of intimacy that most adults would be afraid to venture into ... Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is a collection of Hédi's gentle, honest answers to these questions over the years. With sensitivity and complete candour, Fried answers these questions and more in this deeply human book that urges us never to forget and never to repeat.
The Jewish Standard, Ontario
Honest and insightful.
Ellen Langmead, History Teachers’ Association of Victoria
Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust by Hédi Fried
Timeless lessons taught with simple eloquence.
Kirkus
Hédi Fried is a remarkable woman and her writing offers important insights into truly terrible events and the slow, insidious way in which hatred can be fostered. Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is an easy to read account of things that are almost too horrible to comprehend. The essays represent an individual’s reflections on matters that touch the whole of humanity and, as Fried hopes, the lessons she has to teach about the past should serve as a warning for the future. FIVE STARS
Erin Britton, NB
Candid and unflinching, deeply personal and sensitive, this is the perfect book for anyone, young or old, wanting to learn more about the Holocaust and why we must never forget – especially as the last surviving witnesses are lost to us.
Leanne Edimistone, Courier Mail
Now 94, Fried’s largeness of spirit emanates from every considered response to even the most confronting questions asked of her. One senses that her replies are not only educative but therapeutic, especially for young people grappling with their own questions about the meaning of life. While most of her experiences of this period are inescapably dark, there were moments of light that assumed enormous significance.
Fiona Capp, The Saturday Age
Fried was 19 when she and her family were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. Her parents were murdered, but she and her sister survived. They both made a home in Sweden and, ever since, Fried, now 94, has talked to students about her experiences. This slim but powerful volume, sensitively translated by Alice Olsson, comprises answers to the questions she is most frequently asked, such as: “Why did you not fight back?” and “What helped you to survive?”, “Are you able to forgive?” Fried answers with humanity, candour and thoughtfulness in a book that should be required reading for all young people.
Hannah Beckerman, The Guardian
This is terrific in that I was utterly engrossed in not only what questions are asked of Hedi but the astute and depthful way she answers them. I began to read the other evening and went all the way to the end before putting this book down. It’s also potent in the ways our author touches on current issues with how we treat ‘others’ as to how we become divided and in worst case hurtful to those unlike ourselves. a big thumbs up and NOT just for the younger generation!
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books
Through questions she has been asked most, Questions I Am Asked About The Holocaust is a stoically raw and deeply human account of the author’s experiences throughout the Holocaust and surviving Auschwitz. An important, wise, and extremely powerful book.
Amanda Zirn Hudson, Bethany Beach Books
While Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is very easy to read, the questions it raises are very hard to answer. Fried, in simple, straightforward prose, answers questions that children have asked her about her experiences. A must-have for parents, but be prepared to answer some hard questions yourself.
Lee Virden Geurkink, Monkey and Dog Books
It’s the straightforwardness of the book – and the fact that Fried is so candid in her answers – that makes this book so important.
Shelly Gare, The Sydney Institute
[S]ince these questions come from children, they quickly reach a level of intimacy that most adults would be afraid to venture into ... Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is a collection of Hédi's gentle, honest answers to these questions over the years. With sensitivity and complete candour, Fried answers these questions and more in this deeply human book that urges us never to forget and never to repeat.
The Jewish Standard, Ontario
Honest and insightful.
Ellen Langmead, History Teachers’ Association of Victoria
Kirkus
Hédi Fried is a remarkable woman and her writing offers important insights into truly terrible events and the slow, insidious way in which hatred can be fostered. Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is an easy to read account of things that are almost too horrible to comprehend. The essays represent an individual’s reflections on matters that touch the whole of humanity and, as Fried hopes, the lessons she has to teach about the past should serve as a warning for the future. FIVE STARS
Erin Britton, NB
Candid and unflinching, deeply personal and sensitive, this is the perfect book for anyone, young or old, wanting to learn more about the Holocaust and why we must never forget – especially as the last surviving witnesses are lost to us.
Leanne Edimistone, Courier Mail
Now 94, Fried’s largeness of spirit emanates from every considered response to even the most confronting questions asked of her. One senses that her replies are not only educative but therapeutic, especially for young people grappling with their own questions about the meaning of life. While most of her experiences of this period are inescapably dark, there were moments of light that assumed enormous significance.
