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Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit
 
 
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Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit [Paperback]

Ian Leslie
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Quercus (26 May 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 184916424X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1849164245
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 42,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review

'A dazzling exploration of this universal trait, from an exciting new talent. Read Born Liars, and you'll be stimulated, surprised, and thoroughly entertained. Believe me' Richard Wiseman.

'Born Liars is a genuine achievement: a lively, engaging read that also makes a bold argument about the role of lying in our lives' Steven Johnson.

'An absolutely fascinating tour of this most uniquely human of talents: the ability to lie' Jonah Lehrer.

'Born Liars reads like the very best of detective stories - an illuminating, surprising and highly entertaining investigation of our daily lies' Kate Fox.

'...consistently startling and fascinating book ... It's erudite yet wears its learning lightly and is full of terrific stories. It will also make you see yourself, and the world around you, in a new light' Daily Mail.

'His range of references is fascinating ... I loved the irony and ingenuity of this book' The Times.

Product Description

Our attitudes to lying are confused and contradictory - you might even say, self-deceiving. On the one hand we hate lies, and liars. On the other, we all indulge in fibs, tall tales and fantasies. If lying is wrong, why do we all do it - both to others, and to ourselves? In Born Liars, Ian Leslie argues that, far from being a bug in the human software, lying is central to who we are; that we cannot understand ourselves without first understanding the dynamics of deceit. Using a vivid, panoramic style, he explores the role of deception and self-deception in our childhoods, our careers, and our health, and the part played by lies - both black and white - in art, advertising, sport, politics and war. Drawing on thinkers as varied as Augustine, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Ian McEwan and Marlon Brando, he takes the reader on an exhilarating tour of ideas that brings the latest news about deception back from the frontiers of evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy. Born Liars is crammed with colourful stories; we'll meet Benjamin Franklin in Paris as he takes on Franz Mesmer, the man who claimed to heal his patients by touching them with iron rods. We'll hear about a spy who beat a lie detector, a man accused of cheating his way to a million pounds on a TV game show, and we'll peer inside the minds of Bill Clinton and Saddam Hussein. Born Liars takes us on a fascinating journey which makes us question not only our own relationship to the truth, but also virtually every daily encounter we have.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, 7 Jun 2011
This review is from: Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit (Paperback)
We all lie but rarely stop to think why we do it, or how often we're lied to back. BORN LIARS made me analyse my own behaviour, listen to my children more intently, watch politicians more closely, dissect adverts and basically look at the world in a refreshed way. Ian Leslie takes you on an effortlessly engaging tour of the world of deceit and self-deception and I loved this fascinating book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A new take on an age old vice, 25 Jun 2011
By 
uncle barbar (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit (Paperback)
Carefully compiled to include all the latest research, this book gives a fascinating insight into the subject matter. I was interested to read contemporary as well as historical evidence to illustrate the points. It debunks many commonplace myths about how people lie and whether it is always reprehensible. The part I found most interesting was the section on when and how children lie. It appears they learn to do this as a natural developmental stage which is fairly constant across the globe. A highly readable, fascinating work suitable for lay people and anthropologists alike. Highly recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb romp through the science and psychology of fibs, 21 Sep 2011
By 
L. Farrell (england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit (Paperback)
Thoroughly enjoyed this well written, engaging romp through the latest research into the psychology and development of human deception and self deception which provides a wonderful positive evaluation of this intrinsic behaviour. Illustrated with some great accounts of historical examples of fraud and self deception from lie detectors, mesmer and medical placebo's. Fascinating and easy to read!
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