Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It

by Evan Davis

'A Malcolm Gladwell-style social psychology/behavioural economics primer' Evening Standard

Low-level dishonesty is rife everywhere, in the form of exaggeration, selective use of facts, economy with the truth, careful drafting - from Trump and the Brexit debate to companies that tell us 'your call is important to us'. How did we get to a place where bullshit is not just rife but apparently so effective that it's become the communications strategy of our times?

This brilliantly insightful book steps inside the panoply of deception employed in all walks of life and assesses how it has come to this. It sets out the surprising logic which explains why bullshit is both pervasive and persistent. Why are company annual reports often nonsense? Why should you not trust estate agents? And above all, why has political campaigning become the art of stretching the truth? Drawing on behavioural science, economics, psychology and of course his knowledge of the media, Evan ends by providing readers with a tool-kit to handle the kinds of deceptions we encounter every day, and charts a route through the muddy waters of the post-truth age.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology, Cultural, History

347 pages, Hardcover

Published March 6, 2018

Reviews

[John Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, very intelligible and a darned good read.

When he was on the Today Programme on Radio 4 it was (almost) a pleasure being woken up at 6:30 am (the time my alarm is set for) to this man’s smiling voice. The voice and the smile were there on the page as I read.

The book has done me a world of good: it has helped me to come to terms with all the bullshit around me, which seemed in danger of clogging my airwaves. Evan has made sense of it for me, sometimes stating the obvious, at others pointing out what I might be missing.

Beautifully and kindly written, even when calling out mega-peak bullshitters!

Dedication page:

“For all those people to whom I have ever
lied, nearly lied, economised with facts
or been phoney, insecure or pretentious.

This is for you.

I fear there are too many of you to mention by name.

And for Guillaume
To whom I am incapable of being anything other than completely honest.”

Contents:

Preface to the paperback edition
Introduction

Section 1: What
1. Truth, Post-Truth and Post-Fact
2. Nonsense and Gibberish
3. Gestures and Phoney Behaviour
4. Bullshit: The Theory

Section 2: Why
5. Hidden Messages
6. Being Human
7. Short-Termism
8. Culture and Norms
Section 3: How
9. Limits to the Power of Persuasion
10. Better Bullshit
11. The Discerning Listener

Final Words
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever title that backfired. Overpromised/underdelivered.

We reached it because we let it and fall for it as gullible lazy people.

Prevent it by being aware and being sceptical but not cynical.

Mostly politics and Trump with UK focus (Brexit and political speak in Britian), but could have given corporate examples. Perhaps being a business journalist prevented this, can't step on any of his City of London friend's toes.

He actually mentions the Twitter behaviour of some well known people but doesn't want to name them for fear of starting an argument, and he wants to be the nice guy that gets radio interviews or just can't be bothered with arguments.

I guess you shouldn't write this book then Evan Davis if you don't want to hurt those poor elites fee-fees. Grow a pair mate.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very obvious things explained to you as if you were really, really thick. Reminds me of BBC journalism. Oh, wait...

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bullshit is probably as old as language itself but it seems more prevalent now, in Anglophone countries, since general literacy and mass media began, world wars excluded.
Although some of Evan Davis's comments seem self-evident once you hear them, or are reminded of them, 2017 must make everyone wonder about the nature of truth, but unlike Pilate, we'd be well advised not just to wash our hands! His cynical comments have given him nearly 2000 years of bad press, well deserved as it happens, for many reasons.

I think I should listen to this book about twice a year, as a refresher.

I don't watch TV much, BBC now & then, so I miss out on most advertising except online. Still, I accepted Davis's suggestion that cool adverts can't sell bad products for long - with reservations.

The Trump phenomenon takes some explaining and I'm willing to hear different views from experienced journalists from reference sources and academics about the success of a politician who seems to me (and I am allowed a view, even if others don't like it) a repulsive example of the worst aspects of US culture.

Davis reminds me that instead of just vomiting at Twitter government, I might do better to think what's going on.

Use the heid!

[Mikehendo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the absence of .5 star increments, I'll make the jump to 5.