Fiona Capp, The Saturday Age
Fried was 19 when she and her family were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. Her parents were murdered, but she and her sister survived. They both made a home in Sweden and, ever since, Fried, now 94, has talked to students about her experiences. This slim but powerful volume, sensitively translated by Alice Olsson, comprises answers to the questions she is most frequently asked, such as: “Why did you not fight back?” and “What helped you to survive?”, “Are you able to forgive?” Fried answers with humanity, candour and thoughtfulness in a book that should be required reading for all young people.
Hannah Beckerman, The Guardian
This is terrific in that I was utterly engrossed in not only what questions are asked of Hedi but the astute and depthful way she answers them. I began to read the other evening and went all the way to the end before putting this book down. It’s also potent in the ways our author touches on current issues with how we treat ‘others’ as to how we become divided and in worst case hurtful to those unlike ourselves. a big thumbs up and NOT just for the younger generation!
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books
Through questions she has been asked most, Questions I Am Asked About The Holocaust is a stoically raw and deeply human account of the author’s experiences throughout the Holocaust and surviving Auschwitz. An important, wise, and extremely powerful book.
Amanda Zirn Hudson, Bethany Beach Books
While Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is very easy to read, the questions it raises are very hard to answer. Fried, in simple, straightforward prose, answers questions that children have asked her about her experiences. A must-have for parents, but be prepared to answer some hard questions yourself.
Lee Virden Geurkink, Monkey and Dog Books
It’s the straightforwardness of the book – and the fact that Fried is so candid in her answers – that makes this book so important.
Shelly Gare, The Sydney Institute
[S]ince these questions come from children, they quickly reach a level of intimacy that most adults would be afraid to venture into ... Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust is a collection of Hédi's gentle, honest answers to these questions over the years. With sensitivity and complete candour, Fried answers these questions and more in this deeply human book that urges us never to forget and never to repeat.
The Jewish Standard, Ontario
Honest and insightful.
Ellen Langmead, History Teachers’ Association of Victoria
Live Work Work Work Die: a journey into the savage heart of Silicon Valley by Corey Pein
In the spirit of George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, Corey Pein takes us on a gonzo misadventure through the underbelly of Silicon Valley, exposing the dystopian comedy behind the techno optimism with wry observation and gleeful contempt. A helluva ride.
Joe Hagan, Author of Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine
All praise to Corey Pein for jumping headfirst into the cesspool of Silicon Valley and returning without having lost his mind or sold his soul. His reports from the front lines of the startup frenzy are hilarious and terrifying. While all eyes are glued on President Trump, a shortsighted and reactionary techno-oligarchy aims to amass a fortune at the cost of the common good. There’s no app that can save us. But this book can at least wake us up to the dystopian future under construction.
Astra Taylor, Author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
Pein’s absurdly funny journey is a Through-the-Looking-Glass tale for the dying days of tech utopianism. Built on the creative vanity of this new class of talentless speculator and designed entirely without human need in mind, this world of nonsense quickly turns dystopian when seen from the perspective of a worker and renter trying to make his way through it.
Angela Nagle, Author of Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right
You sleep in a pantry because you can’t afford a real apartment. You exploit yourself, destroy your health, and ruin the lives of millions when you finally succeed. You think of crime as a great business model. You embrace some of the worst politics ever devised. And you call it progress. Silicon Valley, the capitalist miracle. That is the American nightmare as Corey Pein brilliantly describes it, and it is not a work of the imagination. This is really happening, and soon it will be happening to you.
Thomas Frank, Author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas?
Both entertaining and damning, Pein’s book unmasks the shell game being run by venture capitalists in an industry that is not nearly as benign as it claims to be.
Publisher’s Weekly
Deeply unsettling … A clearheaded reckoning with the consequences of the tech industry’s disruptions and the ideology that undergirds it.
Kirkus Reviews
Like Jon Ronson, Pein combines serious journalism with humour and his own antics for an entertaining and caustic mix. If Silicon Valley and Black Mirror had a book baby, it would be Live Work Work Work Die.
