Name: Patrick Book's review of Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
Item: Catch and Kill
Rating: 5
Author: Patrick Book

Ronan Farrow

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family. All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond. This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement. Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.

Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Catch and Kill

B. R.

Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Patrick Book

In this instant New York Times bestselling account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family. All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance they could not explain -- until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington and beyond. This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. And it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement. Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook our culture. INDIE BOUND #1 BESTSELLERUSA TODAY BESTSELLERWALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

Erin G.

It's been a while since I have read a non-fiction book that made my heart pound like this one did! Written like fiction but with so much journalistic detail, absolutely incredible the way the major media corps are intertwined and complicit in cover-ups. Bonus: Knowing now that HW is rotting in jail made it even better.

Cody Degen

** spoiler alert **
           Sickening and upsetting to see all of this laid out in print. But incredibly important as well. The narrative is engaging and well told, Farrow is clearly a skilled story teller. The middle section starts to drag, as the story falls into a cycle of "Ronan finds a lead" -> "Lead worries about the blowback that will come if they come forward, but eventually comes forward with what they were the victim of" -> "Ronan is stymied by NBC's desire to spike the story at the behest of higher-ups who maintain a personal relationship with Weinstein". While admittedly boring from a sheer entertainment perspective, it effectively conveys the extent to which the powerful will cover for the powerful, and the expansive web of lives affected by Harvey Weinstein and other predators.

Sarah Schumacher

4.5 stars. I read articles as all this crap was happening so I knew about the NBC coverup, and the shocking necessity these interviews had to be published elsewhere. That’s what I really wanted to hear more about. If you want to know the mechanics of how rich idiots influence “journalism”, you’ll want to read this. It’s one reason why I never have, and never will watch any of the mainstream outlets. Thank goodness there are people who have principles, like McHugh, Ronan finding a way to get these stories out no matter what, and all the people who leaked information about what their employers were actually doing. There’s also much more than I expected about the private investigator angle and how much of that was happening in the background.

Catch and Kill uncovers the intricacies of a system meant to let women down. Ronan Farrow takes on an astonishing 140+ interviews from women who’d been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein, and faces myriad challenges from all levels of corporate wealth to release the story. 

I appreciate his writing style, Farrow maintains accuracy without being monotonous, and his passion for the topic is obvious. 

Trigger warning: in depth descriptions of assault. 

Catch and Kill uncovers the intricacies of a system meant to let women down. Ronan Farrow takes on an astonishing 140+ interviews from women who’d been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein, and faces myriad challenges from all levels of corporate wealth to release the story. 

I appreciate his writing style, Farrow maintains accuracy without being monotonous, and his passion for the topic is obvious. 

Trigger warning: in depth descriptions of assault. 

Jamieson

This was such an outstanding book, detailing Farrow's investigation into Harvey Weinstein and the many, many obstacles put in his way to deliver the story. I think this really highlights the systemic nature of predatory behaviour within industries and how predatory behaviour is covered up and allowed to continue, despite widespread knowledge of it occurring. Highly readable, well researched and with Farrow's self-deprecating, resonant voice acting as a strong emotional core, Catch and Kill is definitely must-read non-fiction.

Andy Sporring

A book that belong in your reference library

lalitha

“is this the way the world works?” she wondered. “that men get away with this?”

i would like to thank the random tiktoker who recommended this book. it is a masterpiece and it broke me.

Lauren Wightman

Alex Q

It’s so fascinating that this and She Said are about the same subject, but are wildly different books. While She Said focuses more on the women and the wider Me Too movement/powerful men silencing women and how it affects the survivors; Catch and Kill reports on the women respectfully and dutifully, but also on what it took to get Ronan’s article published which really demonstrates HW’s (who is still not in jail...) power at the time. Almost reads as an espionage thriller.

Mariane Ferrantino 

More like 4.5 (where are our half stars??) Love our avenging angel.

Cindy Lieberman

“Everything was designed to make me feel comfortable before it happened. And then the shame in what happened was also designed to keep me quiet.” 
“It was a consensus about the organizational comfort level moving forward that stopped the reporting.... that sat on multiple, credible allegations of sexual misconduct and disregarded a recorded admission of guilt.”
Ronan Farrow’s tireless reporting and especially the brave women who decided “enough is enough” are changing our culture for the better. I use present tense, as the NY trial against Harvey Weinstein has just begun and we still have a documented sexual predator in the White House.
This was well written, well structured and well read by the author. I highly recommend the audiobook version, although it meant I had to stop and replay sections I wanted to write down (and likely didn’t punctuate properly).

Julie Viravaux

I didn't know what I was getting into when I first picked this up : I thought it would be a good true crime book and give me a few chills until I found something else. Instead I found an incredibly powerful narrative on the story of a journalist searching for the truth against one man and his crimes against women, while navigating in office politics in a deeply corrupted organisation. 

