I absolutely adored this book, but I've always enjoyed Jon Ronson's writing.

The stories are told so well, with great reflections by those involved and by the author.

I knocked off .25 stars as the ending felt a bit of a let down and I wished it was longer.

A very strong recommended book from me.

I breezed through this book because I skipped several chapters. Jon Ronson brought interesting concept about public shame. A chapter about his interview with Justin Sacco, which was also a TED video, still felt relevant today because of how online shame and bullying based on one post destroyed an individual (watch the TED video, it was very engaging, and Ronson is a good at storytelling). However, chapters that are not related to online shaming felt meandering and fragmented. Given the year when this book was published, I expected more discussion on online shaming and chapters that focused on that theme instead of reading about old court cases that felt too flimsy as the basis of his thesis. I gave three stars because of Ronson's engaging writing and the chapters that I truly enjoyed.

For what this book is, it’s excellent, but I kept wanting more. I can’t really articulate what that “more” might be, however. I wanted Jon Ronson in my living room so I could ask him what he thought about the whole US political situation. (Joe Biden announced today he’s dropping out of the race.) Trump has repeatedly been publicly shamed and he’s proud of it - it’s part of his populist allure. Why do some people wither under public shaming and others thrive?

I was reminded of a chapter in Douglas Preston’s collection of non-fiction articles, The Lost Tomb,  about the vitriolic hatred of Amanda Knox. She wasn’t shamed but the tide of rage against her was the same. (She isn’t mentioned in this book.)

Ronson’s premise is that with the internet, public shaming is everywhere and it’s worse than ever because it never goes away. Being literally pilloried ended in the mid-1800s (except in Delaware, it seems). After a few hours, the miscreants would be released, their punishment over, their shame gradually dissipating as they again walked among their disgusted neighbors.. Not so with the internet. 

Ronson interviews shamers, people shamed, and people working in the shame “industry.” People who have been publicly shamed are more likely to be absolutely crushed by it. They feel their lives have been destroyed. This is a very sad book to read as a result. Should someone lose their best job ever because they made a stupid, ill-considered joke on social media? 

It reminded me of the woman who called the cops on the Black birdwatcher in Central Park. People were horrified at her racist behavior that could have had deadly consequences. She was, I felt, appropriately shamed - she lost her job, her dog was taken away, life as she knew it was over. (This book was published before that incident.) But what she had done had a real victim, an actual person. When someone makes a stupid joke on the internet, there is no actual victim. Why then is the anonymous rage so overwhelming? 

So much to think about here. 

Wow
I'm definitely going to be thinking about this for a long time

This book had some interesting cases, but overall the author thought A LOT of himself and it showed. I have literally no words for the Afterword, without it the book would have probably been a 2.25. The concept of this book was fascinating but ultimately it was just poorly executed. All I can say is I would never read something written by this author again. 

This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read.