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Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today
In this era-defining book, developed from her groundbreaking Radio 4 essay series, Naomi Alderman turns her boundless curiosity and incisive thinking to explore the epoch we’re living through, an epoch she calls the "Information Crisis." The internet has flooded us with more knowledge, opinions, ideas, and opportunities as well as verbal attacks, disinformation, and misinformation than ever before. It lets us learn more quickly and also spread falsehoods more quickly. It brings us together and also divides us in new ways. It is now the lens through which we perceive and understand the world.
There is no going back, but we have been here before: This is humanity’s third information crisis. The first, the invention of writing 5,000 years ago, and the second, the invention of the printing press 600 years ago, drastically reshaped our perceptions, interactions, and mental landscapes in ways that feel acutely familiar. Overwhelmed by information, people become afraid and angry, unsettled and distressed, as well as more knowledgeable, educated, and curious. By looking at those previous information crises, both the turmoil and the advances, Alderman asks what we can learn from the past to better understand our present and prepare for our future.
There is no going back, but we have been here before: This is humanity’s third information crisis. The first, the invention of writing 5,000 years ago, and the second, the invention of the printing press 600 years ago, drastically reshaped our perceptions, interactions, and mental landscapes in ways that feel acutely familiar. Overwhelmed by information, people become afraid and angry, unsettled and distressed, as well as more knowledgeable, educated, and curious. By looking at those previous information crises, both the turmoil and the advances, Alderman asks what we can learn from the past to better understand our present and prepare for our future.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published November 13, 2025
76 people are currently reading
2727 people want to read
About the author
Naomi Alderman
43 books4,623 followersNaomi Alderman (born 1974 in London) is a British author and novelist.
Alderman was educated at South Hampstead High School and Lincoln College, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She then went on to study creative writing at the University of East Anglia before becoming a novelist.
She was the lead writer for Perplex City, an Alternate reality game, at Mind Candy from 2004 through June, 2007.[1]
Her father is Geoffrey Alderman, an academic who has specialised in Anglo-Jewish history. She and her father were interviewed in The Sunday Times "Relative Values" feature on 11 February 2007.[2]
Her literary debut came in 2006 with Disobedience, a well-received (if controversial) novel about a rabbi's daughter from North London who becomes a lesbian, which won her the 2006 Orange Award for New Writers.
Since its publication in the United Kingdom, it has been issued in the USA, Germany, Israel, Holland, Poland and France and is due to be published in Italy, Hungary and Croatia.
She wrote the narrative for The Winter House, an online, interactive yet linear short story visualized by Jey Biddulph. The project was commissioned by Booktrust as part of the Story campaign, supported by Arts Council England. [3]
Alderman was educated at South Hampstead High School and Lincoln College, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She then went on to study creative writing at the University of East Anglia before becoming a novelist.
She was the lead writer for Perplex City, an Alternate reality game, at Mind Candy from 2004 through June, 2007.[1]
Her father is Geoffrey Alderman, an academic who has specialised in Anglo-Jewish history. She and her father were interviewed in The Sunday Times "Relative Values" feature on 11 February 2007.[2]
Her literary debut came in 2006 with Disobedience, a well-received (if controversial) novel about a rabbi's daughter from North London who becomes a lesbian, which won her the 2006 Orange Award for New Writers.
Since its publication in the United Kingdom, it has been issued in the USA, Germany, Israel, Holland, Poland and France and is due to be published in Italy, Hungary and Croatia.
She wrote the narrative for The Winter House, an online, interactive yet linear short story visualized by Jey Biddulph. The project was commissioned by Booktrust as part of the Story campaign, supported by Arts Council England. [3]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
February 8, 2026
Starts off super strong with an accessible history of the three stages of our internet crisis -- writing, the printing press, the internet. However, and I think this is honestly more of a compliment than an insult, I don't think the author is chronically online enough to stick the landing. I hoped this would be more of a dissection / excavation of modern internet discourse, but instead the second half is an overview with a very light brush. There's some brilliant wisdom in here about having healthy debates -- particularly acknowledging that users you debate with online are real people not just symbols -- but I feel it only scratches the surface. There's many further layers of rock that still need to be struck into.
April 7, 2026
This book is an ironic example of how online research can be imprecise and lack nuance. I do not believe a historian or sociologist would write this book. Despite Alderman stating that we should trust experts rather than opinions we read online, she herself promotes theories that are western-centric, and makes sweeping statements that collapse under scrutiny. The irony is pushed further by the fact that Alderman's thoughts would be far easier to debate, and hold less 'expert' weight if it was posted online instead of published. The overarching points in this book are important - but her evidence and reasoning fall short.
