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Lying
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
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Free Will
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.
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expected more
- By Bill on 2023-01-21
Written by: Sam Harris
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Waking Up
- A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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From multiple New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, and "new atheist" Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds.
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life changing
- By srwatson on 2018-06-26
Written by: Sam Harris
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The Big Picture
- On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
- Written by: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?
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Maybe angels are transgender...
- By Count Erklock on 2019-10-12
Written by: Sean Carroll
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Human Compatible
- Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
- Written by: Stuart Russell
- Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In this groundbreaking audiobook, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines.
Written by: Stuart Russell
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The Moral Landscape
- How Science Can Determine Human Values
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In this explosive new book, Sam Harris tears down the wall between scientific facts and human values, arguing that most people are simply mistaken about the relationship between morality and the rest of human knowledge. Harris urges us to think about morality in terms of human and animal well-being, viewing the experiences of conscious creatures as peaks and valleys on a "moral landscape".
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A worthy ambition, but...
- By ThoughtfulListener on 2019-08-28
Written by: Sam Harris
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The End of Faith
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is an impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely work delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes.
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Audiobook narration is so bad that I can’t even listen
- By Gunnar Nelson on 2021-04-12
Written by: Sam Harris
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Free Will
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.
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expected more
- By Bill on 2023-01-21
Written by: Sam Harris
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Waking Up
- A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From multiple New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, and "new atheist" Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds.
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life changing
- By srwatson on 2018-06-26
Written by: Sam Harris
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The Big Picture
- On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
- Written by: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?
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Maybe angels are transgender...
- By Count Erklock on 2019-10-12
Written by: Sean Carroll
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Human Compatible
- Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
- Written by: Stuart Russell
- Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In this groundbreaking audiobook, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines.
Written by: Stuart Russell
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The Moral Landscape
- How Science Can Determine Human Values
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In this explosive new book, Sam Harris tears down the wall between scientific facts and human values, arguing that most people are simply mistaken about the relationship between morality and the rest of human knowledge. Harris urges us to think about morality in terms of human and animal well-being, viewing the experiences of conscious creatures as peaks and valleys on a "moral landscape".
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A worthy ambition, but...
- By ThoughtfulListener on 2019-08-28
Written by: Sam Harris
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The End of Faith
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Here is an impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely work delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes.
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Audiobook narration is so bad that I can’t even listen
- By Gunnar Nelson on 2021-04-12
Written by: Sam Harris
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Islam and the Future of Tolerance
- A Dialogue
- Written by: Maajid Nawaz, Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris, Maajid Nawaz
- Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In this short book, Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz invite you to join an urgently needed conversation: Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem drawn to extremism? What do words like Islamism, jihadism, and fundamentalism mean in today's world? Remarkable for the breadth and depth of its analysis, this dialogue between a famous atheist and a former radical is all the more startling for its decorum. Harris and Nawaz have produced something genuinely new: they engage one of the most polarizing issues of our time - fearlessly and fully - and actually make progress.
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Must read for all Muslims
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-02-11
Written by: Maajid Nawaz, and others
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Letter to a Christian Nation
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Jordan Bridges
- Length: 1 hr and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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"Forty-four percent of the American population is convinced that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead sometime in the next 50 years," writes Sam Harris. "Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this...should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency."
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I expected more from him.
- By Igortskii on 2019-02-14
Written by: Sam Harris
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Superintelligence
- Paths, Dangers, Strategies
- Written by: Nick Bostrom
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life. The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful - possibly beyond our control.
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Unnecessary Jargon
- By Bogdan on 2020-07-26
Written by: Nick Bostrom
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Making Sense
- Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity
- Written by: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris, David Chalmers, David Deutsch, and others
- Length: 22 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author—has been exploring some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events on his podcast, Making Sense. For Harris, honest conversation, no matter how difficult or controversial, represents the only path to moral and intellectual progress. This audiobook includes talks with Daniel Kahneman, Timothy Snyder, Nick Bostrom, and Glen Loury, on topics that range from the nature of consciousness and free will, to politics and extremism, to living ethically.
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Great Guests from the Podcast
- By Dad, fitness enthusiast, digital media guy on 2022-07-13
Written by: Sam Harris
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Life 3.0
- Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- Written by: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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How will artificial intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society, and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology - and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.
