Do you ever feel like you have a double- another person who gets mistaken for you, even though you may have little in common? Do you feel that the recent actions of conspiracy theorists and other peddlers of misinformation often include what seem like contradictory positions and that they often make hypocritical statements? If any of these things intrigue you, then you might want to read Doppelganger. What this book presents isn’t easy to put into words and once I finished reading, I found that I had a tough time putting together a short summary that accurately described the book’s focus. The reason is because the book shifts and reflects from many angles. It discusses the author’s own doppelganger, someone who happens to be a fellow author with the same first name. The book also discusses historical occurrences, how history repeats itself, and how perpetrators of evil so often defend themselves and criticize their opponents in hypocritical ways. And the book also devotes time, whenever possible, to push the acceptance and support of progressive causes, whether it’s climate change, economic reforms, etc. The references to the other Naomi, otherwise known to the world as Naomi Wolf, are a constant throughout the read. I am somewhat familiar with ms. Wolf and her zany, conspiratorial stands in recent years. But I now know more about her than before, thanks to this book. In many ways, I came away from this reading knowing more about other Naomi than I did the author herself. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it was good to become more familiar with Wolf and some of the outrageous ideas she supposedly believes. I like the writing in this book. It is clear, concise, intelligent, and well- edited. I also like how the author, through her examination of other Naomi, came away knowing a little more about herself. Her decision to write this book and the research that went into it was no mere exercise in futility. From cross- examining the tactics used by other Naomi and those like her, the author came away with a better understanding of herself and this helped her grow as a person. Personally, I don’t have any doppelgangers of my own that come to mind. However, there is much more to this book than discovering your personal double, whether good or evil. This book is about so much more, and it serves as an insightful guide for those who want to know a little more about the mirror world and its place in history and the lessons that can be learned from studying those on the other side. In the meantime, who knows? You may come away from this book discovering new things about yourself. And that alone makes it worth the read.

I have been loosely following Klein for many years. I always thought I would get around to reading her books eventually. When this new one came out I heard only a tiny bit about it and was intrigued. What I gathered was that most people found it a bit hard to explain, but they like it a lot. I jumped in without reading the description because, well, finally I was going to do my due diligence and read Naomi Klein! I was pleasantly surprised to know nothing about Naomi's "doppelganger" Naomi Wolf. I felt like I had done a good job at ignoring those "crazy right wing conspiracy theorists". If I am honest with myself, I have always wondered why "those people" make me feel so disgusted, but I just continued avoiding them or laughing them off with friends. Lately, as I mature here and there, I am realizing that I need to look into the things that make me feel uncomfortable, because more times than not I would learn more about myself and my own shortcomings. I've been putting off looking into the ways "those right wing nutjobs" make me cringe, because I didn't know if I was strong enough to attempt to have a conversation, read any of their books, or listen to any of their podcasts. Naomi Klein saved me. Klein sacrificed her (hopefully only temporary) sanity, rolled up her sleeves and jumped into this world. (Through her own experience and knowledge of the inner goings on in our world, I might assume she must be quite tethered to the world she grew up studying and investigating.) I can think of no other author that I would rather metaphorically "hold on to" whilst traveling through these dark tunnels. Klein first takes us through the myriad of ways this idea of a doppelganger "other" can haunt us in our modern day lives through technology, the push to self-brand, our wavering sense of self within our society etc. before (and while) jumping into covering the extreme right, nazis, and even the Israeli conflict. Klein stitches this near poetic tapestry of doppelgangers and the mirror world, using examples from media, literature, history and philosophy. She finds a way to disorient the reader just enough to take us on some very complex journeys within ourselves as we learn about this mirror world. Through all of this, Klein marvelously and vulnerably weaves in her own life experiences. Regarding the Wolf-ers of the world, she manages to remain respectful, if even compassionate without apologizing or making excuses for outright lies and bad behavior. (so badass) Here is an excerpt that particularly stuck with me: (speaking about the far right conspiracy theorists, particularly Wolf, Bannon and the like) " For this new political configuration, convincing people of their unproven theories was never the real point- it was only ever a tool. The point, consciously or not, is to foster denial and avoidance. The point is not to have to do hard and uncomfortable things in the face of hard and uncomfortable realities, whether Covid, or climate change, or the fact that our nations were forged in genocide and have never engaged in a remotely serious process of making repair. Denial is so much easier than looking inward, or backward, or forward; so much easier than change. But denial needs narratives, cover stories, and that is what conspiracy culture is providing. Still, I'm troubled by the comfort this analysis implies, the fact that it places the denial all on those who inhabit the Mirror World. It's similar to the problem of climate change denial: There are the hard deniers, who are easy to spot, saying it's all a hoax. But the bigger obstacle may always have been the soft deniers, the rest of us who know it's real but act like it's not, who keep forgetting, in myriad ways, both large and small." -pg 265-266 I could go on and on. I already have. This book touched upon my own intuitions on SO MANY levels. Ideas about myself and the "other" that I hadn't looked into until now. I feel like it struck so many chords. I originally borrowed this book from the library but bought a copy because I’ll need to flip back through it.

Naomi Klein is brimming with novel ideas. Her analyses of political and cultural trends always thrill with spanky new perspectives. Brava.