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Philip Kerr

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The Penguin Book of Lies Hardcover – January 1, 1991

by Philip Kerr (Editor)

3

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Selections from authors from ancient times to the twentieth century discuss noteworthy lies and liars from history and the nature of lying as different periods have viewed it

Print length

608 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

January 1, 1991
Dimensions

20 x 20 x 20 inches
ISBN-10

0670825603
ISBN-13

978-0670825608
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Philip Kerr
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking (January 1, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 608 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670825603
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670825608
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 20 x 20 x 20 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,631,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16,426 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality

Customer Reviews:
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Philip Kerr

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For most novelists, the city where the action takes place is a backdrop or a stage set, nothing more than scenery. But the Berlin of Philip Kerr’s stories is a character in the books – a personality as complex and troubled as his private-investigator protagonist. ‘When I started writing I was after the character of the Berliner rather than the history of Berlin,’ says Kerr. ‘Berlin people have always been awkward-squad Germans, which is probably why I admire them. Hitler didn’t like them at all, and Berliners are the same now as then – they haven’t changed.’

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S. Weeks

A stroll through outright lies and misinformation from the past ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018

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A stroll through outright lies and misinformation from the past and present, beginning with the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau. There's many a historicl gem in this big book, and many a surprising story.

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S. Forsyth

A moderately meaningful manual of mendacity

Reviewed in Germany on August 30, 2023

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TL;DR: A clever compilation but ultimately a tangled web.

The late Philip Kerr's compilation of historical texts on lying, deception and fraudulent conduct resembles less a modern treatment of a concept through historical comparison and exemplary illustrations than it does a Renaissance commonplace book.

In the latter, the compiler would collect excerpts, maxims, pithy quotes and bon mots, mostly for the purpose of giving the owner easy access to an apposite idea while writing a letter or engaging in witty repartee. The commonplace book had no real structure apart from a simple thematic, and if it engaged in some kind of inquiry it was generally disclosed only to the private thoughts of its creator.

Kerr's collection is similar. Most pieces are prefaced with the editor's thoughts, though these range from trenchant to flippant, and in general there is no development of any idea throughout, other than the basic impression of the changing moral status of deceit in Western culture.

That said, as a commonplace book it is an excellent source for clever quotes and apposite aphorisms. I myself used it to find epigrams to preface chapters of a thesis on deception in international politics. And given that the book does not present itself as a scholarly work, it pretty much does what it says on the tin, and no more.

Now, there is one final point which ought to be noted; a riddle for the prospective reader. I have discovered, and independently confirmed, that Kerr perpetrated a historical hoax in the pages of this book. One of the excerpts is entirely fictional yet is passed off as genuine. Now, as someone who appreciates ingenuity and trickery, I initially found the idea of a fake text in a Book of Lies rather hilarious and clever. However, I soon discovered that the hoax text has found its way into genuine scholarship, where it is referenced in the context of a systematic study of deception and lying, and used to make a historical argument. If there is one genuine sin in the Community of Inquiry it is intentional deception, as this not only blocks inquiry for others but produces chains of error that may never be corrected. This situation obviously casts aspersions on the acumen and rigour of the scholar—who ought to have dug deeper—but it also reveals Kerr as an incorrigible scapegrace. Setting traps for future inquirers, even in the spirit of fun and artistry, is ethically and epistemically objectionable. Kerr might also have been a literary artist, but as a journalist he ought to have known better. However, Kerr's book is out of print, both Kerr and the scholar in question are now deceased, so the spirit of cunning and trickery, I leave it to the reader to discover which of the pieces is the fabrication.

Don Saunders

Three Stars

Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2018

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Satisfying read
Don s

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