“A bravura work of scholarship and reporting, featuring amazing individuals and dramatic events from seventeenth-century France to Rome, Moscow, Cairo, and contemporary Minneapolis.”

“The moment for this book is now as we navigate this new era of virtual interactions and wonder how we got here and where we’re headed.”

— SUSAN ORLEAN, AUTHOR OF ON ANIMALS


“Rarely does a book give you a new way of looking at social change. This one does.”

— WALTER ISAACSON, AUTHOR OF THE CODE BREAKER

“A timely and stimulating take on how the fringe infiltrates the mainstream.”

— PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW)

“What a beautiful and humane book.”

— THOMAS CHATTERTON WILLIAMS, AUTHOR OF SELF-PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE