The book for April is Who Killed Truth: A History of Evidence by one of our favorite authors, Jill LePore.
Many historians and cultural observers argue we live in a post-truth world—but if truth is dead, who killed it? And how did it die? Join celebrated historian Jill Lepore as she cracks the case by examining key moments in the history of truth, doubt, and evidence across the last century.
In Who Killed Truth? acclaimed Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore traces the origins of our current post-truth crisis. In a series of spellbinding stories, Lepore investigates murders, hoaxes, lies and delusions to reckon with the instability of truth and fiction in the twenty-first century. Listeners will follow Lepore through a fascinating, erudite, and antic journey through the thorny problem of how we know what we know, and why it seems sometimes as if we don't know anything at all anymore.
Revisiting key moments in U.S. history—from the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925 to the 1977 National Women’s Convention to the first election predicted by computer, and more—Lepore uncovers the secrets of the past the way a detective might, hot on the trail of the killer of truth.
Please join us even if you haven't "read" the book. It's sure to be a lively conversation.
This book group selection is only available as an audiobook, and its availability in public libraries is limited. We have three free copies available for anyone who is interested. To claim one of these copies, email downeast@lwvme.org.