The Truth About Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit by Aja Raden is one of the most interesting and eye opening books I've ever read, and honestly... It was barrels of fun!

Aja Raden is very obviously a researcher at heart. And to top it off, an educator. Aja is able to put together such insightful and interesting thoughts and facts about why we lie and how it became so common in our everyday lies. There is decades upon decades of information and different lies and tricks society has participated in, and it's all presented in an easy format.

Each section of this book highlights various types of lies and how we've experienced the various types of cons. From white lies, to the shell game, mass deception, and "fake news" - you've got an expansive list that covers almost every variation of deception and lack of honesty. From the tiniest lies, to the biggest, this book has you covered in all the best ways.

There's historical facts in this book and also incredible examples. Snake oil was once a true cure, but now is known for being a placebo/lie due to how the honest option was twisted and manipulated by greedy salesmen. This book truly was a gem and opened my eyes. The Truth About Lies was fun and easy to read, educational, and just down right interesting. I was binge reading this book and could hardly put it down.

I highly recommend this book if you like easy to read non-fiction, want to learn something new, or just enjoy a dip into the history of a specific topic.

Five out of five stars!

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

The Truth about Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit
by Aja Raden

Imagine you’re sitting in a bar nursing an afternoon cocktail and a person takes the stool next to you. It’s a lady with raven-colored hair and an enigmatic smile. She begins telling you in colorful, bar-type language about many of the ways people have been deceived, lied to, and otherwise led to believe in a variety of dodges and gimmicks that never end in their favor.

In The Truth about Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit by Aja Raden I felt exactly like that. I was entertained, educated and often amused by Raden’s story of lies and the myriad ways that unethical people have taken advantage of the unsuspecting, the greedy, or merely foolish victims. Raden describes the various ploys, including the simple shell game, Ponzi schemes, forgeries, and the “long con” that people fall prey to and have for centuries. What was most illuminating was that the reason many of the deceptions were so successful was that they took advantage of the human brain and its receptors operating just as they should.

Raden has assembled an impressive source list and then presented it in an off-hand, fun, but comprehensive way. The sad thing is that after reading it, like Diogenes, you’ll be left looking for an honest man.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
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Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the book! #goodreadsgiveaway

It was awesome. I learned a LOT of new things. Most books just give you the same information, just told a different way. This book was not the case. Also, Raden knows how to keep your attention. Her humor comes out in her writing. Loved it! Can’t wait to share this book with friends! ( )

Thought Provoking, But Could Have Used More Documentation. This is a very thought provoking book that looks at lies and how we deceive both ourselves and others, using scams from prehistory all the way through the 2010s. In its examinations of how we deceive both ourselves and each other, it seems to this reader to be very well reasoned, very well thought out, and very well written. Lots of education, a fair degree of humor, and (warning to those "sensitive" to it), a few F-bombs to boot. Indeed, the one main weakness here is the dearth of its bibliography - coming it at just 6% ish of the text rather than the more common 25-30% of well-documented nonfiction texts. Also, the cover - I don't believe Washington and the (very likely apocryphal, and thus... a lie) story of his childhood cherry tree is ever mentioned in the text. So the cover lies... which may be the point. ;) Overall a superb book, but the bibliography issue knocks it down a star. Very much recommended. ( )