Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It - Hardcover

“With the eye of a historian and the passion of a man in the arena, Richard Stengel has given us a compelling and illuminating memoir of his time at the highest levels in the fight against disinformation and for American values. Richly observed and thoughtfully rendered, Stengel’s book is essential reading.” ―Jon Meacham

“Information Wars is a gripping insider account of the U.S. government’s struggle to understand and fight back against a new generation of online threats from extremist messaging and Russian disinformation. As a celebrated journalist who moved into the frontlines of this fight, Richard Stengel sheds new light on how bad actors leverage technology to undermine trust, and helps us better understand what must be done to protect our democracy.” ― Madeleine K. Albright

“With colorful behind-the-scenes stories and razor-sharp insights, Stengel provides the first insider report from the front lines of the disinformation wars waged by Russia and ISIS. At the heart of the struggle was the way the internet allowed people to weaponize grievances, as Donald Trump did in his campaign. Countering this trend is the most crucial challenge for our democracy and free society. Stengel shows how we’ve failed and what we can do in the future.” ―Walter Isaacson

“Information Wars ought to be a wake-up call. The message is that open, democratic societies are in retreat. There’s only one force powerful enough to save the day (one too little mentioned these days), and that’s the readers and viewers who consume information.”―David Ignatius, Washington Post

“As a Washington insider and former journalist, Stengel writes from a rare and illuminating double perspective...Stengel's recounting of the events and individuals, including Putin and Trump, involved in the surge in and fight against propaganda and misinformation is jarring yet hopeful as he concludes with a blueprint for remedy and change.” ―Booklist

“With great clarity, [Stengel] recounts the hurdles he encountered: bureaucratic procedures, acronyms and government-speak, endless vetting and turf battles, all of which slowed efforts to bring his print-oriented office into the era of social media...A revealing look at America's difficult struggle to combat false, misleading narratives” ―Kirkus Reviews

“The book introduces ways to reduce the impact of disinformation and propaganda, including real-time disclosure of who’s paying for political ads and more transparent sourcing in news reporting. Readers interested in how disinformation fits into today’s foreign affairs landscape will want to give this a look.” ―Publishers Weekly

Praise for Richard Stengel and Mandela's Way:

“There is no man I admire more than Nelson Mandela. Rick Sten­gel’s wise and moving book captures the Nelson Mandela I have been privileged to know. But reading Mandela’s Way gave me new insights and inspiration. I am confident it will give the same gifts to others. I was inspired anew, and I know others will be too.”
―President Bill Clinton

“This delightfully inspiring book is a philosophical guide to how we can aspire to achieve Mandela’s grace and how we can draw upon his great­ness as a model for the comportment of our lives each day.”
―Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

“Nelson Mandela has lived every word of his teaching, whatever the cost. His abiding lesson is about forgiveness. Mandela’s Way takes us into the inner life of one of the most of important heroes of the century. There are lessons here that could radically change the way you live your life.”
―Deepak Chopra, author of The Ultimate Happiness Prescription

“Mandela’s Way is a timely and welcome reminder of this great man’s political genius, personal integrity, and peerless instinct for survival and triumph. Every world leader should keep Mandela’s Way within easy reach.”
―Tom Brokaw

“Here is the wisdom of the world’s greatest moral leader brilliantly distilled by a wonderful writer. From the time they spent working closely together on Mandela’s memoirs, Rick Stengel draws fifteen big life lessons plus hundreds of smaller insights, while also giving us an intimate and astonishingly honest look at this inspiring human being.”
―Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Einstein

“Mandela’s Way is an electrically exciting, direct, and vivid way of making greatness tangible, human and complex. Richard Stengel has honed all the elegance and lucidity of thirty years of brilliant cultural and political writing into a book to illuminate, to inspire―and to endure.”
―Pico Iyer, author of The Open Road and The Lady and the Monk