Scan barcode
cynstagraphy's review against another edition
2.0
Amusing, albeit p*ssy hat basic Liberal book. Its conclusion of "Trump only won because boomers wanted to trigger us le epic style" is a lazy one and fails to address the centuries-long racism and white supremacy so tightly entangled within American, Western, colonial and postcolonial history which also benefits Bernie Bros and Hillary fangirls like Marcotte herself. The love of the far right for 45 (or, better worded, the hatred for anything he stands against) is no joke and it would have erupted eventually with or without friggen gay frogs.
lukaron's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite done, but as I read further through this book, something was getting under my skin and it wasn't until about halfway through I realized what it was.
This reads like a super-long OP Ed, a super-long Reddit or Facebook rant, or simply a stream of consciousness from one who clearly hates one half of the political apparatus in the United States. Not that this last point particularly matters to me. The thing that was getting to me? The utter lack of any citations, references, or a bibliography.
Let me explain.
In serious, academic writing, such as many of the books I've read this year from journalists and historians covering the Trump years, extremism, the alt-right, and social media - you come to expect that the author takes the time to show where they're pulling information from. This accomplishes a couple of things. First - it establishes credibility. Meaning - "the data is accurate and this is where you can go look to see it for yourself." Second (and kind of in line with the first point) it shows that you're not just reading pure speculation or opinion on the part of the author.
As a left-leaning moderate, I find that I don't necessarily disagree with the author's stance on many things (except the juvenile and misinformed stance on gun ownership), but the fact that this work is purely opinion without so much as citations for supposed direct quotes leads me to believe that this work was probably her first foray into serious authorship outside of writing opinion pieces for newspapers or online journalism outlets.
Definitely don't recommend this book to anyone engaging in research on things such as the aforementioned topics such as Trump, the impact of online extremism, etc. as the work cannot be considered credible due to the lack of academic effort on the author's part. Definitely do recommend if you want to have a few laughs at some of the more pointed observations and some of the more acerbic takes on things from the Trump years.
3/5 stars, leaning 2/5.
This reads like a super-long OP Ed, a super-long Reddit or Facebook rant, or simply a stream of consciousness from one who clearly hates one half of the political apparatus in the United States. Not that this last point particularly matters to me. The thing that was getting to me? The utter lack of any citations, references, or a bibliography.
Let me explain.
In serious, academic writing, such as many of the books I've read this year from journalists and historians covering the Trump years, extremism, the alt-right, and social media - you come to expect that the author takes the time to show where they're pulling information from. This accomplishes a couple of things. First - it establishes credibility. Meaning - "the data is accurate and this is where you can go look to see it for yourself." Second (and kind of in line with the first point) it shows that you're not just reading pure speculation or opinion on the part of the author.
As a left-leaning moderate, I find that I don't necessarily disagree with the author's stance on many things (except the juvenile and misinformed stance on gun ownership), but the fact that this work is purely opinion without so much as citations for supposed direct quotes leads me to believe that this work was probably her first foray into serious authorship outside of writing opinion pieces for newspapers or online journalism outlets.
Definitely don't recommend this book to anyone engaging in research on things such as the aforementioned topics such as Trump, the impact of online extremism, etc. as the work cannot be considered credible due to the lack of academic effort on the author's part. Definitely do recommend if you want to have a few laughs at some of the more pointed observations and some of the more acerbic takes on things from the Trump years.
3/5 stars, leaning 2/5.
mx_manda's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I listened to the Audible narration of this book.