Seeing this book in the bookshop, I thought I was the perfect audience for it. I'm a new mum and the fact this is a short book, and there is an author-read audiobook makes this easier for me to get through. I'm interested - like many - in tech and how the internet and AI is shaping our collective future, and will influence the future of my daughter - particularly in a time of the #metoo movement, Epstein files, and manosphere online culture wars. I've also been reading about the witch burnings, and how the printing press was a means for religious hysteria to spread across Europe and into the US, at the expense of (mainly) women.
But this book got under the skin of an older version of me. I majored in Asian Cultural Studies at University and started a PhD. Year one of anthropology hammered into us that in order to study a culture, we first need to recognise our own place within our culture. Our own biases. I can only write about aspects of modern Japanese culture if I first recognise my middle-class-white-woman-Australian upbringing, and biases this gives me.Alderman has not done this, and her arguments suffer for it.
The first part of this book - the first information crisis - was the invention of writing. Alderman explains 'the Axial age' as being possible thanks to the invention of writing and phonetic language. The Axial Age in itself is problematic. It's a period of around 600 years that saw the rise of important thought - such as Confucius, Socrates, Buddha... Now, comparing these great thinkers from across the globe is like comparing the culture of Steve Jobs to Shakespeare. Except the Axial Age is broader than that, because at least Steve Jobs and Shakespeare speak the same language. I don't know if it’s fair to use 'the Axial Age' as a lens on historic cultures at all, let alone to explain the importantance of writing and phonetic language.
On phonetic language and literacy, China experienced their 'renaissance' far earlier than Europe, and invented the first printing press. However Chinese languages aren't phonetic. At my own google research, it seems that ancient Egypt saw some of the highest rates of literacy of the time - yet hieroglyphs are also not phonetic. Even then, literacy rates were at most 10% of the population. Despite the invention of writing, many people then (and even now) were functionally illiterate. This rebuttal can go further, that many people were 'forced' to be illiterate, such as slaves. So writing was a not only a privileged skill, but used as a means to suppress. Given the high illiteracy rates, it’s difficult to assume that writing had as large an impact on the everyman as Alderman suggests.
Alderman states that the invention of writing helped the human race remember. Ignoring the many cultures with long oral histories - and incredibly long memories. An anecdote, I visited Mount Gambier in Australia which is famous for its 'blue lake'. Scientists discovered that the reason the water appears so strangely blue is because the lake is in an ancient volcanic crater, something it hasn't been for over 4,300 years. Aboriginal Dreamtime stories tell of a time when the mountain was a hot oven. The fact that Aboriginal Dreamtime stories spoke of the mountain when it was erupting shows the strength of oral language and histories.
On the topic of colonialist thought, later in the book Alderman compares the is-it-blue-or-is-it-gold internet dress online debacle to conflicting opinions around English colonialism, that one group sees it as glitteringIy gold and the other see it as 'bruised black and blue'. This is so incredibly reductive for indigenous peoples. These statements on the surface feel nice and literary but are seeped in privilege, are incredibly insulting, and are splattered throughout the book.
The second information leap was the printing press.
This one is more a personal gripe - but it seems odd to name a book about being burned at the stake, and to discuss the invention of the printing press as a major information leap of (European) mankind, and not mention the Malleus Maleficarium, the book that spoke to the 'evils of witchcraft' and helped spark the centuries-long witch hunts across Europe and the US. Again, the rise of the online Manosphere happening alongside the likes of Weinstein and Epstein, and how deep these misogynistic abuse rings go, is something that I spend too much time thinking about. Alderman does speak often of the rise and spread of Lutheran Protestantism and relating this to the printing press, but mentioning the misogenistic nature of the witch trials would be a good connection to make, to hammer this point of information being a means of promoting hysteric views. Particularly as the internet is Alderman's third information crisis.
Alderman makes the point (paraphrased) 'we need to trust that others are intelligent and that we have commonality with others, despite differing opinions'. She also promotes the importance of a national press, like the BBC. This I agree with. But in the same breath she uses examples from Trump's America on what it looks like when we can't trust our national media. We are living in a time - and this book was written in this time - of extreme opinions being shared as fact across the internet and in our politics. Alderman points to Kennedy's 'health advice' that is anti vaccine and anti fact. Also of Bezos owning The Washington Post, and what this has done to its journalism standards. Yet her conclusion is that we need to look past the division the internet creates and realise we can use our differing opinions as a means of discussion, rather than of ostracising.
I think we have gone beyond this 'Que Sera' handholding utopia possibility of the internet and -if I can be so bold- of politics . We can't look down the barrel of a publicly funded ICE agent's gun - as he drags off and kills immigrants - and hope to see eye to eye on some things. Commonality is irrelevant when democracy is in jeopardy and actual fascism is past the doorstep and marching down the hall of our house.
