Gabriel Sherman's Bonfire of the Murdochs chronicles the brutal family feud over Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire, drawing parallels to HBO's Succession. Published in early 2025, the book details Murdoch's rise from inheriting his father's Australian newspaper to building a global powerhouse including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and tabloids across three continents.publishersweeklyYouTube
Sherman portrays Rupert as a ruthless patriarch driven by his father's ghost, pitting his children—Lachlan, James, Elisabeth (Liz), and Prudence—against each other to select the strongest heir. The narrative opens with Lachlan's 2023 move to oust his liberal siblings from the family trust, culminating in a 2024 Nevada courtroom clash amid betrayals, lawsuits, and revenge. Murdoch's strategy backfires, fracturing the family and empire he built on sensationalism, deal-making, and moral expedience, where promises were "fungible" for profit. Sherman traces this Darwinian dynamic back decades, from Murdoch's tabloid conquests in Britain and America to personal manipulations, like acquiring Liz's company then sidelining her.tinabrown.substack+1
The book's brevity (256 pages) delivers a tightly paced, cinematic saga based on 150+ interviews, making complex corporate history vivid and character-driven. Sherman excels at revealing patterns of cruelty, such as Murdoch's refusal to apologize or his "Hunger Games"-style firings, like ordering Liz to dismiss James during the News of the World scandal. Reviewers praise its Shakespearean tragedy feel, outstripping Succession's fiction with real stakes in media power.YouTubepolitics-prose+1
Dense sections on sales and acquisitions slow the momentum, prioritizing business minutiae over emotional depth. Some critiques note a chilly tone, focusing on hubris without fully humanizing victims beyond their roles in the feud. Sherman's prior Murdoch-adjacent works (e.g., Roger Ailes bio) invite bias claims, though evidence grounds the narrative.washingtonpost+1
In February 2026, with President Donald Trump's reelection amplifying Fox News' influence, the book illuminates how Murdoch's dynasty shapes U.S. politics and culture amid ongoing trust battles. It warns of unchecked media power's personal toll, relevant as Lachlan steers the empire post-Rupert's maneuvers, affecting journalism's future in a polarized world. For history buffs, it echoes dynastic declines like the Gallipoli-era influences on young Rupert. (Word count: 548)newyorker+2