The Storm Is Upon Us
How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything
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3.5 • 4 Ratings
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- £5.49
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
*****
PERFECT FOR FANS OF 'THE COMING STORM'
ONE OF THE TELEGRAPH'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR
'A chilling overview of a movement that should arguably have no place in any healthy, well-educated society.' - The Telegraph
'A compelling book.' - The Guardian
'The Storm Is Upon Us is an impressive piece of research and a gripping read. Rothschild's book reads like a thriller, with cliffhangers that leave you eager for the next episode. The trouble, of course, is that it's not fiction.' - The Times
'For anyone who fears that the world really has 'gone mad', this book might be essential reading' - The Telegraph
'An ideal tour guide for your journey into the depths of the rabbit hole that is QAnon, and even shows you a glimmer of light at the exit.' - Cullen Hoback, director of HBO's Q: Into the Storm
In 2017, President Trump made a cryptic remark at a gathering of military officials, describing it as 'the calm before the storm'-then refused to explain himself to puzzled journalists. But on internet message boards, a mysterious poster called 'Q Clearance Patriot' began an elaboration all of their own.
Q's wild yarn hinted at a vast conspiracy that satisfied the deepest desires of MAGA-America. None of Q's predictions came to pass. But did that stop people from clinging to every word, expanding Q's mythology, and promoting it ever more widely? No.
Conspiracy culture expert Mike Rothschild is uniquely equipped to explain QAnon, from the cults that first fed into it, to its embrace by Trump and the right-wing media. With families torn apart and with the Capitol under attack, he argues that mocking the madness of QAnon will get us nowhere. Instead, he argues that QAnon tells us everything we need to know about global fear after Trump-and that we need to understand it now, because it's not going away.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Rothschild (The World's Worst Conspiracies) provides an enlightening history of the QAnon conspiracy theory. Drawing on interviews with QAnon followers and their friends and family members, Rothschild delves into the movement's roots on the message boards of 4chan and Reddit, and describes the counterintuitive appeal of conspiracy theories in general, noting that it can feel more plausible that a cabal of bad actors is responsible for terrible events, rather than "honest mistakes by others or random chance." Pointing to the prevalence of QAnon symbols at the January 6 Capitol riot, Rothschild claims that the movement has "saturated Republican politics," and estimates that "there are likely hundreds of thousands who buy into at least some part of the complex mythology." Though the contours of Rothschild's findings are familiar, he unearths startling examples of the group's twisted logic and wide reach. For instance, a 2019 tweet by former FBI director James Comey was misinterpreted by QAnon followers as an announcement of a "false flag" attack on an upcoming charter school fundraiser in California; parents were so alarmed by reports of a threat that the event had to be canceled. Rothschild also offers useful advice on how to help loved ones get out of QAnon. This is a disturbing and well-informed look at the darker side of modern American politics.
Customer Reviews
Dull
It’s difficult to see how someone could make something as bizarre as Qanon seem so dull. The author clearly takes it all very seriously, which makes it difficult to take him that seriously.