I haven't trolled anyone online besides commenting on my local political member's social media regarding their policies. But I have attended in-person counter protests against those who are anti immigration. Against rallies which are organised by people who actually label themselves as Nazis.
Alderman posits that there were people in history who were burning others at the stake, and there were those who were just trying to get along with their neighbours. Its possible to also say that there were those burning people at the stake and there were those being burned at the stake. This book focuses too much on the nature of internet troll-culture and not enough on how online culture wars seep into the everyday. When we think of how online culture wars have influenced our politics, I feel the conversation and conclusions need to be stronger than 'why don't we just all try to get along'. In order to get a more inclusive online space, we need guillotines for the billionaires that run these virtual spaces. And who now run many governments.
But my conclusion is exactly what Alderman warns we should not do in this third 'information crisis'. So perhaps the irony extends to me, with my blasé statements that are tantamount to 'burning others at the stake'. Lets just hope that she's right and we can get along - and if the witch-burners come for us one day, at least we can say we were always nice, and hope that that is enough.
Seeing this book in the bookshop, I thought I was the perfect audience for it. I'm a new mum and the fact this is a short book, and there is an author-read audiobook makes this easier for me to get through. I'm interested - like many - in tech and how the internet and AI is shaping our collective future, and will influence the future of my daughter - particularly in a time of the #metoo movement, Epstein files, and manosphere online culture wars. I've also been reading about the witch burnings, and how the printing press was a means for religious hysteria to spread across Europe and into the US, at the expense of (mainly) women.
But this book got under the skin of an older version of me. I majored in Asian Cultural Studies at University and started a PhD. Year one of anthropology hammered into us that in order to study a culture, we first need to recognise our own place within our culture. Our own biases. I can only write about aspects of modern Japanese culture if I first recognise my middle-class-white-woman-Australian upbringing, and biases this gives me.Alderman has not done this, and her arguments suffer for it.
The first part of this book - the first information crisis - was the invention of writing. Alderman explains 'the Axial age' as being possible thanks to the invention of writing and phonetic language. The Axial Age in itself is problematic. It's a period of around 600 years that saw the rise of important thought - such as Confucius, Socrates, Buddha... Now, comparing these great thinkers from across the globe is like comparing the culture of Steve Jobs to Shakespeare. Except the Axial Age is broader than that, because at least Steve Jobs and Shakespeare speak the same language. I don't know if it’s fair to use 'the Axial Age' as a lens on historic cultures at all, let alone to explain the importantance of writing and phonetic language.
On phonetic language and literacy, China experienced their 'renaissance' far earlier than Europe, and invented the first printing press. However Chinese languages aren't phonetic. At my own google research, it seems that ancient Egypt saw some of the highest rates of literacy of the time - yet hieroglyphs are also not phonetic. Even then, literacy rates were at most 10% of the population. Despite the invention of writing, many people then (and even now) were functionally illiterate. This rebuttal can go further, that many people were 'forced' to be illiterate, such as slaves. So writing was a not only a privileged skill, but used as a means to suppress. Given the high illiteracy rates, it’s difficult to assume that writing had as large an impact on the everyman as Alderman suggests.
Alderman states that the invention of writing helped the human race remember. Ignoring the many cultures with long oral histories - and incredibly long memories. An anecdote, I visited Mount Gambier in Australia which is famous for its 'blue lake'. Scientists discovered that the reason the water appears so strangely blue is because the lake is in an ancient volcanic crater, something it hasn't been for over 4,300 years. Aboriginal Dreamtime stories tell of a time when the mountain was a hot oven. The fact that Aboriginal Dreamtime stories spoke of the mountain when it was erupting shows the strength of oral language and histories.
On the topic of colonialist thought, later in the book Alderman compares the is-it-blue-or-is-it-gold internet dress online debacle to conflicting opinions around English colonialism, that one group sees it as glitteringIy gold and the other see it as 'bruised black and blue'. This is so incredibly reductive for indigenous peoples. These statements on the surface feel nice and literary but are seeped in privilege, are incredibly insulting, and are splattered throughout the book.
The second information leap was the printing press.
This one is more a personal gripe - but it seems odd to name a book about being burned at the stake, and to discuss the invention of the printing press as a major information leap of (European) mankind, and not mention the Malleus Maleficarium, the book that spoke to the 'evils of witchcraft' and helped spark the centuries-long witch hunts across Europe and the US. Again, the rise of the online Manosphere happening alongside the likes of Weinstein and Epstein, and how deep these misogynistic abuse rings go, is something that I spend too much time thinking about. Alderman does speak often of the rise and spread of Lutheran Protestantism and relating this to the printing press, but mentioning the misogenistic nature of the witch trials would be a good connection to make, to hammer this point of information being a means of promoting hysteric views. Particularly as the internet is Alderman's third information crisis.
