{"product_id":"the-nerd-reich-silicon-valley-fascism-and-the-war-on-democracy","title":"The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGil Durán was born in Tulare, California, in 1976. The grandson of Mexican immigrant farmworkers, he got his first taste of work in the fields, but took an interest in journalism after winning the local newspaper's \"My Mom Is the Best\" contest in the fifth grade. In the tenth grade, his family moved from California to Kentucky, where he dropped out of high school for a year, then returned and befriended an English teacher who encouraged him to apply to college. He graduated DePauw University in 1998 and started his journalism career at the \n\u003ci\u003e San Jose Mercury News\u003c\/i\u003e. As the newspaper industry hit turbulence, he pivoted to politics and spent ten years as an advisor to politicians including Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and Kamala Harris. In 2018, he returned to journalism as California opinion editor of \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sacramento Bee\u003c\/i\u003e, and then became editorial page editor of the \n\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e. Now an independent journalist, he publishes two newsletters: \n\u003ci\u003eThe Nerd Reich\u003c\/i\u003e, focused on extremist tech politics, and \n\u003ci\u003eFrameLab\u003c\/i\u003e, focused on political language.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A clear and compelling account of the threats posed by technofascism to democracies everywhere.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian and author of \u003ci\u003eStrongmen: Mussolini to the Present\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Reader take note: Gil Durán is a deep, thoughtful, and expansive observer of events that shape the current and future of our American democracy.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--George Lakoff, author of \u003ci\u003eThe All New Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Gil Durán is an essential voice on this technofascist moment--where it comes from and where we are going.\" \n\u003cb\u003e --Carole Cadwalladr, investigative journalist, \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Nerve\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Nerd Reich\u003c\/i\u003e is a clarion warning about the rise of techno-fascist sociopaths who seek to profit off of our collective misery. In clear, compelling and meticulously-researched detail, Gil Durán sounds the alarm about this incestuous cabal of broligarchs. He brings the receipts and the righteous rage.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Wajahat Ali, \u003ci\u003eThe Left Hook\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"This transfixing debut from journalist Durán investigates the antidemocratic ideologies espoused by tech billionaires linked to the second Trump administration...It's an ominous look at an insular elite arrayed against American democracy.\" --\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA fearless and urgent chronicle of the tech-authoritarian movement from its early days in San Francisco politics to its current moment on the international stage, exploring the wild and dystopian ambition of the technocrats at its center, and offering a road map to resistance.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Silicon Valley says it is ''moving fast and breaking things, '' the world interprets the chaos as a necessary cost of innovation. Gil Durán reveals something far more sinister: a decades-long campaign to replace elected governments with corporate rule. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on insider political experience and new investigations, Durán traces this ideology from its philosophical roots in \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sovereign Individual\u003c\/i\u003e by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. He introduces its modern apostles--Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Balaji Srinivasan, and Elon Musk--and shows how the promise of technological liberation has transformed into a global movement for digital feudalism, powered by cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and the algorithmic propaganda of social media. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eThe Nerd Reich\u003c\/i\u003e explains the origins, strategies, and ambitions of Silicon Valley's war on democracy for the first time. From San Francisco's weaponized elections and secret billionaire projects to the White House, Durán exposes how the world's richest men are building a new political order. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eThe Nerd Reich\u003c\/i\u003e is more than a hidden history, it's an urgent warning: democracy is being dismantled not by coups or tanks, but by code, capital, and the illusion of innovation. Durán insists there is still time to fight back--if we act now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/22\/2026 (EAN 9781668221402, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eDurán, Gil\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGil Durán was born in Tulare, California, in 1976. The grandson of Mexican immigrant farmworkers, he got his first taste of work in the fields, but took an interest in journalism after winning the local newspaper's \"My Mom Is the Best\" contest in the fifth grade. In the tenth grade, his family moved from California to Kentucky, where he dropped out of high school for a year, then returned and befriended an English teacher who encouraged him to apply to college. He graduated DePauw University in 1998 and started his journalism career at the \n\u003ci\u003e San Jose Mercury News\u003c\/i\u003e. As the newspaper industry hit turbulence, he pivoted to politics and spent ten years as an advisor to politicians including Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and Kamala Harris. In 2018, he returned to journalism as California opinion editor of \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sacramento Bee\u003c\/i\u003e, and then became editorial page editor of the \n\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e. Now an independent journalist, he publishes two newsletters: \n\u003ci\u003eThe Nerd Reich\u003c\/i\u003e, focused on extremist tech politics, and \n\u003ci\u003eFrameLab\u003c\/i\u003e, focused on political language.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Avid Reader Press \/ Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496249688342,"sku":"9781668221402","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781668221402.jpg?v=1783058229","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-nerd-reich-silicon-valley-fascism-and-the-war-on-democracy","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}