May 19, 2010

The Virtues of Mendacity- On Lying in Politics by Martin Jay

Allan Megill, of the University of Virginia, lauded The Virtues of Mendacity as a book that will, "surely become a primary reference point for anyone who wants to think seriously about lies and lying."

I agree. This book is well-organized, well-researched, and well-written. It is not, however, a book one reads for pleasure. It is a reference book.

The book is organized into three simple chapters: On Lying, On the Political, and On Lying In Politics. (As a side note, I would have enjoyed the book more if it had contained subsections within those three chapters simply because it would have given me more visual and mental breaks. )

In the end this is a sound piece of scholarly work that those in politics and academia will appreciate.

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After having my husband read my review I have been thoroughly scolded for not being honest enough. Ironic, I know.

Okay, honestly...this book was boring. I made a commitment to read it. A hard working publicist took the time and money to send me a copy of this book. Had it not been for those factors I wouldn't have finished it. In retrospect even my review of this book was boring, for that I apologize.

The reason I hesitate to share those feelings is that this isn’t a bad book. I don’t believe it was written with the intent to entertain. It was written to inform and to ask people to think more about our culture in regards to political mendacity.

If I were still in college and preparing to write a paper on lies, lying, or politics this would be the first book cited in my paper. I guess what I am trying to say is that this book has a place. However, that place is not on my lap.


3 comments:

  1. Nom de Plume: Your review of Martin Jay's book isn't boring; it's too short to be boring. The problem is that you don't say anything about the book.

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  2. she said plenty about the book. Namely, it's boring and stay away from it.

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  3. Anonymous #1- I'm sorry that you don't feel my review was detailed enough. This book was difficult to review because it is pretty much a reference book. To give what I feel to be a straightforward, honest, and concise review I avoided quoting the book. Much like trying to review an encyclopedia all I can really tell you is the subject matter and my opinion of how it is presented.

    The subject matter: the nature of politics and how it lends itself to accepting lies as part of the territory.

    My opinion of the presentation: Verbose and not at all relatable for the average person. Unless you are preparing to write a dissertation on lying and it's place in the political arena you will not have a use for this book.

    If you have specific questions, please ask them here and I will be more than happy to answer them for you. I appreciate your feedback on my review and I will take it into consideration in the future. However, I pride myself on being concise so I can't promise my reviews will be long but I will try to be more detailed.

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