(Would They Lie to You? How to Spin Friends and Manipulate People) [By: Robert Hutton] [Sep, 2014]

by Robert Hutton

'The irresistible vade mecum of every prangmeister and cock-up artist.'
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

How do you apologise when you're not sorry? Where can you make a fortune out of pretending to know the future? What's the best way to steal credit and avoid blame? Revealing the subtle art of 'uncommunication', Would They Lie to You? is a treasure trove of the vital life skills that you need to make your way in the world. They all involve one ingredient: the art of not saying what you mean. It's not exactly lying, but it's not quite telling the truth...

In areas from politics to sport, academia and business, it seems that glory, money and power flow far more freely to those who succeed in sidestepping life's bald, ugly realities. But with just a little understanding and a few key phrases, anyone can master the fine art of 'uncommunication'. In Romps, Tots and Boffins: The Strange Language of News, Robert Hutton brilliantly 'laid bare' the true meanings of the words we read in the papers. Following popular demand, he now turns his razor-sharp eye to the waffle, fudging, obscurity, blame-shifting and point-scoring that separate the winners from the losers in every aspect of public life. You can steer a truck through the gap between a lie and the simple truth. This book tells you how to load the truck.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

Hardcover

First published September 4, 2014

About the author

All of Robert Hutton’s career moves have been accidental. He started as a computer scientist but fell into journalism, and then stumbled across a true WW2 spy story that so excited him he wrote a book about it, Agent Jack.

His new book, The Illusionist, is about Dudley Clarke, the eccentric genius who realised how the Allies could use stage magic to deceive the Nazis.

Robert’s day job is as political satirist for The Critic magazine, and he hosts the podcast War Movie Theatre.

He lives in south east London with his wife and sons.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would They Lie To You – Probably

Would They Lie To You? By Robert Hutton is a funny look at how some people use communication skills to actually tell you very little. As a former political spinner I recognise many of the skills and words attributed to my former colleagues. The job of a political spinner is to say much and promise nothing but make it sound good. Or how the same message used previously has been redressed and made out to be a new idea.

This book gives hints how you too can join in the fun and spin to your friends and even better how to manipulate them all part of the dark arts. In 143 pages Hutton makes you laugh out loud from Chapter 1 and the essential uncommunication skills required to say nothing while speaking while seeming to promise the earth.

Would They Lie To You? Is an excellent little book that will make you smile especially when you listen to the rolling news stations and listen to spinners talking and saying nothing. You could use this book to set up non communication bingo to see how many of the words mentioned in this book get used throughout a statement.

Funny, buy it especially if you have an interest in the usage of language in English and how it gets abused by people who ought to know better.

[Peter Geyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is depicted as a satire, perhaps as a defensive stance, but really it's an incisive look at the way language is presented, distended, manipulated, in public life.

Ronald Hutton is a political journalist, and his examples of linguistic perfidy cover politics, particularly British but also American, and related policy statements and proposals.

There's a lot of humour here, particularly at the start and end, although that may depend on the level of interest you have in politics. He has an eye for the absurd and incongruous and his definitions are incisive and `sometimes priceless. You can read it in a couple of hours

I laughed a lot at the way he expressed things in clear prose. If you're interested in British politics then this is particularly relevant, although I found it a useful handbook for Australian politics and relevant obfuscations and deceptions. A relaxing afternoon/evening read anyway, with appropriate music.

I bought this at a discount, but half-way through I ordered his earlier book on journalistic language: Romps, Tots and Boffins which, while more culturally specific, promises more insight and enjoyment.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine follow-up with an excellent glossary that allows the reader to fib like a politician, or rather be an expert in 'uncommunication'.

[James Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is even better than the previous book Romps, Tots and Boffins: The Strange Language of News by Robert Hutton which was a look at journalese. Would They Lie to You? is a much more cynical look at how people tell stories to journalists (and by extension to the public).

Presented as if it is a leaked document teaching the inner circle how to use language to manipulate the truth without actually breaking it. The opening quotes summarise it perfectly "I didn't lie, you just asked the wrong questions - Rob Ford". Having spent some of my working life in Whitehall I recognise some of the techniques presented, and it made me laugh in the same way Dilbert does.

Like its predecessor it is divided into sections on a theme, although there is more explanation this time, and also more in the way of examples of the techniques being used. Names aren't always named, but anyone that has been paying attention to the news over the last decade or so will recognise a lot of it. Most of the section is narrative, with only a handful of terms in the glossaries (although there are still a fair number of expressions given the cynical urban dictionary treatment, which is where most of the humour comes from). I was particularly amused by the Estate Agent section, especially the definition of 'cosy' that implied that you'd never need to worry about losing the TV remote control as you could probably reach the TV from the sofa...

Overall an amusing and interesting read. Worth it if you are a student of language, watch the news or just want to be able to tell when a politician or other person is being evasive (hot tip: if a politician's lips are moving, then they're evading the question).

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reading copy from the publishers.

[Frank O'donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Andre Hermanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good:
* Witty and unfortunately quite accurate.

Bad:
* Very short.