Reviews
"The book is written in straightforward and largely unemotional prose, but it reads as if conceived in quiet anger. Mayer believes that the Koch brothers and a small number of allied plutocrats have essentially hijacked American democracy, using their money not just to compete with their political adversaries, but to drown them out. . . . Dark Money emerges as an impressively reported and well-documented work. . . . The importance of Dark Money [flows] from its scope and perspective. . . . It is not easy to uncover the inner workings of an essentially secretive political establishment. Mayer has come as close to doing it as anyone is likely to come anytime soon. . . . She makes a formidable argument." --From the cover of the Times Book Review "Revelatory. . .persuasive, timely and necessary. . . . [O]nly the most thoroughly documented, compendious account could do justice to the Kochs' bizarre and Byzantine family history and the scale and scope of their influence." -- The New York Times [D]eeply researched and studded with detail. . .it seems destined to rattle the Koch executive offices in Wichita as other investigations have not. [ Dark Money ] could inspire a more intense discussion about the impact of this wealthy conservative cadre on the Republican Party and the recent course of American politics." -- Washington Post "[B]ombshells explode in the pages of Dark Money , Jane Mayer's indispensible new history . . . .combines her own research with the work of scores of other investigators, to describe how the Kochs and fellow billionaires like Richard Scaife have spent hundreds of millions to 'move their political ideas from the fringe to the center of American political life.'" -- The Guardian "A careful exposé. . . . Mayer closely documents her charges. . .while delivering a swiftly flowing narrative. . . . A valuable contribution to the study of modern electoral politics in an age that Theodore White, and perhaps even Hunter S. Thompson, would not recognize." -- Kirkus , "Mayer is. . . [a] writer whose reporting can leave a reader breathless. . . . I urge you to read Dark Money." --Bill Moyers "Jane Mayer''s Dark Money is utterly brilliant and chilling -- no matter how much you think you already know. . . . Read it!" --Naomi Klein, bestselling author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate "Jane Mayer''s Dark Money . . . is absolutely necessary reading for anyone who wants to make sense of our politics. Lay aside the endless punditry about Donald''s belligerence or Hillary''s ambition; Mayer is telling the epic story of America in our time. It is a triumph of investigative reporting, perhaps not surprising for a journalist who has won most of the awards her profession has to offer.... She''s a pro, and she''s given the world a full accounting of what had been a shadowy and largely unseen force. . . . [R]emarkable." -- The New York Review of Books "The book is written in straightforward and largely unemotional prose, but it reads as if conceived in quiet anger. Mayer believes that the Koch brothers and a small number of allied plutocrats have essentially hijacked American democracy, using their money not just to compete with their political adversaries, but to drown them out. . . . Dark Money emerges as an impressively reported and well-documented work. . . . The importance of Dark Money [flows] from its scope and perspective. . . . It is not easy to uncover the inner workings of an essentially secretive political establishment. Mayer has come as close to doing it as anyone is likely to come anytime soon. . . . She makes a formidable argument." --From the cover of the Times Book Review "Revelatory. . .persuasive, timely and necessary. . . . [O]nly the most thoroughly documented, compendious account could do justice to the Kochs'' bizarre and Byzantine family history and the scale and scope of their influence." -- The New York Times "[A] comprehensive history. . . . [S]tunning." --Salon [D]eeply researched and studded with detail. . .it seems destined to rattle the Koch executive offices in Wichita as other investigations have not. [ Dark Money ] could inspire a more intense discussion about the impact of this wealthy conservative cadre on the Republican Party and the recent course of American politics." -- Washington Post "[B]ombshells explode in the pages of Dark Money , Jane Mayer''s indispensible new history . . . .combines her own research with the work of scores of other investigators, to describe how the Kochs and fellow billionaires like Richard Scaife have spent hundreds of millions to ''move their political ideas from the fringe to the center of American political life.''" -- The Guardian "Packed with revelations. . . . One of the essential books about our political system''s unparalleled capacity for perpetuating income inequality. Dark Money is more than just a work of political journalism -- it''s a vital portrait of a nation that, as perhaps never before, is being shaped by a few very rich, very conservative businessmen." -- San Francisco Chroncicle "Amazing. . . . The most important political book of the year." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch "[A]n extraordinarily well-documented account of the influential, interlocking organizations with innocuous names created by the Koch brothers." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "A careful exposé. . . . Mayer closely documents her charges. . .while delivering a swiftly flowing narrative. . . . A valuable contribution to the study of modern electoral politics in an age that Theodore White, and perhaps even Hunter S. Thompson, would not recognize." -- Kirkus , [D]eeply researched and studded with detail...it seems destined to rattle the Koch executive offices in Wichita as other investigations have not. [ Dark Money ] could inspire a more intense discussion about the impact of this wealthy conservative cadre on the Republican Party and the recent course of American politics." -- Washington Post "A persuasive, timely and necessary story of the Koch brothers' empire.... [O]nly the most thoroughly documented, compendious account could do justice to the Kochs' bizarre and Byzantine family history and the scale and scope of their influence." -- The New York Times