Books about Falsehood from Amazon.com

Have you ever wished you could peer into someone’s mind to find out what he or she is really thinking? Now you can . . . really. This book is not a collection of recycled ideas about body language It does not suggest that a woman’s hairstyle will give us unprecedented access into her soul, neither does it draw wildly ambiguous generalities about people based on our intuition or gut instinct, nor does it reach conclusions based on how she folds her hands or he ties his shoelaces. This book contains specific, proven psychological techniques that can be applied instantly to any person in just about any situation. Dr. Lieberman has demonstrated the ease and accuracy of these techniques on hundreds of television and radio programs. In a special report for FOX News, host Jeff Rosin declared, “It’s simply amazing! I was with him and he was never wrong . . . not even once. I even learned how to do it and that’s saying something.” In fact, Dr. Lieberman has gone “head-to-head” on live television, with skilled polygraph examiners and scored just as well—every time. You Can Read Anyone shows step-by-step exactly how to tell what someone is thinking and feeling in real-life situations. For example, you will see precisely how to determine whether another poker player will stay in or fold, whether a salesperson is trustworthy, or whether or not a first date is going your way or the other way. And when the stakes are high—negotiations, interrogations, questions of abuse, theft, or fraud-- knowing who is out for you, and who is out to get you (or a loved one) can save you time, money, energy, and heartache..
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"One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit," Harry G. Frankfurt writes, in what must surely be the most eyebrow-raising opener in modern philosophical prose. "Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted." This compact little book, as pungent as the phenomenon it explores, attempts to articulate a theory of this contemporary scourge--what it is, what it does, and why there's so much of it. The result is entertaining and enlightening in almost equal measure. It can't be denied; part of the book's charm is the puerile pleasure of reading classic academic discourse punctuated at regular intervals by the word "bullshit." More pertinent is Frankfurt's focus on intentions--the practice of bullshit, rather than its end result. Bullshitting, as he notes, is not exactly lying, and bullshit remains bullshit whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bullshitter's complete disregard for whether what he's saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: he "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."

This may sound all too familiar to those of use who still live in the "reality-based community" and must deal with a world convulsed by those who do not. But Frankfurt leaves such political implications to his readers. Instead, he points to one source of bullshit's unprecedented expansion in recent years, the postmodern skepticism of objective truth in favor of sincerity, or as he defines it, staying true to subjective experience. But what makes us think that anything in our nature is more stable or inherent than what lies outside it? Thus, Frankfurt concludes, with an observation as tiny and perfect as the rest of this exquisite book, "sincerity itself is bullshit." --Mary Park.
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From breaking the law to breaking a promise, how do people lie and how can they be caught? Paul Ekman, a renowned expert in emotions research and nonverbal communication, has now updated his groundbreaking inquiry into lying and methods for uncovering lies. From the deception strategies of international public figures, such as Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon, to the deceitful behavior of private individuals, including adulterers and petty criminals, Ekman shows that a successful liar most often depends on a willfully innocent dupe. His study describes how lies vary in form and can differ from other types of misinformation, as well as how a person's body language, voice, and facial expressions can give away a lie but still escape the detection of professional lie hunters—judges, police officers, drug enforcement agents, Secret Service agents, and others. Photographs and line drawings..
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When liars are being accused of something, they'll stay calm because they're working on their rebuttal; this is why detectives were suspicious of O.J. Simpson when he didn't express outrage when accused of murdering his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. Never Be Lied to Again is bursting with tested tips like this for quickly determining when you're being boondoggled. Body language, facial expressions, sentence structure, and word choice can all reveal when someone is lying, says psychologist David J. Lieberman, and he includes 46 of these "clues to deception" to help you, including tricks for framing questions without putting others on the defense. Once you use your newly honed "human lie detector" skills to figure out if you're being lied to, you can then dig for the truth using the specific, influential words and body postures that Lieberman suggests. Written with flair and humor, Never Be Lied to Again is designed to help you get the upper hand in any situation, whether you're trying to figure out if your spouse is cheating on you or if you suspect your coworkers are cooking the books. .
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Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known." --Mary Ellen Curtin.
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Have you ever been lied to? Of course you have, whether you knew it or not.

Ever caught a spouse, business partner, parent, boss, or child brazenly lying right to your face? What if you could tell someone was lying, just by listening to them, and observing their action and behavior?How to Spot a Liar is the first book that gives you the tools to figure out what's really going on: to gain the upper hand in salary negotiation, move a prospective client toward the outcome you desire, and find out why you need to end a business or personal relationship.

Author Greg Hartley is a decorated military interrogator who has used the techniques in How to Spot a Liar for 16 years to get the truth from enemy combatants. He has successfully applied them to project management and in contract negotiations, to resolve conflict and prevail. Now he shares this scientific process with you so you can use it every day.

Who needs How to Spot a Liar? Anyone with a cheating spouse or manipulative boss. Anyone conducting job interviews or cold-calling prospective customers. Lawyers who need to "read" witnesses or jurors. Anyone trying to survive the dating scene or faced with a string of business meetings with clients. Anyone who has teenagers at home or works on Capitol Hill. Anyone whose success and happiness depends on clear interaction with others.

And anyone who wants to become just a bit more inscrutable, in business, life…even at the poker table!

Gregory Hartley's expertise as an interrogator first earned him honors with the United States Army. More recently, it has drawn organizations such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, Navy SEALS, Federal law enforcement agencies, and national TV to seek his insights about "how to" as well as "why." He resides near Atlanta, Georgia.

Maryann Karinch is the author of eight books, including Rangers Lead the Way: The Army Rangers' Guide to Leading Your Organization Through Chaos (with Dean Hohl) and founder of The Rudy Agency, a literary agency based in Estes Park, Colorado..
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A thoughtful addition to the growing debate over public and private morality. Looks at lying and deception in law, family, medicine, government..
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