This book gets a very rare five star rating from me. I feel like a lot of people have slept on this book and they really shouldn’t.

The author vividly tells the story of Seth Rich’s murder and how it became the topic of political zealots and fed a firestorm with the media. Then he wove together how the media frenzy and keyboard warriors further impeded the solving of Seth’s murder. I was fascinated from beginning to end.

Good one for folks who are skeptical of traditional broadcast news and want to tangibly put their fingers on what's wrong about it. Infuriating and fascinating. Wild to see the Trump years in writing like history, but I think it's been long enough to loook back and say...WTF.

https://greatbutunknownperformances.wordpress.com/2022/10/18/a-death-on-w-street-the-murder-of-seth-rich-and-the-age-of-conspiracy-by-andy-kroll/

An absolute triumph in the political nonfiction and true crime genres, A Death on W Street is one of the most compelling and - yes, I'll say it - unputdownable books I've read this year. And at over 350 pages of fact- and text-heavy nonfiction, that is a feat to pull off. As the author puts it, this book is "a true crime story for the post-truth era" - and although the term "post-truth" has been used and abused in recent years, that's exactly what this is. Kroll presents an excellent primer on fake news, conspiracy theories, and the anthropology of far-right social media buffoonery.

There are many books that do this, but Kroll's work is particularly effective because he does it through the lens of the murder of Seth Rich, a DNC staffer who was killed in his DC neighborhood in 2016. To put it succinctly, the police's theory was that Seth was killed in an armed robbery gone wrong - but when right-wing Twitter learned about this case, they quickly weaved an elaborate conspiracy theory Seth Rich being assassinated by the DNC and the Clintons for leaking the infamous DNC emails to WikiLeaks.

In addition to the excellent reporting and attention to factual detail in this book, I also loved that Kroll really looks at the human impacts of the conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire on internet forums. For everyone from anonymous 4chan users to Trump, typing and sending lies is easy and virtually consequence-free. But for the owner of the DC pizza joint who was accused of running a sex trafficking ring with John Podesta and the Clintons in the infamous "Pizzagate" scandal, these tweets mean doxxing, constant death threats, and a shooter coming into his place of business and attacking his workers. The central premise of the book revolves around bringing dignity back to Seth Rich and helping his family get justice - not only regarding his murder, but regarding the hundreds of thousands of people who tried to use Seth to prop up whatever cause du jour they wanted him to serve with no regard for who he really was.

This book is truly horrifying as you realize how easy it is for conspiracy theories to spread and you hear from people who genuinely believe these things to be fact. Seth was just one example of how pernicious this far-right "logic" can get, the low journalistic standards that outlets like Fox News adhere to, and how any event can be spun a million ways to help those in power achieve their desired ends. The final result of complete distrust in politicians, institutions, the voting system - and most insane of all - facts!!! is scarier than any horror book I've ever read. Thank you to PublicAffairs for the ARC via Netgalley and I hope everyone reads this excellent book.

As Washington, D. C. Bureau Chief for Rolling Stone, Andy Kroll is well situated to report on the pervasive craziness that seems to have taken over since 2016. Seth Rich’s name has become synonymous with conspiracy, and his rumored influence among Democratic Party operatives as a tech wizard who just may have been involved in some serious hacking (including the leaked emails from the DNC) has made him famous–what he aspired to become. A Death on W Street is a murder mystery as well as an exploration of political and journalistic events in the election of 2016.

Seth was gunned down on the street in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2016. There was no arrest, and speculation and fantastical theories surfaced on social media about him, his role in the DNC, and other crazy topics. After Fox News ran with the rumors from the fringes to the mainstream that Seth Rich’s life and death grew into something altogether unexpected, making his death one of the most widespread conspiracy theories ever.

A Death on W Street unravels the murder, madness, and political wackiness that included both Hillary Clinton and Steve Bannon, as well as a popular pizzeria in northwest DC. Seth was an idealistic twenty-seven-year-old relatively low level political staffer who became a tragic victim of the culture wars, and finally his family decided that they had had enough, and they sued Fox. The book reads like a novel, and is packed with details. My favorite part was finding out that Fox had to pay out a seven figure settlement to Seth’s family for their despicable “reporting.” (Fair and Balanced my a$$). Five stars.

Thanks Netgalley and Public Affairs for sharing this upcoming n8n fiction title. While this is another entry in the already massive number of books covering the craziness of the Trump presidential era, it is a more personal and moving story than others I’ve read. The harm and hurt inflicted on the family of Seth Rich is staggering and heart-breaking. Andy Kroll’s writing allows the reader to feel great empathy for these regular people thrust into the crazy conspiracy theories and political machinations that defined the Trump presidency. Highly recommend this for a different idea of things.

A Death on W Street by Andy Kroll

9781541751149

368 Pages
Publisher: Public Affairs
Release Date: September 6, 2022

Nonfiction, Public Affairs, Politics, History, Murder, Conspiracy, True Crime

Seth Rice wanted to be in politics. He wanted to do right for his country. When he was murdered, the conspiracy theories started. People blamed him for releasing information to Wikileaks. They said he was involved in the child trafficking from a pizza parlor. The family had to hire a private investigator and an attorney to try and clear Seth’s name.

This book has everything, murder, sex, politics, chaos, and conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, it is a true story. It shows us that we should not believe everything we see or hear on social media. The book had a good pace, and the writing style was easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone that lies to know the truth behind real life events.

When Seth Rich grew up he loved and breathed politics. When he was murdered it would create the most chaotic conspiracy theories in politics. From child molesters to evil pizza owners it would even make being called a Democrat a slur. It would get so out of hand that his parents had to take a national news channel to court for inaccurate statements. If you love True Crime and the chaotic you need to read a murder on W St. it really is one of those books you don’t want to put down. Even if you don’t like politics you still enjoy reading the chaos that was created by people who act like they know everything but in actuality no nothing. This is not just a book about a sad murder, but how out of hand social media has taken politics to a place no one could’ve imagined. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.