Catch and Kill
Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
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4.5 • 108 Ratings
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
In this instant New York Times bestselling account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. Inspiration for the HBO Max streaming documentary series.
In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.
All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance they could not explain—until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington and beyond.
This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. And it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook our culture.
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Finalist for the National Book
Critics Circle Award in Autobiography
Indie Bound #1 Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Wall Street Journal Bestseller
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Warning: At times, Catch and Kill will make you want to throw your phone across the room in a rage. And although Farrow reveals disturbing new allegations about the misdeeds of men like Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer, that’s not the most infuriating part of his buzzed-about book. Instead, it’s the actions of these men’s bosses and henchmen that made us absolutely livid; Farrow maps out myriad instances of them using tactics—legal and otherwise—to intimidate and silence women who suffered sexual harassment and assault. (If you needed more context for why so many victims choose to stay silent, look no further.) Much like Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s She Said, Farrow’s book details his investigations into these stories and how powerful people tried to quash his reporting when it hit too close to home. The book feels like a thriller at times, unfolding at a breathless pace in short, snappy chapters. That, and Farrow’s smart, likable personality, makes Catch and Kill a genuinely entertaining read, even at its most maddening.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A groundbreaking #MeToo journalist finds his own news organization to be the greatest obstacle to the truth in this vivid, labyrinthine memoir. New Yorker scribe and ex-NBC News correspondent Farrow (War on Peace) revisits his 2017 reporting on sexual assault and harassment allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein by actresses and employees, an investigation begun but then killed by NBC and eventually published in the New Yorker. Farrow then probes sexual misconduct complaints at NBC itself, including an explosive new claim that Today host Matt Lauer raped NBC news staffer Brooke Nevils. He describes coaxing frightened women to break nondisclosure agreements and go public with their traumas, as well as more sinister currents of intrigue and betrayal. He unearths Weinstein's use of secret agents from the Israeli firm Black Cube to spy on sources and on Farrow himself. Worse, he contends, NBC executives, some with personal and business ties to Weinstein and pressured by his lobbying and legal threats, started unaccountably turning against Farrow's story as the evidence supporting it mounted. Though a bit baggy, the narrative combines the intricate reporting of All the President's Men with Kafkaesque atmosphere to reveal troubling collusion between the media and the powerful interests they cover. This is a crackerjack journalistic thriller.
