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Troll Nation: How The Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set On Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself
A Senior Political Reporter examines how Trump, a man with no detectable personal qualities outside of resentment and the will to dominate, could appeal to millions of Americans and win the highest office in the land.
The election of Donald Trump in 2016, like most of his campaign, came as a shock to many Americans. How could a man so lacking in capacity, so void of any intellectual heft, become the president of the United States? How could a man with no detectable personal qualities outside of resentment and the will to dominate appeal to millions of Americans, enough so that he was able to win the highest office in the land?
With this book, journalist Amanda Marcotte will outline how Trump was the inevitable result of American conservatism's degradation into an ideology of blind resentment. For years now, the purpose of right wing media, particularly Fox News, has not been to argue for traditional conservative ideals, such as small government or even family values, so much as to stoke bitterness and paranoia in its audience. Traditionalist white people have lost control over the culture, and they know it, and the only option they feel they have left is to rage at a broad swath of supposed enemies — journalists, activists, feminists, city dwellers, college professors — that they blame for stealing "their" country from them.
Conservative pundits, politicians, and activists have abandoned any hope of winning the argument through reasoned discourse, and instead have adopted a series of bad faith claims, conspiracy theories, and culture war hysterics. Decades of these antics created a conservative voting base that was ready to elect a mindless bully like Donald Trump.
The election of Donald Trump in 2016, like most of his campaign, came as a shock to many Americans. How could a man so lacking in capacity, so void of any intellectual heft, become the president of the United States? How could a man with no detectable personal qualities outside of resentment and the will to dominate appeal to millions of Americans, enough so that he was able to win the highest office in the land?
With this book, journalist Amanda Marcotte will outline how Trump was the inevitable result of American conservatism's degradation into an ideology of blind resentment. For years now, the purpose of right wing media, particularly Fox News, has not been to argue for traditional conservative ideals, such as small government or even family values, so much as to stoke bitterness and paranoia in its audience. Traditionalist white people have lost control over the culture, and they know it, and the only option they feel they have left is to rage at a broad swath of supposed enemies — journalists, activists, feminists, city dwellers, college professors — that they blame for stealing "their" country from them.
Conservative pundits, politicians, and activists have abandoned any hope of winning the argument through reasoned discourse, and instead have adopted a series of bad faith claims, conspiracy theories, and culture war hysterics. Decades of these antics created a conservative voting base that was ready to elect a mindless bully like Donald Trump.
216 pages, Hardcover
Published April 24, 2018
67 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 18, 2018
I mean I agree with Marcotte politically and I laughed at some of her zingers in here, but the book felt more like a long blog posty rant about crazy conservatives than a real history or analysis of "trolls." You can't call McCain and twitter bots both trolls and have the word mean anything. Marcotte seems to think that the entire GOP is just trolling the left. I don't buy that.
June 22, 2018
A well-reasoned explanation of how 46% of American voters have become immune to facts, logic, and reason. Highly recommended.
September 20, 2018
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.
May 23, 2018
Just a fabulous read - grabs you from the first paragraph. If you want to understand the role of disinformation and social media, grab Amanda's book now.
December 19, 2018
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.
August 11, 2019
Started this book on 06/21/18
"When conservatives says things that hurt the feelings of liberals, that's just free and rowdy discourse of the sort that our Founding Fathers enshrined in the constitution. When liberals hurt the feelings of conservatives, however, calling out racism or sexism? Well, that's horrific 'political correctness' and needs to be silenced post-haste." ...
"Trump is making a different bet, which is that no matter how much he deliberately fucks with the country, his voters will happily lap up whatever lie he feeds them about who else's fault it is." ...
"He's probably right to bet these folks would live in a trash pile as long as they believe they can force liberals to live in a shit pile. Trump sees his followers as suckers whose resentments can be used to get them to swallow all sorts of indignities, and so far, there's no evidence to contradict him." ...
"Trump's love of conspiracy theories has endeared him to troll nation, which was ecstatic to finally have a leader who is as contemptuous of empirical truth as they are." ...
"Truth is something those liberals care about, and refusing to care about anything liberals care about is a point of pride for troll nation." ...
Finished 07/05/18
Excellent read. Highly recommend.
"When conservatives says things that hurt the feelings of liberals, that's just free and rowdy discourse of the sort that our Founding Fathers enshrined in the constitution. When liberals hurt the feelings of conservatives, however, calling out racism or sexism? Well, that's horrific 'political correctness' and needs to be silenced post-haste." ...
"Trump is making a different bet, which is that no matter how much he deliberately fucks with the country, his voters will happily lap up whatever lie he feeds them about who else's fault it is." ...
