Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
Elizabeth Williamson
Mar 2022 · Penguin
3.9star
9 reviewsreport
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496
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About this ebook
Slate, "25 Best Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time"
Vanity Fair’s “Books We Can't Stop Thinking About”
Carnegie Medal Nonfiction Longlist 2023
The Washington Post Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022
Publishers Weekly Best Books 2022
Kirkus Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022
Slate Best Books 2022
Chicago Tribune Best Books 2022
Los Angeles Times Best Books 2022
Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamson’s landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their children’s fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists.
On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, Sandy Hook has become a foundational story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in society.
One of the nation’s most devastating mass shootings, Sandy Hook was used to create destructive and painful myths. Driven by ideology or profit, or for no sound reason at all, some people insisted it never occurred, or was staged by the federal government as a pretext for seizing Americans’ firearms. They tormented the victims’ relatives online, accosted them on the street and at memorial events, accusing them of faking their loved ones’ murders. Some family members have been stalked and forced into hiding. A gun was fired into the home of one parent.
Present at the creation of this terrible crusade was Alex Jones’s Infowars, a far-right outlet that aired noxious Sandy Hook theories to millions and raised money for the conspiracy theorists’ quest to “prove” the shooting didn’t happen. Enabled by Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies’ failure to curb harmful content, the conspiracists’ questions grew into suspicion, suspicion grew into demands for more proof, and unanswered demands turned into rage. This pattern of denial and attack would come to characterize some Americans’ response to almost every major event, from mass shootings to the coronavirus pandemic to the 2020 presidential election, in which President Trump’s false claims of a rigged result prompted the January 6, 2021, assault on a bastion of democracy, the U.S. Capitol.
The Sandy Hook families, led by the father of the youngest victim, refused to accept this. Sandy Hook is the story of their battle to preserve their loved ones’ legacies even in the face of threats to their own lives. Through exhaustive reporting, narrative storytelling, and intimate portraits, Sandy Hook is the definitive book on one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the internet era.
Vanity Fair’s “Books We Can't Stop Thinking About”
Carnegie Medal Nonfiction Longlist 2023
The Washington Post Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022
Publishers Weekly Best Books 2022
Kirkus Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022
Slate Best Books 2022
Chicago Tribune Best Books 2022
Los Angeles Times Best Books 2022
Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamson’s landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their children’s fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists.
On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, Sandy Hook has become a foundational story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in society.
One of the nation’s most devastating mass shootings, Sandy Hook was used to create destructive and painful myths. Driven by ideology or profit, or for no sound reason at all, some people insisted it never occurred, or was staged by the federal government as a pretext for seizing Americans’ firearms. They tormented the victims’ relatives online, accosted them on the street and at memorial events, accusing them of faking their loved ones’ murders. Some family members have been stalked and forced into hiding. A gun was fired into the home of one parent.
Present at the creation of this terrible crusade was Alex Jones’s Infowars, a far-right outlet that aired noxious Sandy Hook theories to millions and raised money for the conspiracy theorists’ quest to “prove” the shooting didn’t happen. Enabled by Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies’ failure to curb harmful content, the conspiracists’ questions grew into suspicion, suspicion grew into demands for more proof, and unanswered demands turned into rage. This pattern of denial and attack would come to characterize some Americans’ response to almost every major event, from mass shootings to the coronavirus pandemic to the 2020 presidential election, in which President Trump’s false claims of a rigged result prompted the January 6, 2021, assault on a bastion of democracy, the U.S. Capitol.
The Sandy Hook families, led by the father of the youngest victim, refused to accept this. Sandy Hook is the story of their battle to preserve their loved ones’ legacies even in the face of threats to their own lives. Through exhaustive reporting, narrative storytelling, and intimate portraits, Sandy Hook is the definitive book on one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the internet era.
Ratings and reviews
3.9
9 reviews
Lucas Criswell
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May 5, 2024
What people need to know is the chief medical examiner and emts claimed they never saw any bodys that day and the death records had no deaths for the town of Newton as well. Adam's own father said he could barley tie his own shoes because of how messed up he was. but you want me to believe he carried all them weapons and ammunition and was able to pull it off all by himself. I know deep down you know something isn't right but dont want to involve yourself with something that could be a inconvenience to your daily routine and beliefs but when people are afraid and wont even speak about it online that should indicate something isn't right about it. This was the only school shooting to be classified by the FBI, and almost all information was scrubbed off the internet. All youll find is mainstream news reports on it.
M M
- Flag inappropriate
September 17, 2024
Alex Jones is a LIAR, it's been poven in court. He apologises 2 those he's caused so much extra pain & heartache- then sprouts off his vicious bile again! When will he shut up, but more importantly why do companys still sponsor him? If you are gullable enough to believe his rubbish?! Men like him pass this rubbish as truth so that it makes them feel important, instead of the useless people they really are. They prey on your fears, then sell you they way to make them better & its only $5.99 . The internet is a great thing, but full of gossip reported as the truth. What did we do before facebook? We used reputable news repoting, but now every1 wants to b involved in someone elses life. Mind your own buisiness, look @ yourself before you poke your nose where its not wanted & not knowing of facts. These poor people, robbed of their kids cheated out of their future, then abused by interfering zealots with 'their truth'. May you all find peace in which to grieve your loss.🙏🙏
Andrea Stoeckel
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January 16, 2023
" The struggle to defend objective truth against people who conciously to deny or distort it has become a fight to defend our society and democracy itself" This quote, found close to the end of the book, in its own way defines the reason Elizabeth Williamson seemed compelled to record this entire fight between reality and hoax. Starting with detailed looks into some of the Sandy Hook victims and the aftermath of their deaths not only on their familes but on Newtown CT. Then it shifts to "the other side"- the ones who'd spend the better part of a decade trying to prove the whole thing was a hoax, and if they made money off that, that's simply American entrepreneurship. But the question boils down to just who are the victims? Williamson is as tactful as she can be wading through this minefield, and in the end, we, the readers, if we can see the middle ground are the winners. I am left with the distinct impression that there is a need for this book. Part of me also wishes it was never
About the author
Elizabeth Williamson is a feature writer for The New York Times. She joined the Times as a member of its editorial board, writing about national politics during the 2016 presidential campaign. Previously, Williamson was a writer for The Wall Street Journal, covering national politics and the Obama White House, and a national reporter for The Washington Post. She began her career with a decade as a foreign correspondent, including covering Eastern Europe for The Wall Street Journal. She grew up in Chicago, and lives in Washington, D.C.
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