Alderman makes the point (paraphrased) 'we need to trust that others are intelligent and that we have commonality with others, despite differing opinions'. She also promotes the importance of a national press, like the BBC. This I agree with. But in the same breath she uses examples from Trump's America on what it looks like when we can't trust our national media. We are living in a time - and this book was written in this time - of extreme opinions being shared as fact across the internet and in our politics. Alderman points to Kennedy's 'health advice' that is anti vaccine and anti fact. Also of Bezos owning The Washington Post, and what this has done to its journalism standards. Yet her conclusion is that we need to look past the division the internet creates and realise we can use our differing opinions as a means of discussion, rather than of ostracising.
I think we have gone beyond this 'Que Sera' handholding utopia possibility of the internet and -if I can be so bold- of politics . We can't look down the barrel of a publicly funded ICE agent's gun - as he drags off and kills immigrants - and hope to see eye to eye on some things. Commonality is irrelevant when democracy is in jeopardy and actual fascism is past the doorstep and marching down the hall of our house.
I haven't trolled anyone online besides commenting on my local political member's social media regarding their policies. But I have attended in-person counter protests against those who are anti immigration. Against rallies which are organised by people who actually label themselves as Nazis.
Alderman posits that there were people in history who were burning others at the stake, and there were those who were just trying to get along with their neighbours. Its possible to also say that there were those burning people at the stake and there were those being burned at the stake. This book focuses too much on the nature of internet troll-culture and not enough on how online culture wars seep into the everyday. When we think of how online culture wars have influenced our politics, I feel the conversation and conclusions need to be stronger than 'why don't we just all try to get along'. In order to get a more inclusive online space, we need guillotines for the billionaires that run these virtual spaces. And who now run many governments.
But my conclusion is exactly what Alderman warns we should not do in this third 'information crisis'. So perhaps the irony extends to me, with my blasé statements that are tantamount to 'burning others at the stake'. Lets just hope that she's right and we can get along - and if the witch-burners come for us one day, at least we can say we were always nice, and hope that that is enough.
February 9, 2026
Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today is a short book that's really more of a long opinion piece. It might have helped if I'd read some of Naomi Alderman's other writings before diving into this, or maybe if I'd read it as a physical book rather than an audiobook. Unacquainted as I was with the author or her usual writing style, her narration came off kind of smug. Not burning her at the stake for saying so - god forbid! - but it did get sort of grating after a while.
Delivery notwithstanding, I admire what Alderman tried to do here. The way she articulated her ideas absolutely resonated with me, and I do hope the term "information crisis" as a descriptor for our current age catches on. I just thought there were one too many moments were she overstepped her bounds. While parts of this book were thought-provoking, others were frustratingly ill-realised, almost sketchy, yet broadly sweeping. Others still were delivered in a factual tone that revealed their speculative origins. ("Forms" of the printing press existed in China and Korea, but it was phonetic alphabets that "really" revolutionised writing technology? Okay...)
Regardless, reading (or listening to) this book is probably worth your time if these are issues you care about. But maybe borrow it from your local library - you know, those institutions whose models Alderman wishes tech companies would integrate into their products, but whose existence she doesn't defend anywhere near as ardently as the BBC.
My thanks to Penguin Audio and Libro.fm for the ALC.
Delivery notwithstanding, I admire what Alderman tried to do here. The way she articulated her ideas absolutely resonated with me, and I do hope the term "information crisis" as a descriptor for our current age catches on. I just thought there were one too many moments were she overstepped her bounds. While parts of this book were thought-provoking, others were frustratingly ill-realised, almost sketchy, yet broadly sweeping. Others still were delivered in a factual tone that revealed their speculative origins. ("Forms" of the printing press existed in China and Korea, but it was phonetic alphabets that "really" revolutionised writing technology? Okay...)
Regardless, reading (or listening to) this book is probably worth your time if these are issues you care about. But maybe borrow it from your local library - you know, those institutions whose models Alderman wishes tech companies would integrate into their products, but whose existence she doesn't defend anywhere near as ardently as the BBC.
My thanks to Penguin Audio and Libro.fm for the ALC.
November 16, 2025
Such a fascinating read, sad it came to an end! Naomi offers us a guide on how to keep sane during an age of information crisis. It puts you off social media for sure!
February 13, 2026
Informative, pragmatic and hopeful! I was starting to get really scared of technology, the internet and other people, and this book reminded me that most humans are good and kind, there is a lot to be gained from intentional use of technology, and we should probably just talk to each other more lol
March 5, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It highlights so many amazing points which I wish everyone would read and understand. It’s given me some real interesting ideas to take away and ponder about for longer. I highly recommended reading to educate yourself!
January 29, 2026
A moving lil book that argues in favor of naming our current epoch — that is, yet another information crisis, similar to the advent of writing and the printing press — in order to deal with the emotional, physical, psychological, and intellectual consequences that emerge. The title reads as very anti-cancel culture, but what Alderman is doing is something much more interesting, if a little surface level (one, because we haven't yet emerged on the other side of the crisis yet, but also because this book is pretty Eurocentric in its view of history).
I loved the bit about how there are no outside unmapped worlds left to explore — the unmapped world of the minutae of our inner lives is new territory, and its newness and sudden abundance is part of the information crisis. I'll also be thinking about the Book of Sand (I need to read Borges!!) and supernormal stimulus analogies for a while. She calls the internet a "wonderful, catastrophic thing," a kind of "raising of the dead, a kind of telepathy, a kind of heaven where we see each other as thoughts and character, not as bodies, wealth, or birth." This thread in the book — how the internet has made us see each other as symbols, simply because our minds have not evolved to keep up with the sudden influx of information we have — is what is really going to stay with me. Alderton is hopeful in the inevitability of another enlightenment period following our current information crisis. In the meantime, she views this opportunity to witness our minds cracking open and develop new ways of thinking (and thinking about thinking) as an exciting once-in-a-few-centuries development, and emphasizes our need to keep each other safe through it and avoid devolving into the chaos that comes with information crises.
Tldr: Short and engaging read that's made me more aware of historical patterns vis a vis information crises. It doesn't say anything particularly groundbreaking, but it has made me approach digital life with a little less skepticism and a little more hope.
I loved the bit about how there are no outside unmapped worlds left to explore — the unmapped world of the minutae of our inner lives is new territory, and its newness and sudden abundance is part of the information crisis. I'll also be thinking about the Book of Sand (I need to read Borges!!) and supernormal stimulus analogies for a while. She calls the internet a "wonderful, catastrophic thing," a kind of "raising of the dead, a kind of telepathy, a kind of heaven where we see each other as thoughts and character, not as bodies, wealth, or birth." This thread in the book — how the internet has made us see each other as symbols, simply because our minds have not evolved to keep up with the sudden influx of information we have — is what is really going to stay with me. Alderton is hopeful in the inevitability of another enlightenment period following our current information crisis. In the meantime, she views this opportunity to witness our minds cracking open and develop new ways of thinking (and thinking about thinking) as an exciting once-in-a-few-centuries development, and emphasizes our need to keep each other safe through it and avoid devolving into the chaos that comes with information crises.
Tldr: Short and engaging read that's made me more aware of historical patterns vis a vis information crises. It doesn't say anything particularly groundbreaking, but it has made me approach digital life with a little less skepticism and a little more hope.
January 30, 2026
Though 3 stars doesn’t feel entirely right, it’s what I’ve settled on. I liked listening to Alderman’s ponderings, found her points and references interesting, appreciated her reasonableness.
However, listening to this audiobook in January 2026 - only a couple of months after its publication - DBAATST already feels out of step. The topic at hand is impossible to pin down, everything moving and changing so fast, as Alderman herself notes; maybe such a book was always doomed to fail in some way. Appeals to remain open to those who ‘disagree’ with you are hard to take right now, even for those who might want to build bridges in theory. It’s possible even the author herself now feels otherwise than she did when writing.
At another time, this book would likely hit completely different - but in attempting to be a book for our times, it falls on its face. That is a little harsh when there is much to be taken from DBAATST, but ultimately it’s the truth - mine, right now, at least.
However, listening to this audiobook in January 2026 - only a couple of months after its publication - DBAATST already feels out of step. The topic at hand is impossible to pin down, everything moving and changing so fast, as Alderman herself notes; maybe such a book was always doomed to fail in some way. Appeals to remain open to those who ‘disagree’ with you are hard to take right now, even for those who might want to build bridges in theory. It’s possible even the author herself now feels otherwise than she did when writing.
At another time, this book would likely hit completely different - but in attempting to be a book for our times, it falls on its face. That is a little harsh when there is much to be taken from DBAATST, but ultimately it’s the truth - mine, right now, at least.
March 15, 2026
Very good! made for great conversation at book club.
February 4, 2026
This is brilliant!!
February 17, 2026
I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by the author and found it very enjoyable to listen to.