"He's probably right to bet these folks would live in a trash pile as long as they believe they can force liberals to live in a shit pile. Trump sees his followers as suckers whose resentments can be used to get them to swallow all sorts of indignities, and so far, there's no evidence to contradict him." ...
"Trump's love of conspiracy theories has endeared him to troll nation, which was ecstatic to finally have a leader who is as contemptuous of empirical truth as they are." ...
"Truth is something those liberals care about, and refusing to care about anything liberals care about is a point of pride for troll nation." ...
Finished 07/05/18
Excellent read. Highly recommend.
July 17, 2018
It's a good book, well written and researched. However -- as a regular reader of Salon and other news & opinion sites -- after the first couple of chapters, it really was simply a compendium of all the horrible things that have happened in our country the last couple of years. I was hoping for more analysis of what drives conservatives to think and feel the way they do. The simple answer given pointed to a segment of society driven simply by bigotry, misogyny, racism and nihilism -- along with a hatred of anything that liberals like (fairness, justice, clean air and water, etc). All stoked in large part by Fox news. So, nothing new or terribly illuminating. And it was depressing to read about all those atrocious things again -- so I started skimming and skipping chapters.
Next up: The Opposite of Hate, by Sally Kohn
Next up: The Opposite of Hate, by Sally Kohn
September 22, 2019
What could have been a great and productive study of how online culture has impacted politics instead degraded into a political rant that itself will only give grist to the mill that feeds the trolls.
What could have been (and is at points) a subtle analysis of the social and psychological logic of trolling and the right instead degraded into a Manichaean condemnation.
There is a book to be written about how alienation, economic conditions, fake news, the Internet, cyber-psyops, etc. all combine to produce an enticing community of Antisocial Anarchy Warriors, but not as a product of their symbionts of the Intersectional Left.
What could have been (and is at points) a subtle analysis of the social and psychological logic of trolling and the right instead degraded into a Manichaean condemnation.
There is a book to be written about how alienation, economic conditions, fake news, the Internet, cyber-psyops, etc. all combine to produce an enticing community of Antisocial Anarchy Warriors, but not as a product of their symbionts of the Intersectional Left.
December 31, 2018
Excellent overview of the degeneration of political conversation in this country and of the execrable behavior of Trump's racist fan club. Marcotte fails to cover two major causes, however: the poisonous influence of Fox "News" and the funding of right-wing extremism by billionaires like the Mercers and the Kochs, who think that their wealth gives them the right to rewrite our laws in their favor.
August 23, 2018
Brief, to the point, written in an easy to read colloquial style, this is still full of well-considered points and good insights. Worth reading.
August 31, 2018
The title on my version actually reads: "Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set on Ratf*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself."
Well, with a title like that, how could I pass it up at the library? The author has a direct, rather in-your-face delivery, which was entirely fitting for the subject matter. One of my favorite statements from the author:
"After all, just like mainstream conservatives, white supremacists also hate "political correctness," liberal college professors, and hot feminists who look at you like your dick is made of bees."
And it does solidify in my mind how Trumplodytes came to be. My second-favorite quote was one of Obama's, however, and it just about says it all:
"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
And there's the how and why, people.
Well, with a title like that, how could I pass it up at the library? The author has a direct, rather in-your-face delivery, which was entirely fitting for the subject matter. One of my favorite statements from the author:
"After all, just like mainstream conservatives, white supremacists also hate "political correctness," liberal college professors, and hot feminists who look at you like your dick is made of bees."
And it does solidify in my mind how Trumplodytes came to be. My second-favorite quote was one of Obama's, however, and it just about says it all:
"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
And there's the how and why, people.
November 30, 2018
This is one of those books that makes me wish I could award half stars (giving it 3 stars but I liked it enough that 3.5 feels more appropriate). The book is definitely polemical and at times can feel a bit like the progressive equivalent of an Ann Coulter book, but I do think it’s quite deft in its analysis of something that more sober pundits seem to have a hard time wrapping their heads around: that so much of what drives the modern Republican base is less about any coherent political ideology than it is about a form of tribalism and reaction so severe that it forces its adherents into increasingly bizarre, nihilistic, bad faith, even self-sabotaging behavior—all to antagonize the hated “libs.” I particularly appreciated Marcotte’s examinations (based on firsthand experience) of the tactics right wing trolls use to take advantage of majnstream journalism’s hand-wringing over accusations of bias in order to garner attention for hoaxes, half-baked “exposés,” and conspiracy theories. It’s probably not a book that is going to change any minds, but, as Marcotte points out in the conclusion, changing the minds of those who have accepted the troll mentality is a lost cause anyway. All we can do is be aware of how the dynamic works, and this book is helpful in that regard.
