- Published: 23 January 2020
- ISBN: 9781787460201
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $29.99
Republic of Lies
American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power
- Published: 23 January 2020
- ISBN: 9781787460201
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $29.99
[An] engrossing assessment of the profitable mainstreaming of conspiracy mongering in civic and political life . . . Captures this unsettling narrative succinctly and concretely . . . A lucid, well-researched look at a slippery topic.
Kirkus Reviews
To understand America you need to understand conspiracy theories . . . Merlan’s exploration into the subject discovers some timely and troubling questions.
Evening Standard
Anna Merlan reveals that the conspiracy theorists we all once felt a little sorry for (if annoyed by) have become the masters of the universe, lodged in the White House and presidential palaces throughout the world. It’s a rich insight that makes this something more than a good book – it makes it a necessary book.
David Aaronovitch, author of VOODOO HISTORIES
If you’re seeking a fascinating perspective on current political era, look no further than Anna Merlan’s Republic of Lies. Merlan investigates some of the most popular (and wild) conspiracy theories today, and more importantly establishes why current societal dynamics create fertile ground for conspiracy.
Refinery29
The world of modern conspiracy theories is dizzying, but through exhaustive research, personal interviews, and a critical yet at times appropriately empathetic approach, writer Anna Merlan has written a captivating book that illuminates the landscape of conspiracy theories and what they might say about society as a whole.
New York Magazine
A frequently jaw-dropping, yet deeply sensitive and curious, journey through some of the most pervasive conspiracy theories in America today.
Huffington Post
With restrained but eloquent prose, Merlan unblinkingly documents our age of conspiracy. The book is filled with bizarre situations . . . and the author’s droll voice buoys us through it all, bringing in expert commentary and academic research along the way . . . Against this formidable social trend, Merlan offers herself – a rock-steady narrator with a ready command of history, nerves of steel, and incisive social insights – as both guide and antidote. One gets the feeling that we need a thousand of her, or a million, to enter such communities with fearlessness and empathy, catalog the personalities, and emerge with humane conclusions.
The Nation
This book proves how society is much more like Homeland and House of Cards than we’d like to think.
Mail on Sunday
Fresh and illuminating. Strongly recommended.
Fortean Times *****