A very interesting insight into the modern internet age and how best to cope with the inevitable, fast-moving future into deeper and greater technology.
I loved how this author presented both the good and the evil of the internet and modern technology. It was a good reminder that while the internet and AI can be crazy and scary and unknown, there is also so much to be gained from it.
I loved the little deep dives into the history of writing and printing, the other information crises that humans have gone through, it was very interesting to learn about.
While I don't think any of the ideas presented in this book were revolutionary, it was a really good reminder to take a step back from the internet and social media and try and be more intentional about how I use it.
I'm sure that mindset will be gone as quickly as it has set in, as is the way of life during this era, fast and everchanging and unstoppable.
A very interesting insight into the modern internet age and how best to cope with the inevitable, fast-moving future into deeper and greater technology.
I loved how this author presented both the good and the evil of the internet and modern technology. It was a good reminder that while the internet and AI can be crazy and scary and unknown, there is also so much to be gained from it.
I loved the little deep dives into the history of writing and printing, the other information crises that humans have gone through, it was very interesting to learn about.
While I don't think any of the ideas presented in this book were revolutionary, it was a really good reminder to take a step back from the internet and social media and try and be more intentional about how I use it.
I'm sure that mindset will be gone as quickly as it has set in, as is the way of life during this era, fast and everchanging and unstoppable.
April 1, 2026
Jag blev intresserad av att läsa den här populärvetenskapliga idéhistoriaboken efter att Sven-Erik Lidman, i Tidens smala näs, jämförde Luther och tryckpressen med twitterhat och ett fortfarande omoget förhållande mellan människa, samhälle och internet. Här fick jag fler och mer välbearbetade tankar på samma ämne tillsammans med praktiska tips på att hantera informationskrisen vi lever i. Rekommenderar!
March 27, 2026
veľmi sa mi páči takýto typ knihy. Autorka mala zaujímavú myšlienku, rozpracovala ju cca na 100 strán. Netvárila sa, že obsiahla celú tému, otvorene to priznala, odporučila ďalšie zdroje a tvrdí, že túto tému bude určite updatovať potom, ako nahromadí dosť info, ako do éry informačnej krízy spadá AI.
Read
January 30, 2026I can't give this a rating as I've only read the sampler, not the full thing, but it was insightful and interesting!
March 24, 2026
I really didn’t like this and I really cannot see what this author is truly arguing for. I agree with the basic sentiments in this, mainly that we shouldn’t burn people at the stake (or cancel) people over minor things online. I do not want people’s lives to be ruined over social media comments but if someone posts racist abuse towards someone then that absolutely needs to be called out and I don’t think we have to be nice about it.
I see so many people posting misinformation and I’ve seen people tell them kindly that it’s not real/faked and they just tend to ignore it or just double down on it. We are definitely experiencing an information crisis but I just don’t think this book has realistic solutions to it. I appreciated the historical context in this but overall I just think this doesn’t do enough. It feels like this book and subsequently the author are just sitting on the fence on this issue and telling everyone to get along which is just so unrealistic. This is simply too surface level and does not take a nuanced approach to this issue at all. This actively annoyed me and for that reason, this can only be a 1 star for me. I wouldn’t recommend this and I think you can get the same information from a few random TikTok videos.
I see so many people posting misinformation and I’ve seen people tell them kindly that it’s not real/faked and they just tend to ignore it or just double down on it. We are definitely experiencing an information crisis but I just don’t think this book has realistic solutions to it. I appreciated the historical context in this but overall I just think this doesn’t do enough. It feels like this book and subsequently the author are just sitting on the fence on this issue and telling everyone to get along which is just so unrealistic. This is simply too surface level and does not take a nuanced approach to this issue at all. This actively annoyed me and for that reason, this can only be a 1 star for me. I wouldn’t recommend this and I think you can get the same information from a few random TikTok videos.
February 12, 2026
A powerful set of ideas for anyone alive today
April 16, 2026
This is just fine. Despite only being a few months old it already feels a bit dated. Maybe that’s the nature of writing about the Internet, that things move so fast that so much writing on it ends up ephemeral, but given how both tech and culturally savvy Alderman is this felt like it really only scratched the surface of her thesis that we are living through our third information crisis (after the advent of written language and the invention of the printing press).
There are some fun facts in here, the kind you might read in an op-ed or blog post and share with your partner over dinner in an “I read a neat article today” sort of way, but it doesn’t cover any new ground or even tread the old ground in a particularly interesting way.
If you need a very 101-level overview as an introduction to our contemporary information crisis, this is a brief an accessible option. But if you’re already familiar, you probably won’t find much new to explore or ponder here.
