Book Review: Lies the Government Told You, by Andrew Napolitano

I recently found a site called BookSneeze.com, where bloggers can request and receive free books from the publisher. All that is expected in return is an honest review of the book.

Now I'm not much of a non-fiction reader normally. I read to escape from the real world, not to understand it. I do read cookbooks and gardening books whenever I can get my hands on them. But usually I'm a fiction kind of guy, so I kind of surprised myself with my first choice:

Lies the Government Told You
Myth, Power, and Deception in American History
By Andrew Napolitano



In Lies the Government Told You, the author, a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge, explores the history of dishonesty in US Government. The author discusses the reasons behind some of the lies, the context in which they were told, and the end result.

From the title, I kind of expected this to be either a political commentary, aimed at the current administration, or a conspiracy theory book, aimed at the current crop of nutcases. But I was pleasantly surprised.

Lies the Government Told You plays no favorites. Both modern political parties are discussed, as well as some of the heroes and hallmarks of American History. You may never view the story of George Washington's cherry tree, and the infamous mythical quote "I cannot tell a lie," quite the same again after reading this book.

From Washington to Lincoln, to FDR some of our most notorious presidents are mentioned. The things they said, and the impact that has had on the American People.

We are all familiar with some of the more recent indiscretions. The Watergate scandal, the Monica fiasco, the WMD in Iraq debacle. But some of the less recent scandals and controversies are not as well known. In this book, the author explains how small lies over time have eroded some of our basic freedoms and liberties, and warns us that it will keep getting worse as long as we the people allow it to continue.

He even offers a few suggestion as to how we can break the cycle and begin to restore truth in government.

I found the book to be an interesting reminder that it always pays to know the truth.

After all, who doesn't want truth, justice, and the American way?



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not told what to write, but simply asked to write an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”