True Enough

Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society

By: Farhad Manjoo

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Why has punditry overtaken news, with so many media outlets pushing partisan agendas instead of information? Comedian Stephen Colbert's catchword "truthiness" has captured something essential about our age: that people are more comfortable with ideas that feel true, even if the evidence for those beliefs is thin.

With brilliant insights from psychology, sociology, and economics, Manjoo explains how myths pushed by both partisans and marketers - whether about global warming, the war in Iraq, 9/11, or even the virtues of a certain candy bar - have attracted wide support in recent years. His characters include the Swift Boat veterans, Lou Dobbs, and conspiracy theorists of all varieties - all of whom prove that true matters less, now, than true enough.

©2008 Farhad Manjoo (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Manjoo has produced an engaging, illustrative look at the dangers of living in an oversaturated media world." ( Publishers Weekly)

So define truth and reality…

(As posted in Goodreads)
It is pointed out that ideas that we had all thought concrete are really, really wishy-washy, questionable.
It is necessary to consider truth and reality which had heretofore been obvious and unquestionable as dependent on individual groups and personal policies rather than the expected interpretations. How a particular group or political party believes or sees things definitely influences and individual's interpretations.
Of course, I personally cannot possibly be affected by my crowd – I am far too aware of my surroundings and society for that. Wait. My eyes have been opened to the necessity of truly examining what is actually running the thoughts and media affecting me.
This book is somewhat outdated (I believe it was published in 2007, and it's currently 2023), and there have been huge changes in our government and society that weren't even considered in this, but boy, it makes me think.

resonates with today's many divisions

easy to change the dates and insert new examples to see how little progress we have made

So True!

Anyone who is concerned by the growing polarity in America, and the proliferation of conspiracy theories should listen to this book. It does a great job explaining the underlying causes of where we are at as a nation today.

Excellent book - well worth reading!!!

This is certainly one of the best books I have read this year. Previously, I had read David Brock's Republican Noise Machine (also a very good book available at audible.com), but this book was even more thought-provoking, including a much wider range of examples. I was thinking this book might be some light-weight fluff, but instead it is the real stuff, very smart, well-written, and thoughtful. You will not look at your local TV news the same way after reading this book!

In the spirit of this book's themes, I should note that I am NOT being paid by any company for endorsing this book, ha ha. Anyway, it's an excellent book, well worth reading!!!

Check Your Perspective

This book explains why some "facts" people spread are false, and how bias, half-baked ideas and the psychological desire to be heard can come in the way of hard, concrete facts.

After reading this book, I became more reserved on accepting the news I receive until I can actually verify the facts.

For everyone willing to expand their intellectual or global horizons, this book contains the cautionary tales required to avoid some pitfalls.

Truly Good

Got this on a $4.95 Audible sale....happy I did. Probably would not have read otherwise because of the lack of buzz. Manjoo's big story that the diffusion of media and the disruption of the Web has eroded the enforced moderation of the Cronkite / NYT dominated mediascape will not come as a new story to anyone half-way paying attention. But he tells the story well, supports his arguments with evidence, and writes well enough to keep the reader (listener) engaged.

true-ish

pretty straight forward, obvious to those with eyes open, suprizing that so many people are blind to it.
Ray Porter is my favorite narator, so I picked this up because of him.

A must for any historian

Well presented facts combined with reasonable theory. Will change the way you view history and especially the future.

Needed perspective

Great read!!! Reboot of reality. I would highly recommend this book it is a short listen and moves quickly

Very interesting book, but a little lacking

"True Enough" provides an interesting analysis of how modern media has made it hard for most people to separate fact from propaganda. The examples are compelling, and the analysis is fairly well reasoned.

The author seems to have some left leaning biases that creep into his general arguments. But as he admits in the book, we all have our biases that colour the way we view the world. You really can't get away from that.

I can't help but think that the author has missed much of the point of the issue he's arguing... or at least has fallen short of it.

He points out, correctly, that there are people and organizations out there who are actively trying to shape the public discussion in their favour. This is often done surreptitiously, using nefarious means.

It is, indeed, true that we should expect people and organizations supplying us with information to disclose who is funding them. The public deserves to know if there's a possible conflict of interest.

But the book seems to suggest that this is the crux of the problem that needs to be addressed. But in reality, it's only a symptom of the problem.

The author correctly points out that the increased availability of information overwhelms people, and pushes them towards choosing only sources of information that agree with their pre-conceived notions.

But the bigger problem is why people feel overwhelmed by all the choices of information out there. The fact is that most people are just ill equipped deal with it. And the reason is that they're not trained in formal logic and critical thinking.

Some discussion of this aspect would have addressed the issue more fully. I would also have welcomed some discussion of how we can resolve this lack, and perhaps some suggestions for those wishing to become better critical consumers of information.

But disappointingly, the book stopped short of that. Still, I recommend the book for it's interesting analysis and case studies.