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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Groundbreakingly critical story, and really good writing. The braids of the personal essay and the journalism were choppy, though, and the personal notes felt forced. It almost felt like the reporting itself had been edited in the final rounds of review to be a little more human, like the relationships beyond the case were an afterthought to include.
All the same, and almost needlessly said, historically stellar journalism. A must read.
All the same, and almost needlessly said, historically stellar journalism. A must read.
As I was reading this book, I felt angry but also disgusted and extremely disappointed. What does this say about us? It's not just about people like Weinstein, Trump, Lauer, Epstein who thought what ever they did was Okay but about all the people who continued to enable them. The fact that Ronan was given this assignment, to investigate reports of Weinstein's behavior and when he makes genuine head way and has uncovered a good deal of credible incidents and personal interviews and then told to basically “stand down” and abandon his work by the people who are at the top of NBC does not only appear to be a cover-up but is a cover-up. Facing intimidation, removal from his position he still soldiered on because he knew that this story needed to be told. I hope that Ronan has a successful and fulfilling future in journalism because we need people like him who aren't afraid to risk it all to do the right thing. I highly recommend this book.
This book is fascinating and horrific. The tangled web of spies, lawyers, unethical journalists and sexual predators across Hollywood and the news industry was appalling and yet absolutely interesting to see how deep and tangled the cover-ups were. It makes sense why so many of the stories broke in immediate succession when you see how interrelated they each were. There were times I had to put the book down because I was so upset that people had clear facts, that were checked and cross-checked sitting on their desk and chose not to act because of cowardice and threats from leadership who claimed to believe in journalistic integrity. There were times I wanted to throw the book across the room I was so upset. This was definitely worth reading for the writing and the reporting and the need to continue to converse about appropriate office behavior, the influence of power, and the horrific prevalence of sexual assault and harassment.
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Not bad for a nepo baby. I wish there were a cast of characters reference page because there are so many players here. The spy aspect was sooo interesting.
This book is an engrossing memoir about chasing a story against institutional headwinds and corporate power. I recommend reading both it and She Said to gain many perspectives in the world of reporting.
As an aside, I am a Pod Save America fan, and reading Jon Lovett, excuse me, Jonathan, as romantic love interest, is exactly the kind of content I needed in 2019.
As an aside, I am a Pod Save America fan, and reading Jon Lovett, excuse me, Jonathan, as romantic love interest, is exactly the kind of content I needed in 2019.
Horrifying and thrilling, and punctuated by (usually dry) humor (usually from Jonathan). Reading this after HW’s conviction and sentencing was cathartic. I only put this book down when I had to; I was riveted.
My only caveat: there are a lot of names to keep track of, so if you can’t remember who someone is, it helps to just assume they’re one of the bad guys—the number of people complicit in “the conspiracy to protect predators” is staggering.
I also seldom read all the way through the acknowledgments in books, but because almost everyone mentioned makes an appearance in the book itself, this one felt like the cast of a play coming out onstage to take a bow. *Applause* for everyone involved in bringing these scandals and crimes to light.
My only caveat: there are a lot of names to keep track of, so if you can’t remember who someone is, it helps to just assume they’re one of the bad guys—the number of people complicit in “the conspiracy to protect predators” is staggering.
I also seldom read all the way through the acknowledgments in books, but because almost everyone mentioned makes an appearance in the book itself, this one felt like the cast of a play coming out onstage to take a bow. *Applause* for everyone involved in bringing these scandals and crimes to light.
I finished it in a day. That’s all you need to know.
This seems to be a book about Ronan Farrow first, and the women assaulted by HW second. Why does he have to tell us where he was when he read a text? The story gets lost in the author's ego. I've read enough.