January 9, 2020
A continuation of a century of US foreign policy: democracy is when *my* guy is in power and all means are allowed to "restore democracy" when somebody else gets there.
June 19, 2023
Great read outlining the shift in GOP politics over the last 30 years.
The difference from old-guard GOP (now RINOs) to MAGA being the move away from needing to stand for anything because it is more important about what you stand against.
In other words, the policy position doesn't need to help or better anyone, it just needs to "f*** the libs" and it will gain traction.
Marcotte's journalism background let her be a first-hand witness to this shit and she does a good job tying together some long pieces of policy position through the targeting of the Fairness Doctrine, the rise of performative whataboutism, and the vilification of anything challenging the superiority of the white cis-male in our society. While she does not go into the Outrage Industry (we'll leave that for Social Media experts), she does do a great job illustrating how significantly this has shifted the conversation to our detriment.
But there are rays of hope as she illustrates as well. While vitriol and intolerance all around seem to be a theme, she is able to show how the entire political conversation has not devolved into a zero sum game and, empirically, the "Left" is still operating on platforms aimed at bettering and building. If our democracy can survive recent open attempts at Fascism, it should bring the conversation back around to a more collaborative way forward.
The difference from old-guard GOP (now RINOs) to MAGA being the move away from needing to stand for anything because it is more important about what you stand against.
In other words, the policy position doesn't need to help or better anyone, it just needs to "f*** the libs" and it will gain traction.
Marcotte's journalism background let her be a first-hand witness to this shit and she does a good job tying together some long pieces of policy position through the targeting of the Fairness Doctrine, the rise of performative whataboutism, and the vilification of anything challenging the superiority of the white cis-male in our society. While she does not go into the Outrage Industry (we'll leave that for Social Media experts), she does do a great job illustrating how significantly this has shifted the conversation to our detriment.
But there are rays of hope as she illustrates as well. While vitriol and intolerance all around seem to be a theme, she is able to show how the entire political conversation has not devolved into a zero sum game and, empirically, the "Left" is still operating on platforms aimed at bettering and building. If our democracy can survive recent open attempts at Fascism, it should bring the conversation back around to a more collaborative way forward.
December 26, 2021
I find Amanda Marcotte's essays in Salon generally pretty insightful, and I've also been dismayed by how unserious politics has become, so I was pretty interested in reading this book. I suspect it was based on a brief essay, and turned into a book pretty hastily. It's thinly argued (examples substituting for argument, some false dichotomies, and in particular, an absence of evenhandedness where it is merited. Performative, trolling politics is happening all too many places on the political spectrum now, not simply on the right). Most distressingly, the rhetoric appears troll-y at times; argument by insult and ad hominem. I'm no prude and engage in that as well, but when your *entire point* is that insults are no substitution for reasoned political discourse, maybe lay off the insults a bit in your own reasoning. This felt like a missed opportunity.
November 30, 2018
This is a description of the thing, and not the thing-behind-the-thing. Which is sort of a way of calling it 'liberal piffle' - but it does have some merit, especially in the point where it peeks slightly beneath the surface of troll culture, and at some basic features of white supremacy and patriarchy. . .you know, before it lops it all off as being (in implication) simply an issue of specific bad people (even if they make up a large portion of the US populace).
The strong implication that this is, not just a look at one phenomenon, but the grand narrative of Right Wing Populism - which somehow is centered around Trump, despite half a century of various leaders, beginning with that shithead "segregation now, segregation forever!" defense of American Apartheid from Wallace.
It's. . .not helpful, to put it kindly. Apart from all my lefty complaints about insisting on Clinton as a good president, or at least the natural choice, or praising NPR, or the near masturbatory friction between Liberal Rationality and Conservative Trolling, the fact remains that this book is just superficial vis it's own subject. This is really mainstream critique - and that confuses me, because it's from a series explicitly intended to go far beyond the usual Liberal Bromides, and anodyne critiques of moral corruption in the Conservative movement. It makes me wonder: Have I just become so radical as all that? Is the critique this book does contain seriously considered "unspeakable" (as in the title of the interview with Chris Hedges under this imprint) in society today? Wait, does that mean society is even more radical than it appears, to me?
The most interesting questions are meta-commentary on, around, and regarding the book itself. What happens on its pages is, largely, rather vanilla. I did, if nothing else, enjoy the cathartic venting re: the patriarchy and overtly misogynistic trolling.
