An urgent meditation on the nature of truth by the legendary filmmaker and global cultural
icon Werner Herzog 'Herzog is in a category of one ... A complete original' MARINA HYDE
'Herzog really is a kind of genius' SPECTATOR What if a lie is told to reveal some underlying
truth? Are feelings that seem inappropriate such as hysteria following the death of a
celebrity any less true than the grief we feel over the death of a loved one? Even if the plot
of an opera seems preposterous can't it still express emotions that ring true with the
audience? At the heart of this fascinating and iconoclastic book lies Werner Herzog's concept
of 'ecstatic truth' - a truth that is often hidden behind the facts and our conceptions of
reality but can be gleaned through the poetic imagination in art literature and cinema when
we open ourselves up to an aesthetic experience. Written in Herzog's inimitable style these
stories anecdotes and reflections take us from present-day deep fakes and the opportunities
and perils of AI to ancient Egypt and Rome where rulers resorted to lies and propaganda in the
same way as governments do today from Scott and Amundsen's race to the South Pole to alien
abduction claims and the making of Herzog's own films. With its singular vision and unique
voice The Future of Truth is a compelling meditation on the relationship between fact and
fiction - evidence and imagination - by one of today's most fascinating and idiosyncratic
thinkers.
