Books by Alex Berenson

Nicknamed the pandemic’s wrongest man by The Atlantic, Alex Berenson is a former New York Times reporter famous for his non-fiction book, Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence. He is also the author of several bestseller novels.

Between 2020 and 2022, he would regularly appear on TV, talking about the coronavirus crisis. Namely, he is a vaccine skeptic, and he questioned the seriousness of the pandemic as well as the efficiency of the mRNA immunogens and their effects on human health.

Alex Berenson’s writing impact on global events and governmental policy

In 2010, Alex Berenson left journalism to focus on writing novels. This would soon turn out to be a smart move, as he is now the author of twelve critically acclaimed spy novels. Each of his twelve novels follows the same character, a CIA agent John Wells. For his first book, The Faithful Spy, Berenson received the Edgar Award for best first novel.

During the 2010s, Berenson would write several other John Wells novels, including The Ghost War, The Silent Man, The Midnight House, The Secret Soldier, Twelve Days, and The Shadow Patrol. Each of them was received with praise, both by critics and his fan base. Nevertheless, none of them would spark so much attention than his 2019 non-fiction book, Tell Your Children.

In Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence, Berenson argued that marijuana is behind psychotic disorders and that it eventually causes violent behavior. However, it is regarded as alarmist and untrue by various doctors. They claim that he manipulated data to prove his points. Yet, this wouldn’t be the end of controversies surrounding him.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Alex Berenson was pretty vocal against lockdowns and the COVID vaccine. He dismissed the virus as nothing special. Moreover, Berenson wrote a book called Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives about this topic.

Of course, this led to him being suspended from Twitter and other social media platforms in 2021. He was also denounced by the likes of The Washington Post and The Atlantic, which coined his mentioned nickname.

Alex Berenson’s childhood and its influence on his writing

Alex Berenson is a graduate of Yale University. He finished his studies in 1994 and has a degree in history and economics. He is from New York, and his childhood days were spent mostly in Englewood. Berenson now lives in Garrison, New York, and he’s married to Jacqueline, his wife, who is a forensic psychiatrist.

Alex Berenson’s career in journalism starts in 1994 when he began working for The Denver Post. During that time, he mainly reported on business matters. Later on, Berenson would briefly contribute to a financial website but would go on to work at The New York Times. While at the Times, his most notable work came while covering the war in Iraq.

The most notable novel works from Alex Berenson

In the following, let’s focus on four of the best John Wells novels by author Alex Berenson.

The Faithful Spy (2006)

Coming out in 2006, The Faithful Spy is Alex Berenson’s first novel, which won him the Edgar Award for the best debut book by an American author. Looking at it from a 2020 perspective, the book is pretty much of its time. Its main plot revolves around the War on Terror and the aftermath of 9/11. The book follows a CIA agent Wells as he infiltrates an Al-Qaeda group.

The Counterfeit Agent (2014)

In The Counterfeit Agent, Alex Berenson continues his tale about John Wells. This time, Agent Wells is stationed in Istanbul. While there, his deep source warns him about an imminent attack on his superior CIA colleague. Unfortunately for Wells, he doesn’t act on time, and the tip comes true, which leads him to take the next information much more seriously.

The Prisoner (2017)

The Prisoner is another bestselling John Wells novel by Alex Berenson. The plot in his 2013 book raises the stakes for Wells even higher. In order to find out who is a mole in the CIA, he has to go undercover once again, acting as a member of Al-Qaeda.

The Deceivers (2018)

In his last John Wells novel to date, Alex Berenson tackles themes of the recent past—Russian influence on the US elections. This time, Agent Wells is up against Russians in—what is thought at first—another attempt to change the will of the American people.

Most notable non-fiction works from Alex Berenson

As mentioned, Alex Berenson also writes non-fiction books. Unlike his John Wells series, these works are usually controversial, but rather interesting for reading.

The Number: How the Drive for Quarterly Earnings Corrupted Wall Street and Corporate America (2006)

The Number is Alex Berenson’s analysis of corporate America. In this book, he dives deep to investigate what went wrong for the American economy of that era. It’s also his major non-fiction book from the time he was still working as a journalist for The New York Times.

Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence (2018)

Berenson is probably best known for his Tell Your Children non-fiction book from 2018. In it, he talks about the negative effects of enjoying marijuana. Additionally, he makes strong connections between it and psychotic breakdowns and violent crimes. If you’re interested, you can listen to it right here on Speechify.

Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1 and 2 (2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic was a weird time, to say the least. As such, Alex Berenson fully capitalized on it by writing a controversial book about the pandemic that intends to show how the official narrative about the coronavirus wasn’t as honest as it was portrayed.

Listen to more informative writing with Speechify audiobooks

On Speechify, you can also find another Alex Berenson, titled The Power Couple. Unlike Tell Your Children, this isn’t a non-fiction book. It’s instead a thriller novel. Nevertheless, Speechify is home to other informative books, like some of Berenson’s work.

You can listen to Grace by Cody Keenan, a book about Obama’s presidency, or something entirely different like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Either way, you’ll find something worth your time in Speechify’s 60,000+ collection.