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This performance bit is driving me crazy
- By Dan Thomson on 2018-02-05
Written by: Max Tegmark
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Zero to One
- Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
- Written by: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
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Excellent book for Entrepreneurs
- By FibreHead on 2019-07-12
Written by: Peter Thiel, and others
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The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve
- Written by: Steve Stewart-Williams
- Narrated by: Tom Lawrence
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ape That Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, our languages, and science? The book tackles these issues by drawing on ideas from two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory.
Written by: Steve Stewart-Williams
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The Forgotten Highlander
- My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East
- Written by: Alistair Urquhart
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
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Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai , but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese ‘hellships’ which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki.
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loved it
- By Rob Kiefer on 2019-05-27
Written by: Alistair Urquhart
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The Wealth of Nations
- Written by: Adam Smith
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 36 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.
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a must!
- By Bean on 2022-02-17
Written by: Adam Smith
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The Precipice
- Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
- Written by: Toby Ord
- Narrated by: Toby Ord
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back.
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Agree on the problem; solutions are terrible
- By Keith Kuspira on 2023-10-23
Written by: Toby Ord
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Steve Jobs
- Written by: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
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don't hold this one off
- By Alex on 2020-06-17
Written by: Walter Isaacson
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The Four Horsemen
- The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution
- Written by: Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated by new essays from three of the original participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry.
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Just watch it on YouTube.
- By James Cooper on 2019-06-22
Written by: Christopher Hitchens, and others
Publisher's Summary
As it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption - even murder and genocide - generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie.
In Lying, bestselling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie. He focuses on "white" lies - those lies we tell for the purpose of sparing people discomfort - for these are the lies that most often tempt us. And they tend to be the only lies that good people tell while imagining that they are being good in the process.
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- Doug Chumley
- 2019-06-21
Sam does an amazing job of explaining lies.
Awesome, start to finish. I'm not a liar now I understand why. Although I've been on the other end of many complicated lies.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Nicole N.
- 2019-05-25
Interesting take on a subject close to my heart
Harris doesn’t seem to explore the topic of lying in this book as deeply as he does free will in his book Free Will, but it was still well worth the listen, and gave me a lot to think about.
The only issue I have with the Audible version is the question and answer section at the end. I found it difficult to ascertain where the questions each ended and where Harris’ answers began (which I assume is more obvious in the paper version).
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5 people found this helpful
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- BigO'H
- 2020-01-12
Just OK
Started off great but this subject is to complicated to be presented in such a short format. A better read is Jordan Peterson's rule 8 and 12 rules for life
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3 people found this helpful
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- Justin Greeno
- 2018-06-26
Just a little short
Probably easier to find a free copy online. It is absolutely worth listening to but you could listen to Sam Harris on a 3 hour podcast go deeper on the topic for free.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Patrick B
- 2018-08-13
Great book, but WAY too short.
I really like Sam as a person and an author. He has excellent points, has really interesting things to say... but this book is way too thin. It leaves you on your appetite.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 2017-10-22
Excellent and Challenging
A debunking of the myth that white lies "protect" those you care about and an argument that lying or "sparing the truth" causes more harm than good
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1 person found this helpful
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- OD_Wan
- 2023-06-04
Worth listening to over and over…
I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to this audio book. Without a lie (😉) it has been at least 6-8 times PLUS I own a hard copy of the book. Why? Funny you should ask. This book and it’s ideas has changed my life and, through me, the lives of others. Moreover, I began practicing 100% truth with compassion. The results have been profound.
I use to deliver MY truth as (a) all or nothing - an unfiltered, gut-punching truth with a side serving of “hey, you asked,” (b) mostly silence (truth withheld - #youcanthandlethetruth), or (c) white lie. Practicing compassionate truth has been a life changer. For example: 1) Relationships are far more authentic and run deeper, (2) by demonstrating compassionate truth, it has freed others around me to do the same, and (3) I am a better, kinder, more forgiving, and far more loving person. It sounds strange, but I actually like myself more.
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- oksana
- 2023-03-09
Fail my expectations
I thought it’ll be explained more about how lies influence on your life instead I heard examples of situations that I see every day in my life. I did not get any accomplishment from listening this audio book. Useless content. Nothing new. Maybe good to listen for not experiencing child but not adult
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- Caleb Beer
- 2022-09-08
Read this book once a month
Nicely written and easily digestible.
It conveys the points and backs them up without a bunch of added fluff, making this book perfect for a monthly refresher.
Best part about reviews for this book is that they are more likely to be honest than reviews for most other books.