P.S. I deliberately ignored the framing of every part of Right Wing Populism as, itself, trolling and went with the (more likely intended) presumption that this is specifically a look at trolling behaviour by various actors (be they individuals or groups), rather than literally saying the motivation behind patriarchy and racism and ultra-nationalism and all the rest is pure trolling. Further, the author simply doesn't have any critique of colonialism, militarism, poverty, or any of the rest, it's strictly about people having equal rights to the meritocratic free-for-all. . .which is more or less why I can't stand liberals (or, perhaps rather, they disappoint me so) in a single sentence; it's all affect, no substance. But this leads to a very long rant that can basically be summed up in "I'm a Leftist", or "Read Graeber/Marx/Picketty/whoever", or any like catchphrase.
The strong implication that this is, not just a look at one phenomenon, but the grand narrative of Right Wing Populism - which somehow is centered around Trump, despite half a century of various leaders, beginning with that shithead "segregation now, segregation forever!" defense of American Apartheid from Wallace.
It's. . .not helpful, to put it kindly. Apart from all my lefty complaints about insisting on Clinton as a good president, or at least the natural choice, or praising NPR, or the near masturbatory friction between Liberal Rationality and Conservative Trolling, the fact remains that this book is just superficial vis it's own subject. This is really mainstream critique - and that confuses me, because it's from a series explicitly intended to go far beyond the usual Liberal Bromides, and anodyne critiques of moral corruption in the Conservative movement. It makes me wonder: Have I just become so radical as all that? Is the critique this book does contain seriously considered "unspeakable" (as in the title of the interview with Chris Hedges under this imprint) in society today? Wait, does that mean society is even more radical than it appears, to me?
The most interesting questions are meta-commentary on, around, and regarding the book itself. What happens on its pages is, largely, rather vanilla. I did, if nothing else, enjoy the cathartic venting re: the patriarchy and overtly misogynistic trolling.
P.S. I deliberately ignored the framing of every part of Right Wing Populism as, itself, trolling and went with the (more likely intended) presumption that this is specifically a look at trolling behaviour by various actors (be they individuals or groups), rather than literally saying the motivation behind patriarchy and racism and ultra-nationalism and all the rest is pure trolling. Further, the author simply doesn't have any critique of colonialism, militarism, poverty, or any of the rest, it's strictly about people having equal rights to the meritocratic free-for-all. . .which is more or less why I can't stand liberals (or, perhaps rather, they disappoint me so) in a single sentence; it's all affect, no substance. But this leads to a very long rant that can basically be summed up in "I'm a Leftist", or "Read Graeber/Marx/Picketty/whoever", or any like catchphrase.
June 24, 2020
The title on this one attracted my attention, so I ordered it. It was a quick read and I agreed with most of her observations, however I was disappointed in her total lack of documentation.
It read (and felt) like a long blog post complaining about the American Right. I agreed with her perceptions, as I mostly felt the same way, but feelings and actual facts are two totally different things. From the title, I was hoping she would support her supposition with actual references and documentation that supported what she was trying to say. She didn't.
She commented how Journalists were supposed to research to support their writing (which I fully agree with), but if you actually did the research and had the documentation to support what you were trying to say, why not put it in your book?
In the Dark Ages, when I was working on my Masters, every fact I cited needed 3 independent resources as support. If you are going to claim that over the years the Republicans have descended into a hateful little group (which I do kinda agree with) how are you going to prove that? And how are you going to prove that the Democrats are these forward thinking, clear minded people? (Which I don't agree with).
If you had supporting documentation to back up these claims, I would have been much happier...but there really wasn't anything. She referred to some situations and examples, which I agreed with, but I also know there are folks who can refer to other situations and examples proving the reverse.
With out documentation to back up her observations, the book was a fun read but no real substance.
It read (and felt) like a long blog post complaining about the American Right. I agreed with her perceptions, as I mostly felt the same way, but feelings and actual facts are two totally different things. From the title, I was hoping she would support her supposition with actual references and documentation that supported what she was trying to say. She didn't.
She commented how Journalists were supposed to research to support their writing (which I fully agree with), but if you actually did the research and had the documentation to support what you were trying to say, why not put it in your book?
In the Dark Ages, when I was working on my Masters, every fact I cited needed 3 independent resources as support. If you are going to claim that over the years the Republicans have descended into a hateful little group (which I do kinda agree with) how are you going to prove that? And how are you going to prove that the Democrats are these forward thinking, clear minded people? (Which I don't agree with).