There are some fun facts in here, the kind you might read in an op-ed or blog post and share with your partner over dinner in an “I read a neat article today” sort of way, but it doesn’t cover any new ground or even tread the old ground in a particularly interesting way.
If you need a very 101-level overview as an introduction to our contemporary information crisis, this is a brief an accessible option. But if you’re already familiar, you probably won’t find much new to explore or ponder here.
December 20, 2025
An interesting and relevant read for today. Naomi posits that we would benefit from knowing the name of our 'era' historians will one day use to describe these times, so that we might ajust accordingly. She puts her money on 'The Informtation Crisis', though this is, in fact, the third such crisis we have dealt with. First came the written word. And then came the printing press. And now we have the dawn of the internet, social media and generative AI.
Naomi disusses how our access to information reshapes our perceptions and interactions of one another at a very basic level. Where once letters were symbols representing the people behind them, we have somehow flipped it, and the people are now mere symbols presented by the letters we write about them. It is easier to hate an anonymous face on the other side of the screen than to face it head on.
She touches on history, misinformation, conspiracy theories and the radical adoption of 'cancel culture' that boxes people up from a young age and refuses to let them grow, adapt or change.
Ultimately, Naomi talks about the power of coexisting. The power of accepting that someone might have a different interpretation of a really old book, and not condemning them to a horrifically painful death because of it. Given recent news here in Australia, this seems like an important lesson for everyone to learn.
Naomi's writing is engaging, humourous and even self deprecating. She has a powerful mind and her ability to look behind to see ahead is something we should all aspire to.
Naomi disusses how our access to information reshapes our perceptions and interactions of one another at a very basic level. Where once letters were symbols representing the people behind them, we have somehow flipped it, and the people are now mere symbols presented by the letters we write about them. It is easier to hate an anonymous face on the other side of the screen than to face it head on.
She touches on history, misinformation, conspiracy theories and the radical adoption of 'cancel culture' that boxes people up from a young age and refuses to let them grow, adapt or change.
Ultimately, Naomi talks about the power of coexisting. The power of accepting that someone might have a different interpretation of a really old book, and not condemning them to a horrifically painful death because of it. Given recent news here in Australia, this seems like an important lesson for everyone to learn.
Naomi's writing is engaging, humourous and even self deprecating. She has a powerful mind and her ability to look behind to see ahead is something we should all aspire to.
May 12, 2026
Every day, I’m amazed by how some people online, and even some I meet in person, manage to combine low IQ and low EQ despite having unlimited access to information and resources. It really makes me wonder whether AI is making this generation dumber, or if there are deeper factors affecting how people think and what they choose to consume.
The argument in Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today honestly makes sense to me. At the same time, I also believe people should be self-aware enough to understand that once they post something controversial online, they are exposing themselves to public scrutiny. You can never please everybody, especially on the internet where people will always interpret things differently depending on their own experiences, beliefs, and biases.
While the book presents a very interesting concept to deep dive into, I honestly feel like it only covers Part 1 of the research. Someone in the comments mentioned that the author might not be chronically online enough for some of her suggestions to fully land, and I totally agree. The book barely scratches the surface. It feels more like the epidermis of a much longer and far more complicated conversation about the information crisis.
What makes the issue even more difficult is that it cannot be approached from just one angle. It can be dissected and categorized into completely different perspectives depending on a person’s geographical location, sociological environment, spiritual beliefs, and economic status. The way misinformation affects someone in a wealthy country with access to education is very different from how it affects someone whose reality is shaped by survival, religion, or political instability.
The argument in Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today honestly makes sense to me. At the same time, I also believe people should be self-aware enough to understand that once they post something controversial online, they are exposing themselves to public scrutiny. You can never please everybody, especially on the internet where people will always interpret things differently depending on their own experiences, beliefs, and biases.
While the book presents a very interesting concept to deep dive into, I honestly feel like it only covers Part 1 of the research. Someone in the comments mentioned that the author might not be chronically online enough for some of her suggestions to fully land, and I totally agree. The book barely scratches the surface. It feels more like the epidermis of a much longer and far more complicated conversation about the information crisis.
What makes the issue even more difficult is that it cannot be approached from just one angle. It can be dissected and categorized into completely different perspectives depending on a person’s geographical location, sociological environment, spiritual beliefs, and economic status. The way misinformation affects someone in a wealthy country with access to education is very different from how it affects someone whose reality is shaped by survival, religion, or political instability.
March 8, 2026
3.5ish stars
This was fairly interesting and got me really engaged from the start thinking about the history of how we consume and absorb information as a society, and the subsequent impact of this. Her theory on the development of the printing press and how this contributed to the democratisation of information, changing society's relationships with faith, and themselves, and each other, was fascinating to listen to.