I've noticed this book getting flak from people who have obviously never read it, calling it an attack on Trump, but the 45th president is merely on the periphery in this discussion about Bullshit, how to identify it, and how to respond to it.

The history and analysis of bullshit throughout the pages of this book is attention-grabbing, and well analyzed, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[ERIC PECHINOT · Rating 1 out of 5]

Evan Davis is this man, once justly deemed "part journalist, part Pokemon" in an episode of Dead Ringers -courtesy of BBC Radio 4, on which he hosts PM, a daily programme. He explains for hours on end how bad climate change is, but at the same time he is quite happy to brag about a flight he took with his husband over the Atlantic for the sole purpose of watching an eclipse! Wow, if that is not "do as I say, not as I do", then what is it?
In this book, Davis makes a mind-blowing revelation. In politics and economics, guess what? People tell lies. Not only that, hold fast folks, for we are at a time when the lying is at its peak! But don't be alarmed: not a word on the possible lying on the Beeb in particular, or in the media circus in general. No doubt because broadcasters never tell lies, do they?

In other words, just skip this very, very, very bad book!

[Sujith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A breezy read, much of which comes as blatantly obvious or elemetary with anyone with some media literacy, but which (thankfully) comes with a hopeful and reassuring conclusion.

[Amy Maddess · Rating 2 out of 5]

- anecdotal
- repetitive
- very psych 101
- surprisingly bullshitty

[Jolanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autors grāmatas ievadā kā centrālo šīs grāmatas problēmu izvirza jautājumu, kāpēc ir
tik daudz bulšita? Kāpēc cilvēki tam notic? Tāpēc autora mērķis ir izskaidrot, kāpēc bulšits
tiek tik plaši izmantots, un kā to var izmantot savā labā. Šī grāmata ir par godīgumu un
komunikāciju, jo meli ir mūsu ēras iezīme: “Mēs slīkstam bulšitā, kas ir tikai tik daudz
patiess, lai tie nebūtu meli..”.

Aprakstu uz vīna pudeles var uztvert kā bulšitu, jo cilvēks nevar vienlaicīgi sajust
septiņas garšas, kuras tiek aprakstītas. Pat frizūras ieveidošana un sapucēšanās ir bulšits ,
kas nes vēstījumu par sakārtotu dzīvi. Mums visapkārt ikdienā ir bulšits, visvairāk, protams,
reklāmas tirgū, no kurienes ļoti daudzus piemērus min arī Deiviss. Būtisks ir autora
secinājums, ka īstermiņā var mēģināt lietas izpušķot, taču ilgtermiņā patiesība nāks gaismā.

Evans Deiviss ir izskaidrojis dažādās bulšita formas, tomēr neskaidrs paliek
jautājums, kāpēc cilvēki to pieprasa, jo lielai daļai bulšita nevajadzētu eksistēt, tam būtu jābūt
ignorētam. Ja tas tiktu ignorēts, to nebūtu jēgas ražot. Šķiet tieši tik vienkārši tas būtu ar
viltus ziņām tiešsaistes sociālajos tīklos un klikšķu pelnītājiem, ja cilvēki neuzspiestu uz
saitēm, nebūtu jēga šos ziņojumus publicēt. Tomēr, ja ar šādu ierakstu padalās draugs, mēs
tam uzticamies un nevilšus atveram saiti – “klikšķu mednieks” pelna, savukārt, mēs esam
“informācijas burbulī”. Ja ar bulšitu dalās cilvēki, ar kuriem mēs domājam līdzīgi (draugi),
mēs neuzdodam jautājumus par bezjēdzībām, ar kurām viņi dalās.

Grāmatas noslēgumā Evans Deiviss norāda, ka ir pienācis laiks, kad komunikācija
var kļūt svaigāka, tiešāka, godīgāka un dabīgāka. Šobrīd daudz svarīgāk ir, kas ir ziņotājs,
nevis ziņotāja teiktais. Līdz ar to patiesība ir kļuvusi par nesvarīgu vai neatbilstošu.

Šī grāmata, manuprāt, ir ļoti vērtīga šajā laikmetā. Ļoti patīk veids, kā autors pievērš
uzmanību cilvēka psiholoģijai – tam, ka cilvēks vienmēr ir centies nest par sevi labāku
vēstījumu, nekā viņš ir patiesībā, kā darbojas cilvēka uztvere, kā to savā labā var izmantot
komunikācijas speciālisti. Protams, ir smagi apjaust kāds absurds ir izveidojies mūsdienu
sabiedrībā – jo būtībā šīs viltus ziņas ir tas, ko pati sabiedrība pieprasa, tās nav absolūtais
ļaunums, jo pēc būtības tās nevar nodarīt reālu ļaunumu, tomēr cilvēki dzīvo savos
“informācijas burbuļos”, dusmās par pašu radītajiem apstākļiem, Latvijas gadījumā sliktajiem
deputātiem, kurus paši ir ievēlējuši. Diemžēl šīs dusmas ļoti ātri izplatās tiešaistes sociālajos tīklos. Vienīgais, ko var darīt cilvēki, kuri dzīvo ārpus šiem burbuļiem un skandalozus ziņu
virsraktus neuztver par patiesiem, ir šo informācijas burbuļu spridzināšana, tiešā tekstā
norādot saviem “tīkla draugiem”, ka tā ir ilūzija, kurā viņi dzīvo,kas ir izdevīga kādam, kuru
iespējams pats cilvēks nemaz neatbalsta.

[Sudakshina Bhattacharjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a very fine line between marketing communications, advertising, politics, so-called “white lies” and bullshit!
Well-known BBC broadcaster, Evan Davis, takes you on a deep discourse into the commercial and consumerist bases on which the way we create persuasive constructs - eg, psychological pricing, political propaganda, fake news, etc - tends to actually amount to nothing but bullshit - baseless claims and banter.
Be assured, aside from the BS word, there’s very little swearing in this book.
The following points that Davis makes struck out to me:
1. The people who come across well are usually the ones that don’t try too hard to sell their message.
2. If you are the right person, what you say will be accepted; if you are the wrong person, nothing you say will be accepted.
3. It is simply a matter for those working in communications to start from the view that straightforward honesty should be the approach to adopt on any particular occasion, unless there is a clear reason why it should not be.
If you work in communications, or are intrigued by communicative phenomena, then this book is for you.

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped reading about 1/3 of the way through. Zero self reflection on the Media ecologys own role in self re-enforcing BS.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The poor simpleton can't grasp what's Appeal to Authority. So never mind this is ”post-truth”, or worse: this is ”the peak”. Reading Davis is pretty much like asking the village idiot for an oncology consultation: sure, you can do it, and it will cost less than the first batch of tests, but do you really want to do that instead of just flipping a coin?

[Peter Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great analysis of how we got here - struggles on ideas of how we get out of it – but then don’t we all….

It is a thought provoking wander through the “post truth” world: how we came to be in it, what it is now like, and some (perhaps slightly too hopeful) suggestions as to how we might get out of it. There is much to value and ponder in this book so forgive me if the rest this review looks, in the main, at the book’s few flaws.

Like of all of us he is fascinated by the latest breed of populist politician and their role in the post truth world. He rightly sees them as succeeding in part because people are reacting against what they now perceive as the mendacious old politics, even though the new populism may perhaps be just as lacking in veracity, even if it actually believes in what it says. However he struggles with how many of these populists behave. On the one hand he counsels against politicians behaving in a confrontational finger waving accusatory style because he believes that ultimately people will judge that that in itself will be seen as flaw in character that will not serve them well when under pressure in office. On the other hand he also sees how this behaviour excites strong responses from those who feel, rightly or wrongly, let down by the politicians those populists are monstering.

He covers well known techniques that can be used, consciously or unconsciously, to shape and sometime contort perception, such as framing and anchoring, but he also comes up with some interesting new ones. Well new to me anyway. In particular he looks at the auditory based Lombard effect (the involuntary tendency of speakers in noisy situations to increase not only their own loudness but also to change the pitch, rate, and duration of syllables to enhance the audibility of their voice) and he suggests that this is partnered by a Lombard effect in public debate. In this case he claims people engage in a contorted competitive “shouting” in print, online etc, to get their point across in the noisy babble like debate of ideas. While this concept works to explain a number of the situations he applies it to I am not convinced that it’s the key explanation for much of the vileness on social media. That I imagine more is down to the degree of anonymity that can be possible there, or at least the distance social media provides from more personal interaction with people.

Lastly the book takes on and critiques everyone from: advertisers, politicians, the public, and PR and comms folk (in particular he lays into PR and comms folk, but hey we are used to that) but it is only in the last 12 pages of the book that he really turns to the role of media in the “post truth” world. Though he does pack a lot into those last 12 pages, detailing the various ways the media might exacerbate the problem.

There is however somewhat of an over reliance on the BBC as an example of an outlet trying to hold the line for truth and balance. Of course it is, but even it is not immune from some of the post truth phenomena he details, and it too has made errors when journalists have got carried away with a sensational story that later unravelled. Also, despite the BBC being a beacon of impartiality, Evan Davis fails to give sufficient acknowledgement that much of media makes no bones about being openly biased in favour of one party rather than another and will quite transparently and freely take a specific side on a range of other things as well. Our media are just as much a part of the post truth world as everyone else.

[Achtung Englander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bullshit is everywhere. So this subject is perfect for a deep analysis on how it is corrupting society and how we, as consumers of products and politics, have become apathetic to being lied at. This book is not what you are looking for.

This book is perfect for arriving space aliens who do not know the concept of mendacious or exaggerated verbal diarrhoea. For humans who have been on this planet for some time and come across bullshit in their everyday lives, the book has less eureka moments and more "so what" and thanks for telling my grandma on how to suck eggs.

You have to hand it to Davis, he has written an entire book, that is 300 pages long, on why people bullshit, how they bullshit, different types of bullshit and people who have made careers from bullshit. Almost all of the book came to no surprise.

Being a British journalist the book is pretty liberal with examples from British politics and bullshit spouted by British politicians, so the focus can at times be a little too narrow. The biggest problem I had with the book is that I leaned almost nothing new from it. If anything it only reinforced my idea that gut instinct is usually right. If something smells like bullshit, looks like bullshit and feels like bullshit - its bullshit. Not sure it warrants a 300 page book to explain this.

You know when you see a film, the credits roll and you walk out the theatre and get into your car, start the engine, drive home, open your front door, make a cup of coffee and sit down and begin to think about the film you just watched but fail to remember one single memorable scene. This book is that film.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1980 Harry G. Frankfurt wrote an essay called ‘On Bullshit’ which was later published as a book. The core premise was that bullshit bears no relationship to facts, and as such “bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.” This book, more or less, is an updated and expanded look at BS in our post-truth world. Whilst it is not primarily about politics or Donald Trump, it relies heavily on both to present its case, drawing also on the tricks of the trade in advertising, and occasionally veering off into economics.

I read this book as an aside to my thesis study on metaphor. Metaphors compare two unrelated things (Juliet is the sun) in a manner which is literally untrue, but figuratively believable. (Juliet is a person not a flaming ball of gas - and yet – we can recognise that Romeo might mean she is radiant.) As such, metaphor potentially resides fulltime in the realm of bullshit. As a metaphor-reader, I’m hyper-attuned to the metaphors writer use, and as a small complaint, I have to say Davis often mixed his metaphors. For example, in his description of why we follow the crowd he referred to us as ‘a species with herd instinct,’ who in the next sentence ‘better get with the programme.’ He thus turned us into both safari-animals and desk-jockeys in the space of two consecutive sentences. He makes his point clearly, but I can’t help flinching at the savanna-cubicle confusion the images evoked.

Davis presented many economic theories which could apply to my research. One is the Signalling Theory. An engagement ring carries a more forceful signal of commitment than words alone. An add at the superbowl doesn’t have to mention products or their price, just displaying the brands logo is a signal that the brand can afford to place an add and has therefore ‘made it’. The other is Nudge Theory, and although less was said on this, it did give me another avenue to explore, as a good architectural metaphor has the potential to ‘nudge’ visitor perception and experience in a particular, (architect-preferred) way.

