Truth
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  • Published: 4 April 2019
  • ISBN: 9781784163105
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $29.99

Truth

Formats & editions
Audiobook
8 Mar 2018
Paperback
4 Apr 2019
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A provocative and enlightening look at how the truth is constantly manipulated to shape our opinions, behaviours and beliefs, affecting the choices we make every day. For fans of Factfulness and The Art of Thinking Clearly, Truth provides much needed clarity in a world built on misinformation.

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'Macdonald zeros in on the slipperiness of factuality, offering an array of case studies from the worlds of history, commerce and – of course – politics.' New York Times

True or false? It’s rarely that simple.

There is always more than one truth in every story. Eating meat is nutritious but it’s also damaging to the environment. The Internet disseminates knowledge but it also spreads hatred. As communicators, we select the truths that are most useful to our agenda.

We can select truths constructively to inspire nations, encourage children, and drive progressive change. Or we can select truths that give a false impression of reality, misleading people without actually lying. Others can do the same, motivating or deceiving us with the truth.

In Truth, communications strategy expert Hector Macdonald explores how truth is used and abused in politics, business, the media and everyday life. Combining great storytelling with practical takeaways and a litany of fascinating, funny and insightful case studies, Truth is a chilling and engaging read about how profoundly our mindsets and actions are influenced by the truths that those around us choose to tell.

For fans of Factfulness, A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics and The Art of Thinking Clearly, a fascinating dive into the many ways in which ‘competing truths’ shape our opinions, behaviours and beliefs.
  • Published: 4 April 2019
  • ISBN: 9781784163105
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $29.99
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About the author

Hector Macdonald

Hector Macdonald is a strategic communications consultant who has advised the leaders of some of the world’s top corporations in industries as diverse as financial services, telecoms, defence and healthcare. He is an expert in business storytelling and the bestselling author of four novels. Hector has lectured on truth for organisations such as Royal Mail, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Global Coalition Against Daesh.


www.hectormacdonald.com

Praise for Truth

Delightful… beautifully explores the truth that truth can look very different to different people.

Matt Ridley, author of <i>Genome </i>and <i>The Red Queen

Engrossing

Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

No one can tell the whole truth in all its glory. Hector Macdonald's Truth explores how communicators spin reality, whether in the name of clarity or skullduggery. Macdonald is a deft guide to a topic that could not be more timely.

William Poundstone, author of <i>Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

In a time when truth is under assault, Hector Macdonald is here to defend it. He offers clear-eyed, compelling guidelines for becoming a more accurate consumer and producer of information.

</i>Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of <i>ORIGINALS </i>and <i>OPTION B </i>with Sheryl Sandberg

As an expert on choice, I’ve long believed that our choices define who we are. This book explores the ways in which the decision to tell the truth is a choice that uniquely shapes who we are. While it’s easy to assume that the act of lying is more complicated one than telling the truth, the choice to tell the truth can be equally, if not far more complex.This book is not simply about telling the truth, but rather a guide to navigate the tough decisions that lead to truth.

Sheena Iyengar, author of <i>The Art of Choosing

An engaging primer in critical thinking, Truth will enable you to defend yourself against fake news, from bots on Twitter to loudmouths on cable television. Read the book attentively and from then on you'll be carrying the most important concealed weapon of all: an informed mind.

Peter Robinson, former White House speechwriter

A fascinating look at how such an abstract concept can be shaped to many purposes, the ethics of bending the truth, and what consumers can do to analyze the innumerable truths presented to us.

Booklist

A useful, commonsensical framework for making reasonable, responsible, and effective decisions.

Publishers Weekly

Ultra-timely...perfect for our fake news era

Inc.

With the phrase ‘fake news' dominating the conversation in 2017, Hector Macdonald's Truth feels like timely reading. Drawing from examples including the infamous Brexit bus and the way the Texas Department of State Health Services spread misinformation to pregnant women, the author asks whether it is ever morally acceptable for marketers to lie? It also looks at how consumers can protect themselves from misleading truths.

Marketing Week - Recommended Reading

Illuminating, judicious and lucid ... It will surely change the way you read the news and see the world.

Patrick West, Catholic Herald

Macdonald zeros in on the slipperiness of factuality, offering an array of case studies from the worlds of history, commerce and – of course – politics.

New York Times

The merit of Hector Macdonald’s Truth is precisely that it forces us to remember how few claims can be definitively established as beyond dispute

Washington Post
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