arthuraugustyn's review
3.0
Difficult to give this a rating. Much of the information about internet-age propaganda is fascinating and invaluable to anyone interested in how our modern world is being dominated by vicious amoral actors. At the same time, a lot of this book has long stretches of totally irrelevant "color." You'll get 10 pages about a Faulkner novel, another 10 pages on some family story from 50 years ago. They're all tangential to the book's topic, but nowhere near as interesting. Given this book is relatively short (barely 200 pages), I imagine this was mandated by the publisher for length, but it's not necessary. I started to skip huge portions whenever it was obvious there was some pointless anecdote.
Additionally, this may be the only book I put down for a year because it was so god damn depressing. That may be an indication it's a worthy read.
Additionally, this may be the only book I put down for a year because it was so god damn depressing. That may be an indication it's a worthy read.
admatthews's review against another edition
4.0
Pomerantsev sets out with chilling clarity how, instead of suppressing free speech, some governments or institutions now weaponise it instead and exploit an 'abundance of information' to drown out reasoned argument -and that even when we know they're doing it, on the whole we don't care as long as we like the message.
puggers13's review against another edition
5.0
I think this is a very important read for todays political climate.
larawade's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
I read this book for my dissertation research and it was so valuable, which may be why I gave it such a high rating. The structuring of this book made some of the most complex relationships of contemporary times accessible and humanised, and despite some already outdated elements due to the tumultuous political age we live in, it is still a must-read for anyone concerned about internet politics, big data in companies and elections, and the envelopment of the human into the technological space.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, Genocide, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Xenophobia