librarymouse's review

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5.0

The pacing of this book made it engaging despite the gravity of the information being discussed. Farrow is straightforward with his explanation of his own history with the issue of sexual assault, growing up in the shadow of what Woody Allen, their father, did to his sister Dylan, and the media shit storm that ensued. Intwining his own story, growing as a person and apologizing to his sister for the role he played in the covering up of her own trauma, kept this story grounded and away from the sensationalized scandalous text it could have become. In 2024, it is especially interesting and upsetting to see the intentional disruption of American news news to destroy information and skew political outcomes as done by Israel's government-backed Black Cube.

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mariawie's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.0


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julziez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0


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massivepizzacrust's review against another edition

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hopeful informative tense fast-paced

5.0

I think I don't have anything to say that hasn't been said by others. This book is insane and while I was aware of the fallout of this painstaking research broadly, I didn't realize how far-reaching the efforts to cover it were. Obviously, it's disgusting but not particularly surprising that major news outlets have huge harassment issues, as do many male-dominated industries. I'm sure you could uncover very similar stories in tech or finance. 
But I think one of the best points the book makes is the effect this harassment and the relationships between news execs and other influential figures have on reporting. How can we trust that news outlets are being honest when they're in semi-blackmail relationships with the subjects of their reporting and afraid that any reporting on bad behavior could just as easily be turned on them? I'm very grateful for the ridiculous bravery shown by all the sources who were willing to endure continued harassment and legal threats to tell everyone what happened.

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mahra's review against another edition

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5.0

5 ⭐️ Such an important book, written by a very impressive human being. Everyone should read this. Ronan Farrow's performance in the audiobook is also amazing (and funny, at times, surprisingly). 

You think you know this story, and I assure you that you do not. 

What amazes the most about this book is that, yes, it is about Ronan Farrow's experiences, but somehow he's able to not make it about himself, but about the victims. He is able to factually give the results of his investigation, to recount things that happened from his point of view, to tell us the way he truly felt, and to relay the victims' stories with so much care and so much empathy.

Incredible read.

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plethora's review

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challenging informative tense medium-paced

3.0

It is clear throughout this book that Ronan Farrow respects and has great admiration for survivors, and the profession of journalism alike. I credit him for his work bringing these stories to light, and for his perseverance through the events described in this book. It is a monstrous feat in itself to unravel the web of conspiracy spun between these institutions in the first place, let alone to then make it make sense for the reader. A world that allows this
sexual commodification of its female workforce
after all, is hard to make sense of. 

There are innumerable players involved in these events, and I found it difficult to keep track of everyone's roles. I'm sure this is at least in part by design, if not by the author than by the institutions themselves. I would have benefitted from an organizational chart in many cases. The fragmented telling of this story, while more digestible in its format (and perhaps an indication of the varied articles, segments, and posts that started it all), felt like a choice rather than a necessity. There were times I wished these pieces were brought together differently for a more cohesive work. In terms of the structure, there were times timeline was favoured over subject matter, though this was inconsistent. It was a story in 59 parts. Sorry, 5 parts, 59 chapters, and subdivided further from there. Digestible, mentally helpful, a bit unearned. 

All in all, this is an important read. Farrow wasn't afraid to drive the point home in many passages in a way that felt like some small justice in itself during such reeling events. The spark of resistance brought some comfort. He called it like it was in a way that is reminiscent of Chanel Miller. Calling a spade a spade, calling people on their bullshit, staring the message between the lines in the eyes, and yelling it back at them. Engraving it on the record. 

It feels good knowing there's someone like Ronan Farrow helping to bear the weight of this crushing patriarchy for us all. 

Shoutout
McHugh. Best dad ever.

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maddiet425's review against another edition

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4.75


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mari_books's review against another edition

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4.5

I didn’t expect to be as captivated by this book as I was. Farrow narrates this true story with incredible seriousness and attention to details. The first half of the book builds up Farrows reporting of the Weinstein story, kind of a slow burn about all the obstacles they face. The second half of the book is like an avalanche, everything comes together quickly and devastatingly sudden. It takes the breaking news items you vaguely remember from a few years ago and rebreaks them.  You realize the depth and reach of power, and how law, media and politics are tools for power. It’s uncanny how the topic of abuse of power in media/Hollywood has developed since the publishing of this book (Farrows prediction) as more worms come out of the apple. 

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angelasosh's review against another edition

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5.0

Ronan Farrow details his reporting on the Harvey Weinstein scandal with care and honesty. His dedication to publish this story despite the backlash, coverups, and conspiracies is admirable and something I hope other reporters aspire to. He handles the sensitive topic of sexual abuse and assault with care while also not shying away from the details of what actually happened. He is also clear about his sources and I believe he vetted everything he possibly could to maintain integrity in his reporting. Would def recommend this to anybody and everybody. 

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mscalls's review

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.5


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