I listened to the Audible narration of this book.
thorkell's review against another edition
2.0
Amanda Marcotte is a great pen, she is funny and has some really good points. The problem is her attitude towards the subject. Her goal is not to solve any problems, but rather to win a war. The book is not written to explain anything to Trump supporters. It is written to fuel the hate towards them and to prove how evil they are. Everything they do is just to troll the left. She never tries to understand where this bitterness on the right comes from. This book is therefore only going to increase the tribalism, something the world really does not need today.
lfagundes's review against another edition
5.0
There's nothing particularly earth-shattering or mind-blowing about this book; nonetheless it soothed my angry soul. She basically rants beautifully about how stupid the right wing has been for many years now - culminating in this dumpster fire of a presidency we are desperately trying to get through intact. It made me feel a bit more sane after reading it - wonderful salve in today's climate of chaos, offensiveness, and absurdity.
felixsanchez's review against another edition
2.0
DNF: Got about halfway and it was just repetitive, redundant and obvious. No interesting, original or thoughtful insight, just more of the same. Trump = bad, Fox News = Bad. I think the author banks on people agreeing with her, which I do, but the book just does not give anything new that’s worth reading.
williambrinkman's review against another edition
4.0
A bit dated but it is a good introduction to the Internet troll culture that took over politics and led to the rise of Donald Trump.
loribeth1961's review against another edition
4.0
I have been reading Amanda Marcotte's work on Salon.and other (mostly online) publications for several years now, and following her on social media. Raised in Texas, she has made a name for herself writing about feminism, environmentalism, and the ongoing culture war politics of the United States.
Marcotte's latest book, "Troll Nation," will likely NOT appeal to anyone who voted for the current occupant of the White House. For those of us with a more liberal bent to our politics ;) Marcotte's book is a good look at how our political discourse (and not just in the U.S.) has been hijacked by trolls, mostly coming from the right wing of the political spectrum.
"...trolling liberals is no longer considered just a fun sport, but the ultimate purpose of conservative politics," Marcotte writes. "The idea of making a positive argument in favor of conservative values has atrophied, leaving only the desire to troll in its place." (p. xvi)
Marcotte looks at how this "desire to troll" has played out in the areas of political correctness, women, the environment, health care, guns, race, conspiracy theories and the media. She also profiles "case studies" of some recognizable right-wing public figures who have contributed to the current environment.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that the desire to annoy liberals is the ONLY thing going on with the right today... but it does explain a lot...! My one major reservation/complaint about this book is that Marcotte offers little in the way of ideas as to what can be done to restore a more reasoned/factual/respectful/civil tone to public life. "We can't fix troll nation," she concludes. (p. 184) But she finds a glimmer of hope in the fact that Hillary Clinton received more votes than Donald Trump in the 2016 election. "And the blunt fact of the matter is that it was only so close because so few Americans vote... we've had the power this whole time. We just need to channel it." (pp. 184-185) In other words, get out & VOTE!
Overall, I thought this was an engaging and (mostly) well-written read. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. It's not long, a slim volume and a quick read, under 200 well-spaced pages in a generous type size.
Marcotte's latest book, "Troll Nation," will likely NOT appeal to anyone who voted for the current occupant of the White House. For those of us with a more liberal bent to our politics ;) Marcotte's book is a good look at how our political discourse (and not just in the U.S.) has been hijacked by trolls, mostly coming from the right wing of the political spectrum.
"...trolling liberals is no longer considered just a fun sport, but the ultimate purpose of conservative politics," Marcotte writes. "The idea of making a positive argument in favor of conservative values has atrophied, leaving only the desire to troll in its place." (p. xvi)
Marcotte looks at how this "desire to troll" has played out in the areas of political correctness, women, the environment, health care, guns, race, conspiracy theories and the media. She also profiles "case studies" of some recognizable right-wing public figures who have contributed to the current environment.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that the desire to annoy liberals is the ONLY thing going on with the right today... but it does explain a lot...! My one major reservation/complaint about this book is that Marcotte offers little in the way of ideas as to what can be done to restore a more reasoned/factual/respectful/civil tone to public life. "We can't fix troll nation," she concludes. (p. 184) But she finds a glimmer of hope in the fact that Hillary Clinton received more votes than Donald Trump in the 2016 election. "And the blunt fact of the matter is that it was only so close because so few Americans vote... we've had the power this whole time. We just need to channel it." (pp. 184-185) In other words, get out & VOTE!
Overall, I thought this was an engaging and (mostly) well-written read. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. It's not long, a slim volume and a quick read, under 200 well-spaced pages in a generous type size.