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- Thomas Petersen
- 2022-08-28
Great Read
Could have been longer. I wanted more. Great info. Loved it! I would read a longer, more in-depth book on this topic by the same author.
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- Douglas
- 2013-11-29
"Telling The Truth...
is being aware of what the truth is in any given moment..." This is perhaps the most pivotal line in Sam Harris' challenging essay on lying and truth telling. We must first be perfectly honest with ourselves before we can be honest with others. (Consider Emily Dickinson's "...we hide ourselves behind ourselves..." or a line from the sitcom "Community:" the biggest lies are told six inches from the bathroom mirror...") Then it all boils down to "do unto others." Harris very poignantly asked us how we would want people to deal with us on a daily basis. All, right, in way, we want politicians to "tell us what we want to hear," but if we go by rule one, being aware of the truth in any given moment, wouldn't we want the truth always given to us straight? Of course, where we are going to cringe is not with extramarital affairs, financial cheats and calculated harm, but rather with the everyday, work-a-day social lying. "Do I look good in this dress?..." "Does my son's behavior bother you?..." "Are you free to come to my party on Friday night?..." Harris makes a compelling argument--if one not all of us are probably going to run out and implement immediately--that the truth can be told in ALL situations, that these little social situations can be handled TACTFULLY, but that tactfully doesn't have to skirt the truth. In a writing class I teach based in Theories Of Morality, I tell this true story: One evening, I was teaching a five-hour block of college English classes, and it was 6:50, and I had not had any dinner and only a fairly sparse lunch. My only chance was to get to the student union and the commissary for a quick slice of dried out pizza before it closed at 7:00 and my next class started. I had ten minutes to cram some bad food in my mouth before pressing on to my next class, and a female student was leisurely strolling beside me, speaking to me about a personal manner of no earth-shattering import. I was trying to be polite and listen and respond appropriately, barely able to make out the words being spoken for the screams of hunger my body was giving forth. The student would not pick up the pace or pick up the silent visual cues that usually say "all right, got to get going! [we are done here]." And so, automatically, with no due calculation, I said, smiling gently and touching her on the arm, "you know, I have to hurry by the office to get some papers real quick before my next classes, can I catch you later?" With that, I darted toward Salish Hall, and then, when out of sight of the student, I made a mad dash for the union and got my pizza. At the time, I rationalized that this was simply sparing the student hearing, "getting a slice of crusty, sun-lamp desiccated veggie is more important right now than listening to you babble on!" But Harris says I was not being polite, but rather lazy. And it's true. I could have carefully and tactfully explained my situation to the student in the time it took to reroute to Salish and then back to the union. The small becomes the big after all, and we should not get too used to misrepresenting things, or, before long, we ]might take to George Costanza's immortal [immoral] advice to Jerry: "it's not a lie, if you believe it."
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43 people found this helpful
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- Kazuhiko
- 2013-11-23
Confronting oneself
I liked the way this book made me feel a bit uncomfortable. You don't hear or read these bluntly honest opinions about the type of lies that we often consider socially acceptable (if you think about it, as the author explains, they are harmful). I did not agree with some of his arguments, but the most important thing was that this book made me re-evaluate my approach to life. I also liked the last 30 minutes where he responded to readers' questions. When there are too many books out there in which the authors stretch and repeat the same points over and over again, this to-the-point style was also refreshing.
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36 people found this helpful
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- DaWoolf
- 2013-11-29
Blah Blah Blah!!!
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Okay, I didn’t like Sam Harris’s essay on lying. Why? The essay is very similar to a lecture you would expect from an ivory tower intellectual lacking any real world experience. Mr. Harris preaches the benefits of providing forthright feedback to others in lieu of white lies. Although this honest and forthright feedback is initially painful to the question asker (does this is dress make me look fat?), in the end you will be forgiven and earn greater respect. I can only imagine the Mr. Harris works in a socially isolated setting and has small set of very confident/highly intellectual friends. He wouldn’t last five minutes in the social circles I encounter on a daily basis. However, the biggest disappointment of this essay is Mr. Harris rarely addresses the functions or motivations that initiate lying behavior. In my opinion, the more interesting essay would address why people feel compelled to lie to others.
