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Revision as of 04:18, 31 August 2022
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| Author | Tal Lavin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | White supremacy |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Published | 2020, Hachette Books |
| Media type | Print, e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 288 pages |
| ISBN | 978-0-30684-643-4 |
| Website | hachettebooks.com/titles/talia-lavin/culture-warlords/9780306846434/ |
Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy is a non-fiction book by Tal Lavin.[1][2] In it, Lavin describes a project of inventing online personae that allow him to meet and expose fascist white supremacists who gather in online chatrooms and websites; the book also traces the historic roots of these contemporary phenomena.
Time named Culture Warlords one of the 100 must-read books of 2020.
Publication history
Lavin, who is Jewish and the grandchild of Holocaust survivors,[3] became motivated to investigate the topic following white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 where "Jews will not replace us!" was a rallying cry.[4] This may be in reference to the white genocide conspiracy theory.
In March 2019, Lavin sold Culture Warlords to editor Paul Whitlatch at Hachette Books.[1][5] It was published on October 13, 2020.[6][7]
Content
Lavin invented online personae which allowed him to gain entry to white supremacist websites and chatrooms, gathering information for journalists and anti-fascist activists. The book describes these present-day encounters while also tracing “the distant and near history of the alt-right, from the medieval European blood libel to Henry Ford’s mainstreaming of anti-Semitic ideas to Gamergate and the stories of a radicalized adolescent YouTuber.”[3]
Reception
Publishers Weekly called the book a "bracing and wide-ranging look at the internet as a breeding ground for racism and misogyny. Readers with a strong stomach for hateful ideology will find plenty of harrowing takeaways."[6] Kirkus gave Culture Warlords a starred review[8] and USA Today named it number one in the “hottest new book releases” for the week it was published.[9]
Writing in The New York Times, Jennifer Szalai said, "One of the marvels of this furious book is how insolent and funny Lavin is."[10] In her review for the Boston Globe, Kate Tuttle notes that while other books treat similar material, Lavin's work "feels particularly insightful, perhaps because [he] understands so deeply both the modern idiom in which these bigots operate today and their historic roots in race science, eugenics, and anti-Semitism."[11]
Time named Culture Warlords one of the 100 must-read books of 2020.[12]
References
- ^ a b "Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy". Library Journal. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Paltrowitz, Darren (July 21, 2020). "25 Inspiring Books Worth Adding to Your COVID-19 Summer Reading List". Jewish Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Kellogg, Carolyn (October 27, 2020). "An Expedition Deep Into an Underworld of Online Hate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Hasan, Maham (October 13, 2020). ""A Car Crash Between Nicholas Sparks and Mein Kampf": In the Tangled World of Far-Right Chatrooms, White Supremacists Are Getting Organized". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ "Talia Lavin sells book on white supremacists; Mira Jacob on the inspirations behind "Good Talk"". Book Forum. March 26, 2019.
- ^ a b "Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy". Publishers Weekly. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ VanDenburgh, Barbara (September 23, 2020). "20 new books to read this fall, from Mariah Carey, Jonathan Lethem, Megan Rapinoe, more". USA Today. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ "Culture Warlords". Kirkus Reviews. July 28, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ VanDenburgh, Barbara. "5 books not to miss: 'Culture Warlords' by Talia Lavin, P. Djèlí Clark's 'Ring Shout'". USA Today. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Szalai, Jennifer (October 14, 2020). "An Undercover Trip into the Rageful Worlds of Incels and White Supremacists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ Tuttle, Kate (October 22, 2020). "A writer infiltrates the world of white nationalism in 'Culture Warlords'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ "'Culture Warlords' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020". Time. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
External links
- "Going Undercover on a Racist Dating Site" – excerpt published in The Nation
- "Conspiracy theories about Soros aren’t just false. They’re anti-Semitic." in The Washington Post