Booklist
The Silicon Valley that Pein uncovers is not unlike dystopian visions we are accustomed to seeing in science fiction.
The New Republic
Impressive ... Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels in both style and conceit, Live Work Work Work Die is a combination of New Journalism and muckraking told with an anthropological eye ... Alternately amusing and horrifying.
Salon
Fluent … entertaining … funny.
Justin Tyler Clark, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Despite and perhaps a little because of its lackadaisical approach to its subject, Live Work Work Work Die manages to capture something essential about Silicon Valley that has eluded other authors.
Nikil Saval, The New York Times
Pein's vivid account makes for fascinating reading about Silicon Valley and the tech industry and the often heartbreaking experiences of would-be entrepreneurs/techies struggling to achieve success.
Lucy Heckman, Library Journal
American investigative reporter Corey Pein is the latest to join the so-called “tech-lash”, the global pushback against the supremacy of tech … Pein identifies a growing “tech fascist” movement that embraces dubious philosophies and “neo-reactionary” ideas such as eugenics and the abolition of universities and government.
Megan Lehmann, The Australian
His just-published book, Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey Into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley, portrays a corrosive culture: start-ups funded by millions of dollars of venture capital where employees struggle to describe what is actually being produced; stressed start-up “chief executives” who work like navvies and rarely see pay-day; venture capitalists who would happily support an enterprise that would break the law so long as they could get in and out before everything collapsed; and a naked interest by those at the top in turning consumers into lab rats.
Shelley Gare, The Saturday Age
The book is a must read for any young people interested in working in technology.
Zachary Houle, Medium
An incisive portrait of a self-obsessed industry hellbent on succeeding by whatever means necessary.
Martin Coulter, Business Insider Australia
Joe Hagan, Author of Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine
All praise to Corey Pein for jumping headfirst into the cesspool of Silicon Valley and returning without having lost his mind or sold his soul. His reports from the front lines of the startup frenzy are hilarious and terrifying. While all eyes are glued on President Trump, a shortsighted and reactionary techno-oligarchy aims to amass a fortune at the cost of the common good. There’s no app that can save us. But this book can at least wake us up to the dystopian future under construction.
Astra Taylor, Author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
Pein’s absurdly funny journey is a Through-the-Looking-Glass tale for the dying days of tech utopianism. Built on the creative vanity of this new class of talentless speculator and designed entirely without human need in mind, this world of nonsense quickly turns dystopian when seen from the perspective of a worker and renter trying to make his way through it.
Angela Nagle, Author of Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right
You sleep in a pantry because you can’t afford a real apartment. You exploit yourself, destroy your health, and ruin the lives of millions when you finally succeed. You think of crime as a great business model. You embrace some of the worst politics ever devised. And you call it progress. Silicon Valley, the capitalist miracle. That is the American nightmare as Corey Pein brilliantly describes it, and it is not a work of the imagination. This is really happening, and soon it will be happening to you.
Thomas Frank, Author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas?
Both entertaining and damning, Pein’s book unmasks the shell game being run by venture capitalists in an industry that is not nearly as benign as it claims to be.
Publisher’s Weekly
Deeply unsettling … A clearheaded reckoning with the consequences of the tech industry’s disruptions and the ideology that undergirds it.
Kirkus Reviews
Like Jon Ronson, Pein combines serious journalism with humour and his own antics for an entertaining and caustic mix. If Silicon Valley and Black Mirror had a book baby, it would be Live Work Work Work Die.
Booklist
The Silicon Valley that Pein uncovers is not unlike dystopian visions we are accustomed to seeing in science fiction.
The New Republic
Impressive ... Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels in both style and conceit, Live Work Work Work Die is a combination of New Journalism and muckraking told with an anthropological eye ... Alternately amusing and horrifying.
Salon
Fluent … entertaining … funny.
Justin Tyler Clark, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Despite and perhaps a little because of its lackadaisical approach to its subject, Live Work Work Work Die manages to capture something essential about Silicon Valley that has eluded other authors.