If you had supporting documentation to back up these claims, I would have been much happier...but there really wasn't anything. She referred to some situations and examples, which I agreed with, but I also know there are folks who can refer to other situations and examples proving the reverse.
With out documentation to back up her observations, the book was a fun read but no real substance.
October 23, 2019
Marcotte is a very entertaining, knowledgeable writer—and surely her thesis (that a lot of the right is animated more by the desire to troll liberals than by any coherent policy or ethical perspective) has a lot of truth to it, as her many examples attest.
However, while the book was indeed entertaining (to someone like me, who's predisposed to agree with her views), I could not help but feel it was a bit of a rush job and rather shallow. As another reviewer notes, there are a disturbing number of typos and trivial errors scattered throughout this text...and there are zero references to any sources. I know this isn't a scholarly text...but even non-scholarly books about serious issues generally trouble to at least provide a short bibliography or mention a source now and again in the text or in endnotes.
The net result was that this book was a lot less persuasive and recommendable to the not-already-persuaded than it could have been with a little more care.
However, while the book was indeed entertaining (to someone like me, who's predisposed to agree with her views), I could not help but feel it was a bit of a rush job and rather shallow. As another reviewer notes, there are a disturbing number of typos and trivial errors scattered throughout this text...and there are zero references to any sources. I know this isn't a scholarly text...but even non-scholarly books about serious issues generally trouble to at least provide a short bibliography or mention a source now and again in the text or in endnotes.
The net result was that this book was a lot less persuasive and recommendable to the not-already-persuaded than it could have been with a little more care.
July 19, 2020
A bit meandering, but a convincing argument overall as to the vapidity and moral debasement of the unhinged right in the era of Trump. As Marcotte puts it, the right is more interested in defending the right to make an argument, rather than defending the argument itself.
April 18, 2020
Write orange man bad 5,000 times for a similar read
November 2, 2019
Troll Nation, How The Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set On Ratf**king Liberals, America, and Truth Itself,
is a book by Amanda Marcotte published in 2018. It is about the ways some conservatives in general — and supporters of Donald Trump in particular — can be extremely rude online.
Troll Nation is one of the nearly twenty books about politicians I read in the summer of 2019 while researching a book about incumbents, candidates, and other politicians. I am giving the book 2 of 5 stars because it is well-organized and informative, but also extremely partisan and presents only a liberal point-of-view.
In her book, Amanda Marcotte thoroughly analyzes the disturbing behavior of online trolls. Most of Troll Nation consists of entire chapters dedicated to each of the most popular and divisive topics of the rude conservatives who are her enemies: Political Correctness, Women, The Environment, Health Care, Guns, Race, Conspiracy Theorists, and The Media.
Despite this thorough analysis, Amanda Marcotte fails, in my opinion, to adequately explain the source of the hostility. She claims the trolls do what they do simply to anger liberals — and I don't buy it.
Wanting to learn more about the presidency of Donald Trump, I recently read Devil's Bargain by Joshua Green. I was totally unfamiliar with Nationalist Populism, and while learning about it was able to find some real sources of outrage.
One example is immigration. Some people are, and have been for awhile, genuinely afraid of immigrants — and Donald Trump is skilled at riling these people up. Just because Amanda does not share this fear, or if she believes it is unwarranted or even somehow invalid, does not mean it does not exist.
When people feel threatened, they lash out. Frankly I feel Amanda wants to lash out at me for this honest review! Immigration is not in her table of contents, but when people on both sides get irrational it's easy, and these days even predictable, for them to conflate fear of immigrants with racism.
What I am trying to say is, it is important to take time to understand a little bit about human nature, and actually dig a bit to find a message within the noise. This makes it possible to see the reasons for the trolling just might go deeper than to simply make liberals angry.
Another thing is, because Troll Nation has no references and no index, the book is really just a long rant. Having read it, I would be leery of having a conversation with the author, for fear of saying something politically incorrect and triggering a negative reaction — just for having an opinion different from hers.
I read Amanda Marcotte's book when I was almost done writing my own ebook, Visualizing Politicians' Personalities, 2019 Incumbents and Candidates. By that time it was too late to include anything from Troll Nation in the ebook.
Make no mistake, I enjoyed reading Troll Nation. I enjoy a good rant, but don't assume my silence when it's over means I share the outrage. I just like to listen, learn, and stay open-minded — to stay free.
It is against my nature to see things in black-and-white, but if this book is to be believed, that is just how things are, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Sad.
Troll Nation is one of the nearly twenty books about politicians I read in the summer of 2019 while researching a book about incumbents, candidates, and other politicians. I am giving the book 2 of 5 stars because it is well-organized and informative, but also extremely partisan and presents only a liberal point-of-view.
