This was a DELIGHT. I picked it up on gut instinct at Blackwells in Edinburgh, thought it’d make a good gift. Only it was pouring rain that day and my copy got waterstained, which doesn’t make for a very good gift, so I read it instead. And now I’m going to pass it around the family because honestly, what more timely book on the lies humans tell themselves and how seductive they are could there be?

I believe Phillips is a journalist as his day-job and this book reads like it: Punchy, fast, and delivering things in carefully apportioned bites that nevertheless lead to some powerful conclusions. This isn’t a criticism of the book, which I adored, but a stylistic note for those looking for something serious. (Then again, it does have “bullshit” in the title…)