The Guardian
The Guardian, Decca Aitkenhead
There is nothing out of the ordinary about a book that makes one angry. We have all read ones that provoke us, and the internet is an inexhaustible feast for anyone easily outraged. It is unusual, however, to read a book that makes one mad with oneself.
The co-authors of New Power could not be more likable. Clever, witty and creative, Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans are baby-faced wunderkinds of digital activism; the type whose optimistic energy ought to make one feel hopeful for the future. So it is uncomfortable to confess that I hated almost every word, and wished more than anything for them to be wrong. The reason their book made me so cross with myself was that, if they are right, it means my way of thinking is old-fashioned and elitist – the very problem, in fact, they are trying to solve.
Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
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