One of the interesting reminders of bandwagon thinking was Canned Laughter, the pre-recorded laugh track that is put into sitcoms to make them seem more funny. It appeals to our intuitive amusement empathy and encourages us to ‘laugh along’ but it is actually BS. It is insincere and a ‘betrayal’ as laughing should be personal, spontaneous and genuine. I was also interested on his take that PC language; its use (or not) signals tribal allegiance to progressive values, and like academic jargon or political spin, it “carries a message broader than the simple words might imply.”

Two additional avenues I will be pursuing after reading this book include Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm, which suggests we are story-telling creatures, who presumably think in narrative terms of plots and characters, who better remember facts when they are strung to a storyline, and who make sense of events as they happen based on how they fit our version of the story. The other avenue is Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow which suggests we think in a two-system manner. The first system is immediate, low effort and and intuitive (recognising a friend or driving home) and the second is slow and steady (reverse parking and tax returns).

I loved many of the terms that can be found in this field for bluff and bullshit; weasel words, flannel and waffle, gibberish, gobbledygook, spin, obfuscation, cheap talk. My favourite part-sentence that summarised much of the book for me was: “…but the real point is always buried in the subtitles.” To his credit, Davis does not go in for many footnotes, but has a very thorough set of end-notes that show the depth and breadth of his research.

Overall however, I did not enjoy this book. I’m not sure why; Davis remained logical and unemotional, and is a reasonable story teller. I think it was probably that as well as being an economist, Davis is also a journalist. As such, I couldn’t shake the pop-culture feeling that this book belonged to modern click-bait journalism rather than academia. The more cynical side of me would say that journalists these days sound more like agenda-spruikers who are perhaps more on par with politicians and real estate agents, rather than unbiased truth-seekers.

Regardless, there’s lots to think about in this cautionary tale regarding ‘peak bullshit’ and its pervasive presence, suggesting that we should be alert but not alarmed. Written in 2017, Evans sates, “yes, we are in a pretty strange period, but every cycle has its end. Bullshit ebbs and flows, returning to different forms for different occasions.” Only three short years later, in 2020, we’re beyond neck-deep in BS. I don’t think a ‘wait and see’ attitude is going to be enough to save us from ourselves.

[David Margetts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at how 'lying' and delivering 'bullshit' has risen to epidemic proportions, the reasons why, the causes and the solutions. 2016 was a particularly spectacular year for the way that 'perceived' 'b/s' got out of hand, with the election of Trump and the Brexit vote. It encapsulated the way that politicians have progressively 'lost the trust' of the public, through a lack of openness and honesty in the way they communicate and behave. For politicians, read also CEO's, big brands, PR , canned laughter, and indeed ourselves. It seems that 'spin' has taken over to the detriment of integrity, relationships and critical levels of trust. Furthermore as we increasingly live in our own 'bubbles' or 'echo chambers' of social media, the situation and our ability to rationalise, exacerbates the situation. The world is crying out for honest, credible and trustworthy leaders, yet the pressure and accountability they face, be it politicians, CEO's or even soccer managers, mean that they revert to spin and avoidance of the questions. The recent UK general election demonstrated how a credible and competent leader (T May) was exposed and discredited by her 'robotic' electioneering style, avoidance in answering questions and refusal to show a human and humble persona (even when she obviously made mistakes) Indeed the poll ratings have reversed, as a previously unelectable candidate with questionable views, track record and policies, displayed a warmer, more empathetic and honest demeanour. Same can be said of Trump vs Clinton...amd Macron vs the established parties. Overall the book illustrates the need for more openness, honesty, frankness and dependability from our leaders, but equally a more understanding and responsible audience. If we blame our leaders for everything, without empathy, understanding and reasonableness, we can hardly expect them to be anything other than defensive and to 'spin' and rationalise. The book also tells us to be more aware, more searching of the truth and to explore and listen to more points of view, rather than to rationalise and read things through our limited and often biased references. A massive, massive challenge for society as a whole!!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to ignore the marketing on the back ('never' before has their been such concern about dishonesty in public life? Not even in propagandist Russia?) and treat this as a discussion on the extent to which people and institutions can get away with distorting the truth. While not full of revelations, I thought it was a fairly balanced view of the topic.

