Why people recommend it
Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs by Kerry Howley is a dark, probing exploration of the American surveillance state and the legal persecution of whistleblower Reality Winner. The book received high praise on The Ezra Klein Show during an episode titled Trump Is Building His Own Paramilitary Force, where Radley Balko offered it as his final reading recommendation. Balko commended the work of his former colleague, explaining how the book traces the evolution of the national intelligence apparatus through the lens of Winner's controversial leaks. Earlier, the title was discussed on The Book Review during an episode titled Our Critics' Year in Reading, where Jen Szalai conversed with Gilbert Cruz about the book's merits. Szalai praised the sharp, darkly humorous tone Howley employs to navigate terrifying subjects, giving the text significant attention for its masterful blend of investigative journalism and narrative flair. Both discussions highlighted how the book manages to expose the absurdities and chilling realities of modern government secrecy without losing sight of the human cost borne by those caught inside the machinery of national security.
Who recommended it
- Radley Balko Recommended
- Gilbert Cruz Discussed
Radley Balko — 2 mentions
“And I guess the last one would be um my uh friend and former colleague Carrie Alli's book um Bottoms Up and the Devil Lasts which is a book on the uh the surveillance state uh and um reality winner and kind of how uh the national intelligence community has kind of evolved into what it is now.”
“And I guess the last one would be um my uh friend and former colleague Carrie Alli's book um Bottoms Up and the Devil Lasts which is a book on the uh the surveillance state uh and um reality winner and kind of how uh the national intelligence community has kind of evolved into what it is now.”
Gilbert Cruz — 2 mentions
“but I really want to give you a little bit more Runway to talk about Bottoms Up and the devil laughs by Carrie Howley”
“but I really want to give you a little bit more Runway to talk about Bottoms Up and the devil laughs by Carrie Howley”