In her book, Amanda Marcotte thoroughly analyzes the disturbing behavior of online trolls. Most of Troll Nation consists of entire chapters dedicated to each of the most popular and divisive topics of the rude conservatives who are her enemies: Political Correctness, Women, The Environment, Health Care, Guns, Race, Conspiracy Theorists, and The Media.
Despite this thorough analysis, Amanda Marcotte fails, in my opinion, to adequately explain the source of the hostility. She claims the trolls do what they do simply to anger liberals — and I don't buy it.
Wanting to learn more about the presidency of Donald Trump, I recently read Devil's Bargain by Joshua Green. I was totally unfamiliar with Nationalist Populism, and while learning about it was able to find some real sources of outrage.
One example is immigration. Some people are, and have been for awhile, genuinely afraid of immigrants — and Donald Trump is skilled at riling these people up. Just because Amanda does not share this fear, or if she believes it is unwarranted or even somehow invalid, does not mean it does not exist.
When people feel threatened, they lash out. Frankly I feel Amanda wants to lash out at me for this honest review! Immigration is not in her table of contents, but when people on both sides get irrational it's easy, and these days even predictable, for them to conflate fear of immigrants with racism.
What I am trying to say is, it is important to take time to understand a little bit about human nature, and actually dig a bit to find a message within the noise. This makes it possible to see the reasons for the trolling just might go deeper than to simply make liberals angry.
Another thing is, because Troll Nation has no references and no index, the book is really just a long rant. Having read it, I would be leery of having a conversation with the author, for fear of saying something politically incorrect and triggering a negative reaction — just for having an opinion different from hers.
I read Amanda Marcotte's book when I was almost done writing my own ebook, Visualizing Politicians' Personalities, 2019 Incumbents and Candidates. By that time it was too late to include anything from Troll Nation in the ebook.
Make no mistake, I enjoyed reading Troll Nation. I enjoy a good rant, but don't assume my silence when it's over means I share the outrage. I just like to listen, learn, and stay open-minded — to stay free.
It is against my nature to see things in black-and-white, but if this book is to be believed, that is just how things are, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Sad.
October 8, 2023
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.
November 18, 2023
I've finished reading this, another book about the doodoos the US has dropped into since the Orange Monster was allowed to take the Presidency. It actually started before way then and has gotten worse since 2016, and most sane people know why. It's so sad to report the depths to which the USA has dropped. It has become the worst Troll Nation of the world. It was published in 2018, so it's a bit dated, but it's horrifying. And I've come across some people who know this to be true but who won't read this type of book. To me, this is the equivalent of burying one's head in the proverbial sand.
Anyway, the book! If anyone wants to find out the truth (yes, the actual truth) about what's happened to America, I recommend reading this book. Not a long, exhaustive read - just an overview of the reasons behind the advent and continuation of this Troll Nation. As part of the blurb in Amazon says, "Conservative pundits, politicians, and activists have abandoned any hope of winning the argument through reasoned discourse, and instead have adopted a series of bad faith claims, conspiracy theories, and culture war hysterics. Decades of these antics created a conservative voting base that was ready to elect a mindless bully like Donald Trump."
So, why do I (not a citizen but a Resident Legal Alien hailing from Blighty) read this sort of stuff? Apart from finding it fascinating as well as astonishing, I'm trying hard to understand what has happening in this supposedly 'free' nation and why. And what I do come to understand simply doubles my resolve never to become a US Citizen. In fact, if I wasn't married to a US Citizen, it's likely I would have pulled up what roots I have been establishing here and gone back across the Pond (not to England; most likely to Scotland). Will that remain the case? Who knows? For now the status quo remains for me. And I continue to watch and wait for what will happen next.
Anyway, the book! If anyone wants to find out the truth (yes, the actual truth) about what's happened to America, I recommend reading this book. Not a long, exhaustive read - just an overview of the reasons behind the advent and continuation of this Troll Nation. As part of the blurb in Amazon says, "Conservative pundits, politicians, and activists have abandoned any hope of winning the argument through reasoned discourse, and instead have adopted a series of bad faith claims, conspiracy theories, and culture war hysterics. Decades of these antics created a conservative voting base that was ready to elect a mindless bully like Donald Trump."