Whether Davies was asked to contribute to a trending topic, or whether he'd had this in the pipeline for a while, I don't know. However he looked at more than just Trump and Brexit, and in many ways was quite critical of those who subscribe to a narrative of 'idiots convinced by liars'. And although the sections were a bit simplistic in name this was actually an intelligent discussion. Davies did still look at politics, but also at businesses and public services, using examples as well as just theory.

I could imagine many people thought this was just stuff we all know - lies are told when the benefit can outweigh the cost, politicians are too focused on the short term and advertisers only accentuate the positives. But he did offer a fresh perspective, arguing that 'honest' politicians have already been spat out of the system and that truly devious advertisers would be found out. In many cases, conforming to the existing culture is more successful, and sometimes the literal truth isn't necessarily the highest concern. Davies suggested Trump was signalling he was on the side of 'the people' when making up statistics about unemployment, and that 'the people' weren't necessarily swayed by the inaccurate fact itself (likewise with the '350m a week' bus).

Davies was not just an arch-contrarian, however. I was slightly surprised that he thought the financial sector didn't have an image problem, but a conduct problem, and he asked why a public service felt the need to 'sell' a change that was beneficial overall, but had some small negatives. With the exception of his views on expensive advertising, I found myself agreeing with most of his points.

Given the prevalence of puns in his Dragon's Den coverage, I was pleased they didn't make their way into this book, which was insightful but self-aware as well. With the trendy subject matter this could have been a lazy rush job but I didn't think that was the case at all.

[Paul Whitla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and with a touch of wisdom that avoids the kind of grandstanding more common to discussions of this topic. Evan Davis, is the definition of a reasonable man (he is probably best known as the host of Dragon's Den and I hate to say it, but his role on the show is completely superfluous and his introductions really a load of unnecessary bullshit) and this boom is written in a calm, measured tone which is easy to read, clear, well-structured and well-argued. The book has been compared to Malcom Gladwellesque in tone, but here the author is not pushing an agenda in the way that Gladwell does but simply giving his reflections on the topic.

The book is perfect in length (around 300 pages) and is divided clearly into three sections, what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, and how we can deal with it and better protect against it. There is an interesting diversion in to the economic argument that as we shouldn't trust words from people trying to sell us something, that they then shouldn't waste time trying to sell it, and thus from a purely rational perspective bullshit shouldn't exist.

In conclusion the main thrust of Davis's ideas are, don't be too worried about bullshit, it serves a necessary purpose on many occasions and in the end the truth will out. The substance is much more important than the words and in the end that is what counts; he gives an interesting perspective on why people fell for Donald Trump and accepted the untruths he was selling - because it resonated with the reality of the lives they were living, and those facts were more important than statistics and experts.

Overall, a punchy, thoughtful, easy to read enjoyable book, highly recommended.

[Tadas Talaikis · Rating 3 out of 5]

We reached peak bullshit. Probably, I can judge from my own communication. I was always the straightforward one and through decades of research and communication I have learned and now know most people are hiding B.S. and crazy, crapy fantasies in their heads. They even believe they can hide them, but just few words with me and I know everything :) On the other hand, I don't think Trump is an evil, everything we see isn't real, those are just media fantasies, at least in majority of "scream cases". "Scream case" here is peak screams (B.S.) in the seen (media) universe. What is seen doesn't mean it is real, because agents (here - people who are OK) just don't go into "seen" and don't scream. As a consequence they aren't popular and can't become "presidents" and other "cheerleaders". To be short, if you hear some scream, it's most probably a B.S. or troll's joke (that would be spectacular as needs brains).

