Who invented reality television, the world's most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why can't we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of "dirty documentary"-from its contentious roots in radio to the ascent of Donald Trump-Emily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built it. In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded with Survivor at the turn of the millennium. She introduces the genre's trickster pioneers, from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris; cynical Bachelor ringmaster Mike Fleiss; and more. We learn about the tools of the trade-like the Frankenbite, a deceptive editor's best friend-and ugly tales of exploitation. But this book also celebrates reality's peculiar power: a jolt of emotion that could never have come from a script.