The Lies of the Land: An Honest History of Political Deceit

by Adam Macqueen

Trust in our politicians is at an all-time low. We're in a "post-truth" era, where feelings trump facts, and where brazen rhetoric beats honesty. But do politicians lie more than they used to? And do we even want them to tell the truth? In a history full of wit and political acumen, Private Eye journalist Adam Macqueen dissects the gripping stories of the biggest political lies of the last half century, from the Profumo affair to Blair's WMDs to Boris Johnson's £350 million for the NHS. Covering lesser known whoppers, infamous lies from foreign shores ("I did not have sexual relations with that woman"), and some of the resolute untruths from Donald Trump's explosive presidential campaign, this is the quintessential guide to dishonesty from our leaders - and the often pernicious relationship between parliament and the media. But this book is also so much more. It explains how in the space of a lifetime we have gone from the implicit assumption that our rulers have our best interests at heart, to assuming the worst even when - in the majority of cases - politicians are actually doing their best.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

352 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2018

Reviews

[Mark]

An enjoyable read but left wondering what the point was. A long series of short stories about real life lies told in the public eye. Interesting to find out more about historic and current stories, but maybe should just be treated as a humorous story book rather than looking for a bigger theme.

[Chris]

Clear, accurate, well-sourced, witty.
Why can't our politicians be as accurate with their words?

[Gary]

Everybody should read this book

[Emma]

Easy to read snippets of those lying gits.

[Jonny Brick]

Private Eye scribe summarises lies. Very good on Watergate, Jeremy Thorpe, the defected spies, Blair, Cameron and various Americans.

[Alex]

An interesting enough book with semi-detailed stories about politics spanning the last century, but somehow reaches terribly-thought through conclusions that ruin the book.

[Ken Sampson]

[13 Sep 2024] This easy read, informative and interesting book has gathered together multiple examples of the lies that politicians have told over the years. It is well presented, each section starts with the ‘lie’ and then briefly looks at the evidence for debunking it. It’s amusing, but relatively superficial. All the usual clangers are there - the Profumo affair, the weapons of mass destruction, the Brexit bus, etc.

My preconceptions about bias considering the authors expressed political allegiance were challenged. It seemed that, on the whole, there were only slightly more politicians from the right than the left and they were all dealt with fairly. There was a dangerous potential that such a book gives the impression that all politicians are corrupt, dishonest or in it for themselves. There was some lack of nuance as some ‘lies’ were quite possibly what people genuinely thought at the time, or thoughts and assertions that changed over time, as conditions moved on or evidence changed, but on the whole a really interesting, informative and amusing book.

[Ankit Mittal]

It is an exceptionally well written catalogue of the lies told and forgotten... insightful and funny... nice wrap up too.

[Matthew Hurst]

Easy to read pretty bi partisan approach to lies in politics, recommend if you fancy a trip through memory lane.