The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump - Paperback

by Michiko Kakutani (Author)NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic comes an impassioned critique of America's retreat from reason “Without the truth we will be neither prosperous nor virtuous nor free. This book begins the self-defense of American culture. May it reach a generation that will make narcissism passé and factuality sexy." - Timothy Snyder A pointed and penetrating book. . . . The Death of Truth offers a clear-eyed, eloquent assessment of the current predicament. . . . This book is essential for understanding the corrosive effects of an ongoing, relentless assault on truth.” - The San Francisco Chronicle “The Death of Truth is destined to become the defining treatise of our age. Not only does it brilliantly and incisively diagnose the roots of our decaying social and political order; it also shows why we must rescue the truth before it is buried under a regime of lies. Everyone should read this book.” - David Grann “A fantastic book of cultural criticism that aims to skewer the falsities in our contemporary world—propagated by social media and political rhetoric—that have turned American culture upside-down.” - Esquire We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases. How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? This decline began decades ago, and in The Death of Truth, former New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm. In social media and literature, television, academia, and politics, Kakutani identifies the trends--originating on both the right and the left--that have combined to elevate subjectivity over factuality, science, and common values. And she returns us to the words of the great critics of authoritarianism, writers like George Orwell and Hannah Arendt, whose work is newly and eerily relevant. With remarkable erudition and insight, Kakutani offers a provocative diagnosis of our current condition and points toward a new path for our truth-challenged times. Author Biography MICHIKO KAKUTANI is a Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic and the former chief book critic of The New York Times.