'Alex Edmans is such a crisp sharp salutary voice - and a great guide to the bullsh*t of the
modern world' Rory Stewart author of Politics on the Edge 'A powerful and punchy explanation
of why misinformation is a problem that affects us all' Gillian Tett Editor-at-Large
Financial Times A ground-breaking book that reveals why our human biases affect the way we
receive and interpret information with practical suggestions for how to think more critically
* One of Adam Grant's 8 New Idea Books to Start Spring* * A Financial Times Book of the Month
April 2024* * A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book for May 2024* * A Wall Street Journal
recommended summer read 2024* Our lives are minefields of misinformation. It ripples through
our social media feeds our daily headlines and the pronouncements of politicians business
leaders and best-selling authors. Stories statistics and studies are everywhere allowing
people to find evidence to support whatever position they want. Many of these sources are
flawed yet by playing on our emotions and preying on our biases they can gain widespread
acceptance warp our views and distort our decisions. In this eye-opening book Alex Edmans
an economist and professor at London Business School teaches us how to separate fact from
fiction. Using colourful examples - from a wellness guru's tragic but fabricated backstory to
the blunders that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the diet that ensnared millions
yet hastened its founder's death - Edmans highlights the biases that cause us to mistake
statements for facts facts for data data for evidence and evidence for proof. Armed with
the knowledge of what to guard against he then provides a practical guide to combat this tide
of misinformation. Going beyond simply checking the facts and explaining individual statistics
Edmans explores the relationships between statistics - the science of cause and effect -
ultimately training us to think smarter sharper and more critically. May Contain Lies is an
essential read for anyone who wants to make better sense of the world and take better
decisions. 'A passionate and dispassionate call to truth - and how to achieve it - in a world
of growing disinformation' Will Hutton The Guardian 'Not only brilliantly researched and
written but immensely practical' Andy Haldane former Chief Economist at the Bank of England
'A timely book and despite the nerdy statistical theories is often quite funny' Harry Wallop
The Time
