juliemowat's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow-I could not put this book down!! Great writing.. A true story that reads like spy novel. So depressing.. Ronan is now a big hero of mine. Thank you!!

sheridankedwards's review against another edition

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5.0

“In the end, the courage of women can’t be stamped out. And stories - the big ones, the true ones - can be caught but never killed.” My favorite book of 2021.

petem222's review against another edition

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4.0

Great read - I base my rating on the fact that I blew through it in about 2 weeks (fast for me since I have so many other distractions), and the subject matter was absolutely enthralling. Horrifying at the same time, mind you.

I took off the one star because there were so many different names to keep track of, and getting through a few portions was tough, had to go back and re-read. It would only be half a star off, if that was possible.

Bravo to Farrow for having the conviction to keep pushing this story through, regardless of the potential pitfalls to his professional life.

jwtindall's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 ⭐️

I must have read a different book from everyone else. No doubt the stories and articles at the heart of these scandals/abuses/crimes are monumentally important, but this book felt much less so. I didn’t realize going into it that it’s much more about how Ronan struggled to get his articles published and much less about what that reporting was actually about (I was hoping for expanded, unabridged versions of the articles, to be honest).

Aside from the focus of the book, I thought the prologue and epilogue were weird and didn’t belong, and the writing was choppy and disjointed at moments, which makes me think that Farrow is much better at writing as a third-person journalist than a first-person narrator (I cared little to not at all about his own personal side stories, though I did appreciate getting insights into his sister’s perspective). And there were way too many names to remember without any guidance on how to keep track of them; I would have loved a list of characters in the front or footnotes throughout. Speaking of which, why did Ronan need to introduce each new subject, himself included, with bizarre physical descriptions that were often more critical than helpful?

In all, the stories at the heart of this book are shocking and heartbreaking, and I hope all the women impacted find justice. I did find myself constantly saying “WOW” out loud during this book as I learned more and more about the cover-ups surrounding them. So, in the end, I am grateful for the reporting done by Farrow and others that brought so many of these horrible men down. I just wish this book was better.

elissa_t's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved it.

jules60657's review against another edition

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5.0

Ronan Farrow is an INCREDIBLE journalist. He also happens to read this own book and his voices are equally as impressive. I thought I would listen to this over the course of a week, but I couldn’t stop. I was enthralled throughout and I will read anything he writes!!

madelineann's review against another edition

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5.0

LOVED this book. Love Ronan’s writing style, his ability to be personal and professional in the same sentences. Fantastic book about how real journalists can stick to a story and see something good come from it. A true ally to women.

bermudaonion's review against another edition

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4.0

Farrow exposes the abuse of power by the powerful and wealthy in the entertainment and news business and the lengths they’ll go to cover up their indiscretions and crimes. Even though it’s dense at times, this book is disturbing and important.

christinamapes's review against another edition

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5.0

WHOA. There was so much more going on behind the scenes than we knew. This amazing piece of nonfiction reads like a thriller at times. I listened to the audiobook, but need to get my hands on a hard copy for a reread, because as much as I love Ronan, I could have done without the theatrics.

cmlhr's review against another edition

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5.0

Thank goodness for journalists.