‘Paints a full picture of a remarkable and tragically short life’ Sunday Times

'Peters captures Swartz flawlessly’ The New York Times

‘What [The Idealist] does—and does very well—is put Swartz’s work in context. The book gives an engaging, if knowingly incomplete, account of the history of intellectual property and copyright law, the archaic roots (and current implications) of cyberlaw, and some key players in the ongoing fight between open-data philosophy and the federal government’ New Republic

‘This impressively nimble and engrossing big-picture biography... presents a colourful history of American publishing, public libraries, censorship, and copyright law’ Booklist, Starred Review

‘An exceptionally crafted story about the life of Aaron Swartz [and] a bold and important history of information policy in the Internet age… everyone should read The Idealist’ Adam Clark Estes, Senior Writer at Gizmodo

‘Justin Peters is an immensely talented storyteller and The Idealist is an uncommonly good book – an ambitious, erudite, meticulously crafted work on a pivotal and tragic figure’ Evan Ratliff, Contributing Editor at Wired

‘Peters is somehow able to pinpoint the complex questions that our culture has to answer if we are to move forward into the future without forgetting our past’ Lisa Rein, Cofounder of Creative Commons and Aaron Swartz Day

‘Masterfully narrates the story of Aaron Swartz, who abdicated a life of privilege and convenience by choosing the path of fiercely principled activism’ Gabriella Coleman, author of Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous

‘Thought-provoking’ Publishers Weekly

‘A compelling sketch of a genius with real trouble’ Kirkus

‘Invites readers to consider how society values access to information, as suggested by Swartz’s life’ Library Journal

‘In powerful, clear-eyed prose, Justin Peters recounts Aaron Swartz’s life story and astutely explains why that story continues to matter today. The Idealist should be required reading for anyone who has ever – or has never – shared a file on the Internet’ David Segal, Executive Director of Demand Progress

‘Riveting....Peters' book is a fascinating look not only at one of the Internet's most beloved whiz kids but also at the way copyright works and doesn't work in America today’ Los Angeles Times

‘In The Idealist, Justin Peters sets out to explain not only why Swartz’s death was an unnecessary tragedy caused in large part by the state’s determination to hound him, but also the history and the rationale of the ideas he was fighting for in the first place… this book is probably the single most important one I’ll read all year in terms of informing and challenging my ideas about power, information, and how technology should be used’ Elle Thinks (Blog)