Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet
Tochi Onyebuchi
Oct 2025 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Kevin R. Free
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6 hr 1 min
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From the author of Hugo and NAACP Image Award finalist Riot Baby, an original memoir in essays that interrogates how the relationship between race and the internet has evolved over three decades
When Tochi Onyebuchi realized his acclaimed science fiction and fantasy career had been centrally preoccupied with race, it prompted him to consider his responsibilities as a Black writer in the internet age. In brilliantly crafted essays, Onyebuchi excavates the internet of the late 1990s and early 2000s, tracing his online persona back to its origins to explore how both evolved in the ensuing decades. Brimming with voracious curiosity and razor-sharp wit, Racebook is a penetrating meditation on how identity and race are forged in the crucible of being online.
Beginning with the current moment when everything is a matter of dispute, back to Web 1.0’s promises of greater equality and a bright digital future, Onyebuchi deftly examines internet culture and its role in shaping our perception of ourselves, our world, and the potential realities we can envision. From the ever-changing nature of personal writing and free expression, to gaming, manga, fandom, and virtual reality, Racebook considers the internet alongside works of literature both classic and new, asking if our vision for what is possible has really broadened. And given the inequities Black people still face, on and off the page, does the internet only amplify our failures of imagination?
An original investigation of race through the lens of the modern internet age and an affecting journey into the heart of community online, Racebook argues for recognizing the individual behind the binary code that shapes our digital lives. As Onyebuchi asks, “Is this a race book or is it not? Is it either-or? Can it be both-and? Can I?”
When Tochi Onyebuchi realized his acclaimed science fiction and fantasy career had been centrally preoccupied with race, it prompted him to consider his responsibilities as a Black writer in the internet age. In brilliantly crafted essays, Onyebuchi excavates the internet of the late 1990s and early 2000s, tracing his online persona back to its origins to explore how both evolved in the ensuing decades. Brimming with voracious curiosity and razor-sharp wit, Racebook is a penetrating meditation on how identity and race are forged in the crucible of being online.
Beginning with the current moment when everything is a matter of dispute, back to Web 1.0’s promises of greater equality and a bright digital future, Onyebuchi deftly examines internet culture and its role in shaping our perception of ourselves, our world, and the potential realities we can envision. From the ever-changing nature of personal writing and free expression, to gaming, manga, fandom, and virtual reality, Racebook considers the internet alongside works of literature both classic and new, asking if our vision for what is possible has really broadened. And given the inequities Black people still face, on and off the page, does the internet only amplify our failures of imagination?
An original investigation of race through the lens of the modern internet age and an affecting journey into the heart of community online, Racebook argues for recognizing the individual behind the binary code that shapes our digital lives. As Onyebuchi asks, “Is this a race book or is it not? Is it either-or? Can it be both-and? Can I?”
From the author of Hugo and NAACP Image Award finalist Riot Baby, an original memoir in essays that interrogates how the relationship between race and the internet has evolved over three decades
When Tochi Onyebuchi realized his acclaimed science fiction and fantasy career had been centrally pre...
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