Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy - The Many Faces of Anonymous

Author(s): Gabriella Coleman

Philosophy, Politics & Current Affairs

Here is the ultimate book on the worldwide movement of hackers, pranksters, and activists that operates under the non-name Anonymous, by the writer the Huffington Post says "knows all of Anonymous' deepest, darkest secrets." Half a dozen years ago, anthropologist Gabriella Coleman set out to study the rise of this global phenomenon just as some of its members were turning to political protest and dangerous disruption (before Anonymous shot to fame as a key player in the battles over WikiLeaks, the Arab Spring, and Occupy Wall Street). She ended up becoming so closely connected to Anonymous that the tricky story of her inside-outside status as Anon confidante, interpreter, and erstwhile mouthpiece forms one of the themes of this witty and entirely engrossing book. The narrative brims with details unearthed from within a notoriously mysterious subculture, whose semi-legendary tricksters - such as Topiary, tflow, Anachaos, and Sabu - emerge as complex, diverse, politically and culturally sophisticated people.Propelled by years of chats and encounters with a multitude of hackers, including imprisoned activist Jeremy Hammond and the double agent who helped put him away, Hector Monsegur, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy is filled with insights into the meaning of digital activism and little understood facets of culture in the Internet age, including the history of "trolling," the ethics and metaphysics of hacking, and the origins and manifold meanings of "the lulz. "

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"The U.S. government and its allies have spent years castigating, prosecuting, and jailing members of Anonymous, with the director of the NSA going so far as to warn ominously of the potential of an Anonymous-led power blackout. But Gabriella Coleman's fascinating history of Anonymous makes clear that almost all of the hacktivism attributed to this global collective has been devoted to exposing wrongdoing, not wreaking destruction, even as she also carefully shows that Anonymous is not a shadowy organization but a loosely knit collection of activists all over the globe, fighting for government and corporate transparency. The NSA's treatment of Anonymous is disturbing and extreme, and Anonymous's surprising activist turn is heartening. Essential reading." Glenn Greenwald, author of No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the Surveillance State "An engrossing, accessible, and intelligent study illuminating the ambiguities of Anonymous and its implications for the future of online political activism." Times Literary Supplement "Coleman charts her own conceptual course, breaking with the standard narratives, particularly the click-baity cautionary tales about the dangers of Anonymous. Her book offers its share of warnings, but ones more nuanced, compelling, and empathetic than the typical hand-wringing about online mobs and the conundrum of virtual vigilante justice. Coleman is no cheerleader...But she also doesn't wag her finger from some imagined high ground." Astra Taylor, Bookforum "In Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy, Coleman reveals the group in all its complexity ... this in-depth account might leave readers in awe of the sheer scope of the group and how much they have achieved while shunning the traditional trappings of leaders, hierarchy and individual fame-seeking." Financial Times "a long-awaited and compelling study of the activist collective... Anyone interested in Anonymous, or the shape of protest in the age of the internet, will find abundant new details and smart insight here." Guardian "Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy penetrate[s] the chaotic, ad hoc, contradictory world of the Anons... What Gabriella Coleman has done, with a fine eye and a storyteller's talent, is to untangle the hairball just enough to get a sense of its topology, its power and its limits - if not its direction. That is anyone's guess." The Spectator "[Coleman's] painstaking research takes the reader right into the heart of the group, where she begins explaining the history of the broad movement of hackers known to the outside world as Anonymous... without doubt one of the biggest authorities in the world on the subject of Anonymous" Independent "[An] eye-opening ethnography...This all-access pass into the dark and wild corners of the Internet is timely, informative, and also frightening." Publishers Weekly

Gabriella (Biella) Coleman holds the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, she researches, writes, and teaches on computer hackers and digital activism. She is the author of Coding Freedom: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking.

General Fields

  • : 9781781689837
  • : Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • : Verso Books
  • : 0.367
  • : September 2015
  • : 235mm X 156mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : December 2015
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Gabriella Coleman
  • : Paperback
  • : 116
  • : en
  • : 322.4
  • : 480
  • : illustrations