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32 people found this helpful
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- Brock
- 2013-11-19
To tell the truth (or not)
This was a really enjoyable, short reminder of the importance of telling the truth- always. Harris does a great job of explaining why he doesn't believe there's ever a good time to lie, even though it may seem like it's the best thing to do at the moment; like when a girlfriend asks if a dress makes her look fat. I know life is complicated, but I really like the straightforward way Harris makes his case that honesty really is the best policy.
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23 people found this helpful
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- Teri Ambrose
- 2014-01-05
Inspirational, quick read
I'm writing this review months after listening. I enjoyed the book at the time, but what has me inspired to come back and write a review is the fact that the general premise of this book has stuck with me so well. I used to routinely tell seemingly innocent lies to grease the wheels of easy social interaction. Small things, not big boldface lies. Morality totally aside, the author contends that everyone would benefit from committing to being truthful. Personally, I now find that I really enjoy the authenticity of owning and saying the truth in even the smallest of circumstances. I don't mean hurting people's feelings or anything like that. There is certainly diplomacy and kindness to consider, too. This book argues for the premise that it's just plain smart, emboldening and genuine to be an honest, straightforward truth-teller.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Andrea Ivins
- 2015-01-09
Insightful - Will Read Again
This is one that I knew I would agree with but fail to implement completely. I plan on reading many times in the future to gain the strength to change. Complete honesty in this society is tough. Loved this book.
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12 people found this helpful
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- randers1925
- 2014-05-26
Thought provoking for secular and religious alike
Where does Lying rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Very interesting read. I am a Christian and I am interested in learning about viewpoints that differ from mine. I thought this might be an "attack on religion" book. But I found it to be very well written and I was challenged with some very thought provoking ideas. And Sam Harris packs a lot into a relatively short work.
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11 people found this helpful
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- R. Calkins
- 2015-01-06
The truth as we don't want to see it.
I love everything Sam Harris has written. This book is no exception. I really wish I could argue with some of his ideas, but he makes such a strong case that I often have to resign myself to accept the unacceptable.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Nothing really matters
- 2015-09-07
To tell the truth, I recommend this essay
This is an interesting essay. If you are someone who was already convinced of the value of (almost) always telling the truth then the author's training will provide reassuring confirmation that your choice was not just ethical, but seemingly logical. Yea!
If you are not one of those folks, then this essay would be an interesting look at the rational for and benefits of being scrupulously honest.
I think the topic of lying versus telling the truth (there's no English word that is the opposite of lying!) deserves a longer, more rigorous treatment though. This essay's a good start, but nothing more. I seem to remember a book called "The Big Book of Lies" that included lots of background and fascinating historical examples. It was a bit long if I remember correctly, so maybe something in between these two would hit the sweet spot.
In any case, I enjoyed this essay. I've never read anything by this author but may now having tasted this tidbit.
I recommend this essay to you if lying is a topic that interests you at all.
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- qwertyuiop
- 2015-01-18
Persuasive case against lying.
Would you listen to Lying again? Why?
Yes. It is short, and it makes good points.
My favorite quote from the book:
"One of the worst things about breaking the law is that it puts you at odds with an indeterminate number of other people. This is one of the many corrosive effects of unjust laws. They temp peaceful and otherwise honest people to lie so as to avoid being punished for behavior that is ethically blameless."
If you could give Lying a new subtitle, what would it be?
How seemingly trivial lies hurt people and relationships
Any additional comments?
I listened to this book the day before my Eagle Scout board of review. I was asked many questions at the review, and I knew that some of the questions might be about religion. I am an atheist, which would prevent me from becoming an eagle scout. If I was asked about religion and claimed to be religious, I would have caved into an immoral rule and bullied into conformity instead of speaking unabashedly for the truth. I thought of how I would look back at that decision in the future, and I decided that I would rather not lie. However, if I had told them that I did not believe in their religion, I would have been kicked out of scouts. My parents would have been furious, and I would have had to explain the situation to my grandparents. I resolved that I would not lie at my board of review before I read this book, but this book helped convince me further. Religion never came up at my board of review. Kind of anticlimactic, considering I got butterflies in my stomach every time I thought of the board of review for the three months preceding it.
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- Gift Card
- 2023-01-16
More of a manual than a book
I like the truthfulness of the book. I dislike basically everything. It is hard for me to recommend this book.
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- De King
- 2020-04-02
Insightful
This book explores the benefits of living a truthful life.
And given that it's read by the author, it ensures that the scripts are read as intended.
Would recommend to anyone
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-06-19
very good, but short
to be honest i would have liked to go more into detail. but its definitely a good book
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