Praise for Sandy Hook “[A] persuasive and heartbreaking new book.” —Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road, for the New York Times Book Review ‚Essential reading.’— Kirkus (starred) “ New York Times reporter Williamson’s searing debut demonstrates that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol had its roots in the deeply troubling efforts to claim that the 2012 massacre of 26 first-graders and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax… Williamson’s years of research includes interviews with survivors of the school shooting, parents, and first responders, as well as analysis of court documents and other records. She has produced the definitive account of this dark chapter of American history.”— Publishers Weekly (starred) “An important book that is recommended for anyone concerned about the rise conspiracy theories in American society, and how families are working to preserve their children’s legacies in the aftermath of tragedy.” — Library Journal (starred) ‚Disturbing and important…A feature writer at The New York Times, Williamson is a compassionate story-teller and a thorough reporter who never loses sight of the larger issues Newtown presents.‘ —NPR “Meticulously reported…Williamson has produced heartbreaking portraits of the parents…It is hard to read this book without being utterly terrified — in many ways, it’s the scariest I’ve ever read.” —Barbara Demick for Washington Post “In her deeply researched and painfully compelling book, Williamson makes the smart choice not to fulminate over the many, florid misdeeds of Jones and his lesser-known collaborators. Instead, she coolly assembles a great wall of evidence and observation, calmly documenting Jones’ myriad lies, and describing his gonzo shenanigans with an often amusing sobriety… One of the particular strengths of Sandy Hook is that it offers many in-depth accounts of and interviews with Sandy Hook hoaxers, a motley crew of misfits and crackpots… [Williamson] found [Alex Jones] and his rants about the First Amendment shopworn and “tiresome;” but her masterful description of the encounter is anything but… The courtroom victories of the Sandy Hook parents against Jones and his cronies makes for a satisfying ending to Sandy Hook.” — Slate “The Sandy Hook school shooting was a national tragedy; in the decade that followed, it became a focus of many outrageous conspiracy theories driven by people like Alex Jones. This well-researched book takes a look at how these myths came to be — and the fight against them.” —New York Post “A new book by Elizabeth Williamson, a journalist at the New York Times, describes the collective delusion and malice of conspiracists who denied that the [Sandy Hook] shooting happened or asserted that it was a government plot to stoke anti-gun sentiment… [it] also shows how these hoaxers, and the platforms that helped them, created ‘conspiratorial-industrial complex’ that has eroded American democracy…” —The Economist
ISBN: 978-1-5247-4657-5
