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The Assault on Truth

Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism

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The Assault on Truth

By: Peter Oborne
Narrated by: Peter Oborne
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About this listen

 * THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *

When Peter Oborne wrote The Rise of Political Lying, looking at the growth of political falsehood under John Major and Tony Blair, he believed things had got as bad as they could be. With the arrival of Boris Johnson at No 10 in 2019 began a new and unprecedented epidemic of deceit.

In The Assault on Truth, a short and powerful new polemic, Oborne shows how Boris Johnson lied again and again in order to secure victory so he could force through Brexit in the face of parliamentary opposition. Johnson and his ministers then lied repeatedly to win the general election in December 2019. The government’s woeful response to the coronavirus pandemic has generated another wave of falsehoods, misrepresentations and fabrications.

The scale and shamelessness of the lying of the Johnson administration far exceeds the lying about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and other issues under Tony Blair. This book argues that the ruthless use of political deceit under the Johnson government is part of a wider attack on civilised values and traditional institutions across the Western world, especially by Donald Trump in the USA. The Johnson and Trump methodology of deceit is about securing power for its own ends - even when they get exposed for lying, they shrug it off as a matter of no consequence.

It matters because all Western institutions are built around the idea of integrity and accountability. This means that an assault on truth is an assault on the rule of law, state institutions and the fundamental idea of fairness, and even democracy itself. ©2021 Peter Oborne (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK Politics & Government Thought-Provoking Government

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Critic reviews

"A clinical and merciless account of Johnson's mendacity... gripping." (Guardian)
All stars
Most relevant
Peter Oborne is an unlikely author for such a devastating critique of Boris Johnson. The content and sentiment expressed deserves to be more mainstream than it is at present. But it’s not mainstream precisely because of people who should known better either aiding and abetting or choosing to look the other way.

Very good

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O'bourne vicerates Johnson et al in a dissection of thr last 10 years in UK pokitics

facts presented in an agreeably entertaining and engaging way

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This book is a beacon of honest fair journalism in a crazy agenda driven world.
Peter is a warrior in search of fairness and accountability.
If you are reading this and you have some interest in the subject you will fine this fascinating.

I can't recommend this enough

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Why did I listen to this book? Because after the General Election, Brexit and COVID, I sensed something was wrong. The high integrity of Jeremy Corbin, for whom I campaigned, had been rejected and vilified; I abandoned the Labour Party and involvement in politics for literary and “spiritual” pursuits; a man was in charge, Johnson, whom I instinctively disliked; and I was at a loss where to turn for truthful information about anything - certainly not the papers or the BBC - . The rest was rumour and an uneasy feeling in my bones.

Well, Peter Oborne has delivered, with enough examples and background to Johnson’s deceit to back up my hunch, and to provide me with information to discuss the point with those who still think the man an angel. The book is short and well- structured. My only quibble is that the author’s spoken delivery is a bit “bar room drawl”, and he sometime “mashes” a point I was trying to hear. He’s not an actor, after all.

I was especially touched by his admission that he can only “spill the beans” now that he is near retirement, because most newspapers and broadcasting slots, including the BBC are now closed to him.

Dreadful and worrying. On a personal note, and writing as an ex-teacher, I am as appalled by the general ignorance (which schools have done nothing to improve, by NOT teaching people to think) as by the venality of Johnson’s parliamentary cadre and social class.

Britain is not a revolutionary country. So where next? For me, it’s back to the Tao Te Ching !!

From Someone Who Knows

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A brutal take down of the Boris Johnson, exposing his vapid lies and incompetence whilst explaining how such a useless and desperately insecure man came to lead our country. A short but vital read!

Very good!

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