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into this, but in the end, I found it a really interesting read. Wasn't left very optimistic by the "what can we do about it" part but we certainly need to do something about the parlous state of politics in Australia at the moment. I have been teaching about it for 40 years and I have never seen a level of debate as low as it is at present. What used to be political news has become overwhelmed with a plethora of mostly right wing commentators and new media laws will only strengthen the stranglehold the Murdoch media has on the national narrative. Unless we can do something to improve the political discourse in this country, I fear the cementing of the sort of constant bullshit that Evans discusses in this book. A very timely discussion.

[Marshal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Evan Davis - I used to mix him up with Peston, but now I feel he's the much calmer of the two. This was a good overview of something that's been worrying me for quite a while and it's always nice to have a book that starts from where you already are and takes you further down a thoughtful road (which is, in itself, BS). Recent enough to include the election of Trump and the Brexit campaign, it actually looks at broader principles, a bit of historical context and comes to an interesting conclusion about who is to blame and who has to fix it.

Honestly, while I often despair of the 21st Century, this is by far the most calming, if not exactly hopeful thing I've read about it for a long time.

[Simon Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evan Davis gives an overview of some of the things that drive people to lie, and expresses frustration at those who lie unnecessarily. This is concise and illustrated with interesting examples, but doesn't really say very much that is new, and comes across as a bit patronising in parts.

I was attracted by the idea that this book might, as the subtitle suggests, make an argument that we have reached 'peak bullshit' and hence might expect to see a decline: that would be a bold prognostication in the current political climate. Davis doesn't attempt to make this argument, which means that the title is a little misleading (and the book a lot more pedestrian for it).

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Evan Davis as a TV presenter and the theme of bullshit (more than 'post-truth', which is just a silly buzzword) has interested me for a while.
It's a tidily structured book and makes a bunch of reasonable points but if anything an excessively reasonable approach is its downfall. It's sensible but not very entertaining and not especially insightful. All very on the one hand, on the other hand, let's not panic. Which is fair enough (or maybe a bit too fair), but by about halfway through I'd pretty much lost enthusiasm for actually reading it, and tbh I skimmed the last 20 pages or so. I could have skimmed the whole thing without much loss.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb!
Some authors never disappoints the reader, they know the hot topic and interpret beautifully and present in a form so wonderfully
Post truth
How we are misrepresented in our all form of life from Politicians to businessmen
How post truth reveals that we never thought why we missed
World full of trickster
He elaborate beautifully by taking present incident to analyse why we fool ourselves knowing very well we get fooled
Amazing written!!
It's like a date with a female bureaucrats!!

[Chandar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle to the book tells you what you can expect from the book. Can't say I enjoyed reading the book though some of the 'obfuscations', 'being economical with the truth' and 'damned lies' from all over the world did amaze me. But what nailed the point was when I keyed in the title of the book in good reads and I got four options - two with the same title, and two more with similar titles - and none was by Evan Davis! Didn't realize it was such a popular topic!

[David Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published at the peak of the Trump era, when “fake news” and “alternative facts” were making headlines, this book examines different aspects of deception, misleading communication and “bullshit” - why this is used, why we are vulnerable to it, and what could be done about it. It’s a thorough and well written account, easy enough to follow, but, perhaps in the nature of the subject matter, rather a dry read.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical economist view of the value of information. Apologist for bullshitters. "in time everything will work itself out". Well yes, but how many have suffered in the meantime? Proposes no actual actions that may help the situation other than "wait and see".

On the plus side well structured and researched. Just a disappointment overall.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Hmmm…..

Attacking/criticising president Trump throughout this book is not cool.

Nothing new here we all know there is a shitload of BS in the world, now more than ever and it’s all coming from mainstream media, democrats, Biden, Harris, Pelosi.

That’s all I have to say.

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2020: #48 - A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty disappointing. Given the subtitle - Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit etc - I expected it to be much more witty, even funny. But it's a very dry examination of how truth died & whether it can be resuscitated. Of interest, but not gripping.

[Maddi Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Mostly common sense. Bit depressing that we have to have a book to tell us what media literacy and critical thinking are. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, but the book could have been half as long.