Nikil Saval, The New York Times
Pein's vivid account makes for fascinating reading about Silicon Valley and the tech industry and the often heartbreaking experiences of would-be entrepreneurs/techies struggling to achieve success.
Lucy Heckman, Library Journal
American investigative reporter Corey Pein is the latest to join the so-called “tech-lash”, the global pushback against the supremacy of tech … Pein identifies a growing “tech fascist” movement that embraces dubious philosophies and “neo-reactionary” ideas such as eugenics and the abolition of universities and government.
Megan Lehmann, The Australian
His just-published book, Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey Into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley, portrays a corrosive culture: start-ups funded by millions of dollars of venture capital where employees struggle to describe what is actually being produced; stressed start-up “chief executives” who work like navvies and rarely see pay-day; venture capitalists who would happily support an enterprise that would break the law so long as they could get in and out before everything collapsed; and a naked interest by those at the top in turning consumers into lab rats.
Shelley Gare, The Saturday Age
The book is a must read for any young people interested in working in technology.
Zachary Houle, Medium
An incisive portrait of a self-obsessed industry hellbent on succeeding by whatever means necessary.
Martin Coulter, Business Insider Australia
Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley by Corey Pein
In the spirit of George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, Corey Pein takes us on a gonzo misadventure through the underbelly of Silicon Valley, exposing the dystopian comedy behind the techno optimism with wry observation and gleeful contempt. A helluva ride.
Joe Hagan, Author of Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine
All praise to Corey Pein for jumping headfirst into the cesspool of Silicon Valley and returning without having lost his mind or sold his soul. His reports from the front lines of the startup frenzy are hilarious and terrifying. While all eyes are glued on President Trump, a shortsighted and reactionary techno-oligarchy aims to amass a fortune at the cost of the common good. There’s no app that can save us. But this book can at least wake us up to the dystopian future under construction.
Astra Taylor, Author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in The Digital Age
Pein’s absurdly funny journey is a Through-the-Looking-Glass tale for the dying days of tech utopianism. Built on the creative vanity of this new class of talentless speculator and designed entirely without human need in mind, this world of nonsense quickly turns dystopian when seen from the perspective of a worker and renter trying to make his way through it.
Angela Nagle, Author of Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right
You sleep in a pantry because you can’t afford a real apartment. You exploit yourself, destroy your health, and ruin the lives of millions when you finally succeed. You think of crime as a great business model. You embrace some of the worst politics ever devised. And you call it progress. Silicon Valley, the capitalist miracle. That is the American nightmare as Corey Pein brilliantly describes it, and it is not a work of the imagination. This is really happening, and soon it will be happening to you.
Thomas Frank, Author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas?
Both entertaining and damning, Pein’s book unmasks the shell game being run by venture capitalists in an industry that is not nearly as benign as it claims to be.
Publishers Weekly
Deeply unsettling … A clearheaded reckoning with the consequences of the tech industry’s disruptions and the ideology that undergirds it.
Kirkus Reviews
Like Jon Ronson, Pein combines serious journalism with humour and his own antics for an entertaining and caustic mix. If Silicon Valley and Black Mirror had a book baby, it would be Live Work Work Work Die.
Booklist
The Silicon Valley that Pein uncovers is not unlike dystopian visions we are accustomed to seeing in science fiction.
The New Republic
Impressive ... Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels in both style and conceit, Live Work Work Work Die is a combination of New Journalism and muckraking told with an anthropological eye ... Alternately amusing and horrifying.
Salon
Fluent … entertaining … funny.
Justin Tyler Clark, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Despite and perhaps a little because of its lackadaisical approach to its subject, Live Work Work Work Die manages to capture something essential about Silicon Valley that has eluded other authors.
Nikil Saval, The New York Times
Pein's vivid account makes for fascinating reading about Silicon Valley and the tech industry and the often heartbreaking experiences of would-be entrepreneurs/techies struggling to achieve success.
Lucy Heckman, Library Journal
American investigative reporter Corey Pein is the latest to join the so-called “tech-lash”, the global pushback against the supremacy of tech … Pein identifies a growing “tech fascist” movement that embraces dubious philosophies and “neo-reactionary” ideas such as eugenics and the abolition of universities and government.