It is quite short, but I did still find myself losing interest towards the end. it felt like it started strong, but some of the middle could have been more fleshed out. She makes a good case for trying to understand each other, despite our differences, and searching for nuance in an increasingly polarised world.
This was fairly interesting and got me really engaged from the start thinking about the history of how we consume and absorb information as a society, and the subsequent impact of this. Her theory on the development of the printing press and how this contributed to the democratisation of information, changing society's relationships with faith, and themselves, and each other, was fascinating to listen to.
It is quite short, but I did still find myself losing interest towards the end. it felt like it started strong, but some of the middle could have been more fleshed out. She makes a good case for trying to understand each other, despite our differences, and searching for nuance in an increasingly polarised world.
April 17, 2026
4.5 stars
Honestly quite a heartening non-fiction book about the information crisis. The knowledge that we’ve been here before and overcome it is useful in a world where the information crisis, AI and social media can feel overwhelmingly like it’s going to lead to the downfall of society. The positive thought that out off all this chaos might be born a kinder more interconnected world is something that any user of the internet should strive for. That we should bring nuance back into our thinking and we should definitely have “less burning at the stake and more lighting of candles to drive away the dark.”
Honestly quite a heartening non-fiction book about the information crisis. The knowledge that we’ve been here before and overcome it is useful in a world where the information crisis, AI and social media can feel overwhelmingly like it’s going to lead to the downfall of society. The positive thought that out off all this chaos might be born a kinder more interconnected world is something that any user of the internet should strive for. That we should bring nuance back into our thinking and we should definitely have “less burning at the stake and more lighting of candles to drive away the dark.”
April 19, 2026
Interesting, intelligent and thought-provoking book about the perils of our current age of (mis)information and social media. It’s based on a series of radio talks so it’s very chatty and discursive. Alderman is always worth listening to or reading, but this is quite a lightweight book in some ways despite being thought-provoking.
March 22, 2026
Very useful narrative that’s sketched about the current information age, rightly called a crisis. Helpful to look at history to understand patterns.
April 1, 2026
Good accessible short book. The thesis: the internet is making us brain less, what are you going to do about it?
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January 13, 2026I'm glad this was short, it ran the risk of becoming quite repetitive.
An interesting read, but the feeling of 'oh my god, I should delete all my socials' was quickly overridden when my friend sent me a meme about skycards so...
An interesting read, but the feeling of 'oh my god, I should delete all my socials' was quickly overridden when my friend sent me a meme about skycards so...
April 10, 2026
Does Naomi Alderman provide any new analysis or insight into this information age? Not particularly. I do however, think this is a very well written book, and an excellent summary for those less familiar with how to navigate this disinformation crisis.
This is the sort of book I’d lend to my friends as a bit of an overview or explainer, to develop the language of what they’re experiencing with the news media and online.
The flaw however (of most books that attempt to examine the internet) is that it already feels out of date. It’s a bit impossible to write a book on the internet and imbue it with surface level substance (which is not a criticism here, the intent of the book is to be short and accessible, you cannot write a weighty text and do that) and expect it to hit the mark.
I feel like, especially in the latter half of the book, there’s still a lot more analysis to dig into, especially regarding the nuances on online debate and the necessity of switching off. Otherwise, you run the risk of parroting what others have said, without that real extra push to be convincing. Alderman walks a fine line there, and I’m not sure how successful she’s been.
This is the sort of book I’d lend to my friends as a bit of an overview or explainer, to develop the language of what they’re experiencing with the news media and online.
The flaw however (of most books that attempt to examine the internet) is that it already feels out of date. It’s a bit impossible to write a book on the internet and imbue it with surface level substance (which is not a criticism here, the intent of the book is to be short and accessible, you cannot write a weighty text and do that) and expect it to hit the mark.
I feel like, especially in the latter half of the book, there’s still a lot more analysis to dig into, especially regarding the nuances on online debate and the necessity of switching off. Otherwise, you run the risk of parroting what others have said, without that real extra push to be convincing. Alderman walks a fine line there, and I’m not sure how successful she’s been.
February 14, 2026
4.5, very easy to read and follow and also very thought provoking
April 11, 2026
A bit disappointing. I liked the sentiment, and linking previous information innovation to what is happening today, but the book didn’t really go beyond surface level observations, or show exciting examples of how we can better deal with an overflow of information of questionable quality apart from fostering patience and mildness.
November 16, 2025
Thought-provoking, gentle, observant, a book for our times which helps us breathe a little and think. I loved it.
May 11, 2026
very broad in its approach to the topic. i think there are better books about it, but if you're not very online, this is a good starting point to understand the information crisis.
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