By reading this you're not only reading about Weinstein's crimes but also Trump's, executives of NBC and others. You're reading the stories of women fighting for their lost career opportunities, turned to shame and silence. You're reading about the story of a man who was just trying to report something right and discovered so much more, putting his life, his relationships and his job at risk. 

Ronan Farrow is an incredible journalist and a great narrator.

Archita Birla

I am reading this book a little late, but nevertheless, it is incredible. 

It took me an incredibly long time to read this book -- I began reading it in May and we are now in November. However, I feel that is what the content of the book deserved: thorough, slow-paced reading. I didn't want to rush through this, and I found myself learning so much in taking my time. 

I highly recommend anyone and everyone read this book. The honest and truthful nature in which Ronan Farrow writes about his own background and his own reporting is great to read. Investigative journalism is so important, and I learn that more and more every day.

Bob Simone

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family. All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond. This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, CATCH AND KILL breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.

Alexander Venturas

An important book that read like a non-fiction thriller.

Caitlin Snyder

Amazing investigative journalism! NBC News is fucked, I can't believe the leadership (particularly Lack and Oppenheim) still have their jobs. Horrifying, unethical behavior.

Imane

There is a lot to take in with this book, which focuses on the process of reporting on the several sexual assault scandals that shook Hollywood and the news world in the USA last year. So many implications, so many revelations, that honestly quite shocked me despite expecting to learn that a lot of shady shit took place. "Shady" is an understatement of criminal proportions. To anyone with a shred of decency, it's downright INSANE, but at the same time... so commonplace that it hurts. The hold that the most powerful have on the media is staggering, even when you know that most of these newspapers and channels are on someone's payroll. There is so much dirt and such a pervasive culture of subjugation and bullying in these spheres that it'd be a wonder for a woman to not have been harassed or assaulted at any point in their career. This does not shine a positive light on all people involved, and on all people who knew, and I appreciate that Farrow did not pull any punches and named names and conflicts of interest when there were. I have so many things to say about this but I'm still reeling a bit from this book, especially the testimonials from victims (which were heartbreaking) and the way they were systematically discredited and silence and spied on and lied to. This was an extremely engaging read that I recommend but do bear in mind that the primary topic of this book is sexual assault and rape, with sometimes descriptive testimonials from the victims. As an aside, I'd love to know more about AMI's practices and its entanglement with Trump.

Sahi K

I’ve known the name of Ronan Farrow but not much about his credentials except the Pulitzer Prize he won for the Weinstein story. I got to know a bit more about him when I read the recent book She Said by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kanter, who were his fellow recipients of the prize for their part in the exposé of the sexual harassment allegations. So, when I got to know about this book and some related controversy surrounding it, and also watched Chris Hayes’s remarks at the time of the release, I knew I had to pick it up. And wow have I been blown away. 

“Enjoy” is such an unsuitable word to associate with this book because it talks about some very deeply disturbing topics, but the way Farrow writes it makes it feel like a thriller novel with multiple POVs, with some dry and sarcastic humor thrown in, which makes it a riveting experience - I was so drawn by the story in these pages that I stayed up very late in the night to finish it; I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to sleep without knowing how it ended. 

I assumed initially that this book might feel repetitive because the contents of She Said are still very much ingrained in my mind, and while some women who came forward with their stories were the same in both the books, Farrow managed to talk to so many other women and discover a pattern of abuse, intimidation and coverup that was revolting. Every experience that these women share and how it has adversely affected their life over the years is very very difficult to read, and Farrow’s anguish at being the one who was listening to them first hand and having the responsibility of bringing their abusers to light, is very palpable in his writing. 

But what makes this book even more interesting but also scary to read is the kind of pushback he got in his efforts to bring his reporting to light. This is a journalist who believes in the values of the news organization he works for, loves his job, and just wants to do extensive reporting and be able to provide a voice to the number of women who had been so brutally silenced. But the way he is directly and indirectly blocked by his own bosses at NBC from proceeding disturbs him deeply and it shows in his many conversations with them, trying to justify how important his reporting was but being told it wasn’t enough - not that it’s surprising because women’s voices are never believable enough. And if silencing by his bosses is just one part of the story, the underhanded illegal surveillance tactics used by Weinstein to scare him into not pursuing his story reads like a spy thriller, and if I didn’t know that he is currently alive and well, I would have been much more scared for Farrow’s life while reading the book. As he becomes increasingly consumed by his investigation while also being paranoid about being surveilled, it affects his own long distance relationship with his partner. Their arguments but also Jonathan’s quiet support bring a little humor and personal touch to this book and I really appreciated that. And it was actually very sweet and incredibly nerdy the way Farrow proposed to Jon (I really don’t wanna spoil it) and it was nice to see that they survived the intensity of those years. 

The threads of cover up go from news organizations to DA’s offices to state and national politicians to a veritable who’s who of lawyers to international private intelligence companies - and while this may have been surprising to me a few years ago, it just seems par for the course of powerful people protecting more powerful people. While many of us have been disillusioned by the powerful among the politicians or Hollywood getting away with their harassment using their hordes of lawyers, it’s definitely more shocking to read about legitimate famous news organizations like NBC which pride themselves on being the voice of truth for the people, doing the same when it comes to protecting the higher ups in their executive, creating a hostile atmosphere for the women who work there and ultimately silencing them with money and NDAs. While there are many journalists with integrity working at these places like Farrow and McHugh etc, news reporting is also ultimately a business and the higher ups seem to be more concerned about their bottom line and protecting their powerful friends rather than worrying about journalistic ethics. Especially the reporting about the rape and sexual harassment allegations against Matt Lauer are very hard to read, and I can’t even fathom what these women go through just to be able to work at a place they admire. Thank god for the people at The New Yorker who had enough principles to let Farrow complete his investigation and report it thoroughly. 

In conclusion, I just want to say that you should read this book. If you are someone who is disappointed everyday by unreliable news reporting and the spin machine employed by powerful individuals, this book will feel like a ray of light and give you some sense of hope that there are many journalists of integrity who are trying very hard to bring the truth out into the open while fighting many battles in the background to make it happen, and Farrow rightly calls this a love letter to journalists. This can also feel hopeless and scary at times because of the massive cover up machine across numerous organizations that make sure powerful men are never held accountable, but it’s still an important book. And ultimately, it’s a testament to the strength of many many women who decide to come forward with their stories, reliving their trauma in the process and hounded by their abuser’s PR machine and letting their lives be upended again, but finally coming to the conclusion that enough is enough and raise their voice so that future generations of women might have it a little easier.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

This was an incredibly angering and eye-opening read. I'm not even sure if I can articulate how this book made me feel on that level. Thank the goddess for Ronan Farrow not giving up on these stories.

I did have some trouble following the plot at times, especially when it came to Black Cube and how it all tied in. There were also SO many names throughout that I couldn't keep up with everyone, which did hinder my ability to get sucked into this book. Overall though, it's an absolutely vital read.

Jeremy Anderberg

As just about everyone has said about Farrow, he may have a famous last name, but his Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism and writing stands entirely on its own.

About 5 years ago, as a reporter for NBC, Farrow started digging into leads regarding Harvey Weinstein’s predatory nature. It’s a story that a number of other renowned journalists had tried to uncover but ultimately been scared off by Weinstein’s thugs (a scary combo of powerful lawyers and actual spies).

Farrow doggedly stuck to the story, though, and ended up with a damn fine piece of journalism. So he brought it to his superiors at NBC . . . and was promptly shot down and told to stop his reporting. For seemingly no reason at all.

Which just led Farrow to dig deeper. Turns out Weinstein had his claws all over not only the legal system, but mass media as well. He’d been killing stories for years, and he did it again with NBC.

Unfortunately for the National Broadcasting Company, Farrow then brought the story to The New Yorker. Admirably — more than they were even given credit for, really — they went ahead and published Farrow’s rock-solid and unimpeachable journalism.

Catch and Kill is both an expansion of that reporting (including the downfall of Matt Lauer) and the story of the reporting itself. Makes it hard to trust mass media generally, and NBC especially. Not nearly enough heads rolled for the mistreatment of the Weinstein story.

It’s an excellent and important book that’s written like a thriller. Farrow is an incredible journalistic talent.

Yoomi

I stayed up late waiting for the audiobook to be available for download. I started listening to it and then I couldn’t put it down. I had just finished Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name”. She took us through the legal implications and into the courtroom of how a victim about how victims are shamed and silenced. It was hard to read but SO important. Roman’s book takes us into the even darker, seedier stories of what that looks like for women who are abused and assaulted by men with money, power, and connections. It’s horrifying.

He also gives us a glimpse of what reporters go through to get a story. In some cases, they risk their lives. This story consumed him. Fortunately, he survived, never had to use his gun, and his relationship survived as well. If you’re a fan of Pod Save America, you may have heard his interview with Jon Lovett. They teased about their story “arc” at the end. It’s as good as they say it is.

Andrew Molina

Thank you, Ronan Farrow, for reminding me that there are powerful people that are actually working for good, and for giving me a renewed sense of hope for journalism's potential. And the most wonderfully thing is that all of that is shaped into a spy thriller! I couldn't put this book down. I marveled at the insanity and power of the awful characters, rather than feeling it be just painful drudgery to repeatedly hear how awful the world can be. Thank you for making something educational also entertaining and gripping.

This is a must read, especially for all men, so we remember that our world is so different and that we must share our power and use it against those that abuse.

Luke Jones

Wonderful reporting. Terrible accents in the audiobook. They should re-record it, it undermines the stories of the women who came forward.

B. R. &
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

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