So, why do I (not a citizen but a Resident Legal Alien hailing from Blighty) read this sort of stuff? Apart from finding it fascinating as well as astonishing, I'm trying hard to understand what has happening in this supposedly 'free' nation and why. And what I do come to understand simply doubles my resolve never to become a US Citizen. In fact, if I wasn't married to a US Citizen, it's likely I would have pulled up what roots I have been establishing here and gone back across the Pond (not to England; most likely to Scotland). Will that remain the case? Who knows? For now the status quo remains for me. And I continue to watch and wait for what will happen next.
March 20, 2024
I don't care who wrote it; the subject is too much for me to get through even if I mete out how much I read at a time. It has a lot to do with the Serenity Prayer* and how getting mad over the horrid things that have happened specifically to America** isn't going to help me except when I can directly take action (voting, donating, marching). Fact is, there are a LOT of horrible people in the world, and my day-to-day life will essentially be the same no matter what they do*** (even to me directly), so the best I ought to do is stay generally informed about major events where possible and do what will have the most impact (this tends to be donating directly to people/causes who have received little or no funding).
So, even if this book is preaching to the choir, of which I am part, I couldn't get through most of it—not even with the highlighted notes in my copy (which I got through a charity auction; they didn't worry too much about things being "mint" condition). I did at least read the conclusion, and it says a lot of what I said here, that there's no sense engaging with the "trolls" because they have no "sense" to engage—you can't reason with the unreasonable.
Probably a good read, for masochists. (I certainly doubt the TROLLS would read it.)
*I tried to find an inclusive version, but "prayer" is still in there. Maybe consider it the Serenity Mantra if you aren't Christian?
**I can comment even less on Brexit or Israel-Hamas, etc., but this ties into the "what I personally can control in the world" bit of the Serenity Mantra.
***"What if one of them hits you in a drive-by?" Then that would've happened regardless of how mad about it I was in advance. No sense mortgaging the present for a future that might not happen.
So, even if this book is preaching to the choir, of which I am part, I couldn't get through most of it—not even with the highlighted notes in my copy (which I got through a charity auction; they didn't worry too much about things being "mint" condition). I did at least read the conclusion, and it says a lot of what I said here, that there's no sense engaging with the "trolls" because they have no "sense" to engage—you can't reason with the unreasonable.
Probably a good read, for masochists. (I certainly doubt the TROLLS would read it.)
*I tried to find an inclusive version, but "prayer" is still in there. Maybe consider it the Serenity Mantra if you aren't Christian?
**I can comment even less on Brexit or Israel-Hamas, etc., but this ties into the "what I personally can control in the world" bit of the Serenity Mantra.
***"What if one of them hits you in a drive-by?" Then that would've happened regardless of how mad about it I was in advance. No sense mortgaging the present for a future that might not happen.
February 3, 2019
The Good: Amanda Marcotte is a delightful writer who eviscerates the far right with glee. She is one of the most clear-eyed thinkers in the Trump era, and she makes the case that the far right has become a "troll nation" that cares more about upsetting liberals than anything else quite well. If you're looking for a short book that is both fun to read and will learn you a thing or two–if only a thing or two–about the current state of American politics, this is a good choice.
The Bad: Several of the chapters are too short to fully flesh out the argument. In particular, the chapter on race drives right past the rather large amount that has been written about the motivations of racism in America, and the book would have been stronger if it engaged with it. There are also a few moments where it feels like Marcotte could have said something more substantive, but opted to insult someone instead. The insults are entertaining, but they get repetitive after a while.
The Ugly: There are a weirdly large number of misstated dates and typos and assorted little errors in this book, which makes it feel like it was rushed out to maintain relevance in the 2018 news cycle. It's not really fair to judge the book on this; I'm sure it'll be fixed in a later version.
The Bad: Several of the chapters are too short to fully flesh out the argument. In particular, the chapter on race drives right past the rather large amount that has been written about the motivations of racism in America, and the book would have been stronger if it engaged with it. There are also a few moments where it feels like Marcotte could have said something more substantive, but opted to insult someone instead. The insults are entertaining, but they get repetitive after a while.
The Ugly: There are a weirdly large number of misstated dates and typos and assorted little errors in this book, which makes it feel like it was rushed out to maintain relevance in the 2018 news cycle. It's not really fair to judge the book on this; I'm sure it'll be fixed in a later version.
April 4, 2023
Amanda Marcotte's Troll Nation provides an intriguing summary of the pivotal events leading up to 2019. Although Marcotte takes numerous jabs at Donald Trump, it sometimes feels like she is shooting fish in a barrel, given how easy it is for anyone with half a brain to realize how problematic his presidency was. However, the book works well as a time capsule, capturing the state of affairs in 2019, and it may be easier for readers to relax now that Trump is no longer in office.
