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Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything Hardcover – February 22, 2022
| Kelly Weill (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Since 2015, there has been a spectacular boom in a centuries-old delusion: that the earth is flat. More and more people believe that we all live on a pancake-shaped planet, capped by a solid dome and ringed by an impossible wall of ice.
How? Why?
In Off the Edge, journalist Kelly Weill draws a direct line from today’s conspiratorial moment, brimming not just with Flat Earthers but also anti-vaxxers and QAnon followers, back to the early days of Flat Earth theory in the 1830s. We learn the natural impulses behind these beliefs: when faced with a complicated world out of our control, humans have always sought patterns to explain the inexplicable. This psychology doesn’t change. But with the dawn of the twenty-first century, something else has shifted. Powered by Facebook and YouTube algorithms, the Flat Earth movement is growing.
At once a definitive history of the movement and an essential look at its unbelievable present, Off the Edge introduces us to a cast of larger-than-life characters. We meet historical figures like the nineteenth-century grifter who first popularized the theory, as well as the many modern-day Flat Earthers Weill herself gets to know, from moms on vacation to determined creationists to neo-Nazi rappers. We discover what, and who, converts people to Flat Earth belief, and what happens inside the rabbit hole. And we even meet a man determined to fly into space in a homemade rocket-powered balloon—whose tragic death is as senseless and absurd as the theory he sets out to prove.
In this incisive and powerful story about belief, Kelly Weill explores how we arrived at this moment of polarized realities and explains what needs to happen so that we might all return to the same spinning globe.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAlgonquin Books
- Publication dateFebruary 22, 2022
- Dimensions6.38 x 0.94 x 9.31 inches
- ISBN-101643750682
- ISBN-13978-1643750682
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A deep dive into the world of flat Earth conspiracy theorists . . . that brilliantly reveals how people fall into illogical beliefs, reject reason, destroy relationships, and connect with a broad range of conspiracy theories in the social media age. Beautiful, probing, and often empathetic . . . An insightful, human look at what fuels conspiracy theories.”
—Science
"This provocative book is sure to inspire debate about conspiracy theories as well as how citizens of a fractured world can learn to overcome their fear of radical planetary change. A timely and disturbing study of flawed, dangerous thinking."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Insightful and surprisingly empathetic . . . an illuminating take on a much scrutinized subject."
—Publishers Weekly
“An illuminating study that locates the common human psychological impulses behind conspiracy culture.”
—Library Journal
“In lively prose, Weill untangles the most complicated webs, revealing the real people who believe the unbelievable.”
—Booklist
“Even-handed… perfectly encapsulates disturbing implications of conspiracy theorists and their beliefs.”
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"An inquisitive, empathetic, deeply reported, and disturbingly funny tour through the furthest reaches of the most fringe possible conspiracy community. While Weill's subjects frequently risk falling off the edge of their own self-created map of the known universe, she follows them deftly to the brink, showing what their delusional explorations can teach us about belief, community, and the long history of pseudoscience around (sorry!) the world."
—Anna Merlan, author of Republic of Lies
"In this delightful deep dive into flat earth culture past and present, taking in YouTube recommendation algorithms, amateur rocketry, and a rat’s nest of conspiracy theories, Kelly Weill explains why, after several millennia of setbacks, the idea that the earth is flat is burgeoning once again."
—Michael Strevens, author of The Knowledge Machine
"Weill's elegant writing, informed by both historical research and deep-delving reporting, offers a complex and vivid portrait of a conspiracy community that serves as a metonym for this moment—when so many of us are in dispute about the very nature of reality. An essential and enjoyable read."
—Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords
“Kelly Weill is one of the best observers of the fringes of modern American life, making her the perfect chronicler of the Flat Earth movement. Her deep reporting and gift for storytelling make Off The Edge a gripping read— but what sets Weill apart is her ability to cover her subjects with great empathy, all without losing sight of the enormous damage and personal consequences of their actions.”
—Charlie Warzel, co-authorof Out of Office
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Algonquin Books (February 22, 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1643750682
- ISBN-13 : 978-1643750682
- Item Weight : 11.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.38 x 0.94 x 9.31 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #100,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Social Media Guides
- #22 in Media & Internet in Politics (Books)
- #167 in Communication & Media Studies
- Customer Reviews:
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The author did a better job than most at getting you hooked to the book. This paragraph in particular produced a sort of innate desire to learn the truth of flat earth theory, despite it never being something i was very interested in.
"The truth is that, by at least the fifth century BCE, Greek astronomers and mathematicians had already determined that the earth was round and had popularized the formulas that proved their calculations. By Columbus’s day, the globe model had been the default for centuries. (In fact, we can credit the Columbus Flat Earth myth to “Rip Van Winkle” author Washington Irving, who seems to have more or less invented it in his heavily embellished Columbus biography in the
1820s.) "
Conspiracy theory is defined by the author as a theory that is " an unproven allegation of a secret, deliberate, and malevolent plot, like a scheme to conceal the true shape of the world. Conspiracies theories are ways to construct order and meaning in times of uncertainty. They let us shape our fears into something we understand."
The book goes on to present reasons while people turn to conspiracy theories. One reason people turn to conspiracy theories is that they believed in another theory or idea wholeheartedly and it ended up being wrong. As a result, they assume that there must be various commonly held theories that are wrong, such as the Earth being round.
The author proceeds to present the "figureheads" of this movement and how they contributed to it. It was interesting to learn that there was once an entire town that was governed by one of these figures, and that he held so much power and influence to where he was able to dictate what was taught in local schools (flat earth theory). The author did an excellent job of showing how each figureheads contributions led/contributed to the next person in line's success.
Lastly, I love how deep the author ventured into this topic. I was shocked that this book would go as far as to detail flat Earth theories transition into the internet age and detail in depth what flat earth believers have to endure for their beliefs. This book was a mixture of informal/storytelling in that sense, there were times when i wanted to take notes and other times when i wanted to cry. What i stated previously is a reflection of Kelly's experience as a writer, journalist, and reporter.
Lastly, it was interesting to learn that anti-Jewish sentiment is commonplace among conspiracy theories...and that conspiracy theories are often, in part, formulated to place blame on Jewish individuals, even in areas where the Jewish population is minimal.
Cons:
1. The biggest Con for me was the fact that this book didn't have any diagrams or graphs. Most of us reading this book have little to no experience with flat Earth theory, so attempting to visualize a breakdown of how said flat Earth patriarch visualized the Earth is very difficult.
2. This was another one of those books where the first half was noticeably more entertaining than the 2nd half...I didn't even read the last chapter because the book got to a point where it just wasn't as interesting and eye-opening as it was before.
3. There needed to be a more balanced blend between personal stories and informal/interesting factual breakdowns regarding flat Earth theory.
This is a well written, informative, and readable book and I recommend it for both those who follow conspiracy culture as those who are curious and want an introduction to find out what it's all about.
Top reviews from other countries
Finally, it has a call to action on how to help an afflicted conspirator return to sanity like earthlings staggering down the gangplank at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Great work by a great writer.
It is hard to comprehend that any rationale or intelligent human would believe in
such a ridiculous theory!!!













