When Presdients Lie by Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman digs into the history of official deception and its consequences in his book, When Presidents Lie. He recognises the necessity of Presidents to lie under certain circumstances but dread the lies that result in war and subsequently the cause of unnecessary deaths. Yet those lies were created by American Presidents for self politically motivated purposes.

The case studies include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and the Yalta Conference; John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis; Ronald W. Reagan, Central America and the Iran-Contra Scandal; George W. Bush and the Post-Truth Presidency.

Eric Alterman draws on many sources in this heavily footnoted book to display a convincing portrayal of the Presidents. After reading When Presidents Lie, I felt disgusted and remained puzzled why someone of great power would want to wrest it this way...

Overall Rating : 10/10