The Infernal Machine

A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective

By: Steven Johnson

Narrated by: Steven Johnson

“A fast-burning fuse of a book, every page bursting with revelatory detail.”—ERIK LARSON

A sweeping account of the anarchists who terrorized the streets of New York and the detective duo who transformed policing to meet the threat—a tale of fanaticism, forensic science, and dynamite from the bestselling author of The Ghost Map

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION

Steven Johnson’s engrossing account of the epic struggle between the anarchist movement and the emerging surveillance state stretches around the world and between two centuries—from Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite and the assassination of Czar Alexander II to New York City in the shadow of World War I.

April 1914. The NYPD is still largely the corrupt, low-tech organization of the Tammany Hall era. To the extent the police are stopping crime—as opposed to committing it—their role has been almost entirely defined by physical force: the brawn of the cop on the beat keeping criminals at bay with nightsticks and fists. The solving of crimes is largely outside their purview.

The new commissioner, Arthur Woods, is determined to change that, but he cannot anticipate the maelstrom of violence that will soon test his science-based approach to policing. Within weeks of his tenure, New York City is engulfed in the most concentrated terrorism campaign in the nation’s history: a five-year period of relentless bombings, many of them perpetrated by the anarchist movement led by legendary radicals Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman. Coming to Woods’s aide are Inspector Joseph Faurot, a science-first detective who works closely with him in reforming the police force, and Amadeo Polignani, the young Italian undercover detective who infiltrates the notorious Bresci Circle.

Johnson reveals a mostly forgotten period of political conviction, scientific discovery, assassination plots, bombings, undercover operations, and innovative sleuthing. The Infernal Machine is the complex pre-history of our current moment, when decentralized anarchist networks have once again taken to the streets to protest law enforcement abuses, right-wing militia groups have attacked government buildings, and surveillance is almost ubiquitous.

©2024 Steven Johnson (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Dynamite, cops, anarchists—what more could you ask for? With narrative élan, Johnson tells the story of how an ‘infernal’ invention forever disrupted our political world. It’s a fast-burning fuse of a book, every page bursting with revelatory detail.”—Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile

“Drawing parallels with contemporary acts of terrorism and governmental abuses of power in monitoring citizens, Johnson makes history part of an ongoing story we all need to consider. Smart, accessible, and highly readable.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Drawing parallels with contemporary acts of terrorism and governmental abuses of power in monitoring citizens, Johnson makes history part of an ongoing story we all need to consider. Smart, accessible, and highly readable.”—Kirkus Reviews

History we all need to know about

This book is a good review of how Dynamite and the Anarch movement impacted our country and the world.

A Must Read

Excellent book! Well written and well read. I had no idea about most of this history and it was told in an extremely interesting. Nothing boring or long winded in this book. Highly recommended!

The story revealed not reviled

How different from the story told us by the Administrative State and by the Corporate quasi monopolies…….

Revolutionary Insights

I love when a book shifts our perspective on the world, and The Infernal Machine does just that. It dives into the world of dynamite, terror, and the birth of modern investigative methods, yet it’s much more than that. Johnson’s writing—and his skill as a narrator—brings depth to the story, shedding light on the anarchists' motivations and what they hoped to achieve.

This could have been a straightforward tale of good versus evil, but in Steven Johnson’s hands, it transforms into a thought-provoking exploration of ideas—what worked, what didn’t, and why. Highly recommended

Very enjoyable and very informative

I'm a nerd. there was a lot of information in this I was familiar with, but so much that I never knew. telling the story about how explosives became more accessible to people, and then how they were used, is one thing, but delving into anarchists, put a lot of events from the late 1800s and early 1900s in a different light. different light. I really thought anarchists tried to soak chaos, but they really wanted to dismantle a system that they felt impeded Liberty for the common man.

definitely worth a listen.

Explosives, terrorism, police and state power

The most engrossing audiobook I have listened to in some time. Johnson skillfully weaves stories from Alfred Nobel's invention of nitroglycerin and dynamite, through corporate and state violence against workers; the rise, fall, philosophy and methods of anarchism (which I understood poorly); the origins and growth of scientific crime detection from developments in data collection in Europe, the powerful New York police department and to J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI; to idealistic anarchists bitter disappointment at the failures and abuses of Lenin's brand of Marxism. Johnson does an excellent job of explaining how all of these streams influenced one another, written in a style that was hard to put aside. The author is a very good narrator, with good diction and cadence.

Learning the history of the time

Was detailed but very very dry. Made it to the end but full fleshed out characters were lacking somewhat. could have been better

Really Emma Goldman bio

It’s socialist horse dung trying to justify anarchy and violence as a means of returning to government -less society but never answers who would progress society in their “perfect world”. Just horse dung