Don't Get Fooled Again: The Sceptic's Guide to Life [Hardcover]

Reviews for his first book, 'Titanic Express': "'Incredibly moving' Ziauddin Sardar, Independent 'An astonishing chronicle' Bronwen Maddox, The Times 'I have watched in growing admiration how, with dogged persistence, Richard Wilson has conducted a singular crusade, not just to bring his sister's murderers to justice, but to understand who they were and why they killed her.' Jon Swain, Sunday Times"

Why is it that, time and again, intelligent, educated people end up falling for ideas that turn out on closer examination to be nonsense? We live in a supposedly rational age, yet crazy notions seem increasingly mainstream. New Age peddlers claim to cure Aids with vitamin tablets. Media gatekeepers stoke panic and regurgitate corporate press releases in the name of 'balance'. Wild-eyed men in sandwich boards blame it all on the CIA.Even the word 'sceptic' has been appropriated by cranks and conspiracy theorists bent on rewriting history and debunking sound science. But while it may be easier than ever for nonsense to spread, it's never been simpler to fight back. "Don't Get Fooled Again" offers practical tools for cutting through the claptrap and unravelling the spin - tackling propaganda, the psychology of deception, pseudo-news, bogus science, the weird cult of 'Aids reappraisal', numerous conspiracy theories (including the one about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq), and much more. Richard Wilson's book is user-friendly, enjoyable, shot through with polemic - and argues forcefully for a positive solution.

`This is a book about expensive delusions, and how to avoid them. It looks at the myriad ways in which we can deceive ourselves - and be deceived by others. We've all been fooled at one time or another - be it in love or in business, by the media or by the promise of politicians. There are no solid guarantees that can protect us in the future. But by learning more about the human weakness for wishful thinking, the mechanisms of psychological manipulation, and the tools that we can use to separate fact from fantasy, we can at least go some way towards inoculating ourselves.'
Richard Wilson, from his Introduction

Richard Wilson read Philosophy at University College London. His first book, Titanic Express, recounts his search for the truth about the death of his sister Charlotte, who was killed in Burundi in 2000. He now works for a human rights organisation and lives in London with his wife, Heleen.