Megan Lehmann, The Australian
His just-published book, Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey Into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley, portrays a corrosive culture: start-ups funded by millions of dollars of venture capital where employees struggle to describe what is actually being produced; stressed start-up “chief executives” who work like navvies and rarely see pay-day; venture capitalists who would happily support an enterprise that would break the law so long as they could get in and out before everything collapsed; and a naked interest by those at the top in turning consumers into lab rats.
Shelley Gare, The Saturday Age
The book is a must read for any young people interested in working in technology.
Zachary Houle, Medium
An incisive portrait of a self-obsessed industry hellbent on succeeding by whatever means necessary.
Martin Coulter, Business Insider Australia
Joe Hagan, Author of Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine
All praise to Corey Pein for jumping headfirst into the cesspool of Silicon Valley and returning without having lost his mind or sold his soul. His reports from the front lines of the startup frenzy are hilarious and terrifying. While all eyes are glued on President Trump, a shortsighted and reactionary techno-oligarchy aims to amass a fortune at the cost of the common good. There’s no app that can save us. But this book can at least wake us up to the dystopian future under construction.
Astra Taylor, Author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in The Digital Age
Pein’s absurdly funny journey is a Through-the-Looking-Glass tale for the dying days of tech utopianism. Built on the creative vanity of this new class of talentless speculator and designed entirely without human need in mind, this world of nonsense quickly turns dystopian when seen from the perspective of a worker and renter trying to make his way through it.
Angela Nagle, Author of Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right
You sleep in a pantry because you can’t afford a real apartment. You exploit yourself, destroy your health, and ruin the lives of millions when you finally succeed. You think of crime as a great business model. You embrace some of the worst politics ever devised. And you call it progress. Silicon Valley, the capitalist miracle. That is the American nightmare as Corey Pein brilliantly describes it, and it is not a work of the imagination. This is really happening, and soon it will be happening to you.
Thomas Frank, Author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas?
Both entertaining and damning, Pein’s book unmasks the shell game being run by venture capitalists in an industry that is not nearly as benign as it claims to be.
Publishers Weekly
Deeply unsettling … A clearheaded reckoning with the consequences of the tech industry’s disruptions and the ideology that undergirds it.
Kirkus Reviews
Like Jon Ronson, Pein combines serious journalism with humour and his own antics for an entertaining and caustic mix. If Silicon Valley and Black Mirror had a book baby, it would be Live Work Work Work Die.
Booklist
The Silicon Valley that Pein uncovers is not unlike dystopian visions we are accustomed to seeing in science fiction.
The New Republic
Impressive ... Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels in both style and conceit, Live Work Work Work Die is a combination of New Journalism and muckraking told with an anthropological eye ... Alternately amusing and horrifying.
Salon
Fluent … entertaining … funny.
Justin Tyler Clark, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Despite and perhaps a little because of its lackadaisical approach to its subject, Live Work Work Work Die manages to capture something essential about Silicon Valley that has eluded other authors.
Nikil Saval, The New York Times
Pein's vivid account makes for fascinating reading about Silicon Valley and the tech industry and the often heartbreaking experiences of would-be entrepreneurs/techies struggling to achieve success.
Lucy Heckman, Library Journal
American investigative reporter Corey Pein is the latest to join the so-called “tech-lash”, the global pushback against the supremacy of tech … Pein identifies a growing “tech fascist” movement that embraces dubious philosophies and “neo-reactionary” ideas such as eugenics and the abolition of universities and government.
Megan Lehmann, The Australian
His just-published book, Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey Into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley, portrays a corrosive culture: start-ups funded by millions of dollars of venture capital where employees struggle to describe what is actually being produced; stressed start-up “chief executives” who work like navvies and rarely see pay-day; venture capitalists who would happily support an enterprise that would break the law so long as they could get in and out before everything collapsed; and a naked interest by those at the top in turning consumers into lab rats.
Shelley Gare, The Saturday Age
The book is a must read for any young people interested in working in technology.
Zachary Houle, Medium
An incisive portrait of a self-obsessed industry hellbent on succeeding by whatever means necessary.
Martin Coulter, Business Insider Australia