Marcotte's central idea—that Republicans are merely trolling people—is compelling, but one cannot help but wonder if these individuals genuinely believe the rhetoric they are promoting. The theory that they would rather cause harm to defend their ideology instead of listening to common sense becomes particularly relevant in light of the global pandemic. Future generations may struggle to comprehend why some individuals chose to stick to their political ideology and risk death rather than get vaccinated and protect themselves.
One drawback of Troll Nation is the absence of any references, making readers question the validity of the facts and quotes presented. Despite this, the book is an enjoyable read that offers an interesting perspective on the political climate on the cusp of the 2020s.
Marcotte's central idea—that Republicans are merely trolling people—is compelling, but one cannot help but wonder if these individuals genuinely believe the rhetoric they are promoting. The theory that they would rather cause harm to defend their ideology instead of listening to common sense becomes particularly relevant in light of the global pandemic. Future generations may struggle to comprehend why some individuals chose to stick to their political ideology and risk death rather than get vaccinated and protect themselves.
One drawback of Troll Nation is the absence of any references, making readers question the validity of the facts and quotes presented. Despite this, the book is an enjoyable read that offers an interesting perspective on the political climate on the cusp of the 2020s.
November 13, 2019
For what it is, the book is well written, humorous, and delves into what has happened in the US over the past 12 years or so. It's a decent primer into the rise of the alt right and what fueled their growth. Unfortunately, that's the best I can say about this book.
With something as serious as this topic was, the author could have stood to use a bit more professional language, and a bit less slang. On top of that the complete lack of cites means we have to take the word of the author on what happened, which is never good when it comes to discussing politics.
I would expect this kind of writing on reddit. When I'm reading a book, I expect more. And definitely expect such a book to be able to cite their sources; if people editing Wikipedia can do it, I expect an author who has written for newspapers to do so as well.
My suggestion if you want to learn about Troll Nation? Read this book, then pick up something a bit more substantial.
With something as serious as this topic was, the author could have stood to use a bit more professional language, and a bit less slang. On top of that the complete lack of cites means we have to take the word of the author on what happened, which is never good when it comes to discussing politics.
I would expect this kind of writing on reddit. When I'm reading a book, I expect more. And definitely expect such a book to be able to cite their sources; if people editing Wikipedia can do it, I expect an author who has written for newspapers to do so as well.
My suggestion if you want to learn about Troll Nation? Read this book, then pick up something a bit more substantial.
December 13, 2019
This is, as the title suggests, a jolly good rant from a liberal millennial journalist about the effects of deranged right wing trolling. Marcotte does delve into some interesting backstories here also, such as exposing the widespread overreaction to the supposed silencing of conservative voices on college campuses and Milos Yiannopolis's self-promotional role in creating this false phenomenon. The author points out that when conservatives cry over their lack of free speech or mock political correctness, what they really object to is being called out for arguments that have no substance. The left should continue to confront their outrageous behavior for what it is and resist the temptation to sink to their level or to play into their hands by engaging in violent protest.
September 8, 2019
Yes, I found it cathartic. Yes, I really like her clear, accessible, fury-larious style.
No, this is not a history of how the conservative party devolved into what it is today.
Also, how does the author not notice that she herself is so deeply partisan that this whole book is, effectively, trolling the right? Dismissing conservative concerns as manufactured crybullying is the very thing she accuses ignorant alt-righters of (unforgivably) doing to the left. I kind of hate that she dismisses any attempts at neutrality as sanctimonious preening. Some people actually do want to see the nation survive the ideological preference-bubbles dividing modern society, without a civil war.
No, this is not a history of how the conservative party devolved into what it is today.
Also, how does the author not notice that she herself is so deeply partisan that this whole book is, effectively, trolling the right? Dismissing conservative concerns as manufactured crybullying is the very thing she accuses ignorant alt-righters of (unforgivably) doing to the left. I kind of hate that she dismisses any attempts at neutrality as sanctimonious preening. Some people actually do want to see the nation survive the ideological preference-bubbles dividing modern society, without a civil war.
March 6, 2019
Marcotte looks back a decade to see where the current political breakdown started. Political- correctness and femminism seem to have inflamed right-wing extremists.
She goes on to speak on the topics of women, the environment, health care, guns, and race. She ends by looking at conspiracy theories and the media. I would have liked more information on Fox News since they seem to be another arm of the White House.
She goes on to speak on the topics of women, the environment, health care, guns, and race. She ends by looking at conspiracy theories and the media. I would have liked more information on Fox News since they seem to be another arm of the White House.
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