Books About Information Control & Manipulation
The books on this list explore the darker side of information, from surveillance and propaganda to manipulation, censorship, technology, and the control of what people see and believe. Some focus on governments and political power, while others look at technology companies and the growing influence they can have over everyday life.
If you enjoy thrillers and speculative fiction that make you question who controls the information, and what happens when the truth becomes difficult to separate from the story being told, these books are worth exploring.
Daemon
by Daniel Suarez
What if a powerful computer system could keep acting, adapting, and changing the world long after its creator was gone?
The Every
by Dave Eggers
A sharp, darkly comic vision of technology becoming powerful enough to influence almost every part of everyday life.
The Circle
by Dave Eggers
A provocative look at what happens when the pursuit of total transparency begins to erase privacy itself.
Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
A young hacker finds himself up against a surveillance system that knows far more than it should.
Delusion
by Adrian Redford
Randy’s world begins to unravel when the information he sees, hears, and believes may no longer be telling him the truth.
The Manchurian Candidate
by Richard Condon
A classic political thriller built around manipulation, influence, and the frightening possibility of controlled minds.
The Warehouse
by Rob Hart
A dystopian thriller about a company that knows almost everything about its workers, its customers, and the world around them.