Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception

From when I first found this book and read it, I've been waiting literally for years to find a Kindle or eBook version of it. Finally years and years later it is here. Skip the emotional intelligence stuff, this is the real thing that explains a lot of human behavior and the human condition, simply and clearly, and brilliantly. Everyone I've given this book to or told about this book has been amazed by it. The only problem is that this is not as advertized, and there are errors in the production description. This appears to a static low-quality scanned copy of the book and not a real Kindle version. The font-size cannot be changed and the font itself cannot be changed. The Word-wise function is disabled. The text-to-speech function that so cool does not work, at least on my iPhone. When I try to invoke it it shows every page as an image. That is extremely disappointing. The quality of the scan is not even very good for human eyes. You cannot cut-and-paste excerpts of this book to make notes either Even at this low price, it is a rip-off. It is really half-way to a scam the slip-shod way they did this. Amazon, Kindle, this is very disappointing. Still, for contents of the book I rate it 5/5.

First, this is one of my favorite books and I would universally recommend it to anyone. I almost did not find this book or read it because I was not so impressed with Goleman's books on emotional intelligence. I picked this up and started reading, and I could understand right away that this book was different from any other psychology book I had read. VLST was written for the professional, yet is understandable by the layman as well because it is so well and clearly written. The intuitive way it is written with clear examples of behavior allows any reader to follow on several levels the complex line of logic through the entire book and learn quite a bit about how the mind works and how delicate and out of reach our minds sometimes are. I cannot say or stress how wonderful and important I think this book is, it must have been dearly inspired for the care and inclusiveness it possesses. It is so clear that humans have incredible capabilities, and yet we cannot seem to use them in many cases, especially on the social or cultural level ... and part of the reason has to be out ability to lie to ourselves or be manipulated by our tendencies to keep us stunted. This book dissects and explains the mechanism here, and is one of the most important books I can recommend to people. I am going to buy a Kindle, and I would love it if this book was on the Kindle offering list so I could carry it around and reread it.

After reviewing some of the research and modern theory around narcissism, I was drawn to finding something of substance that explained more about grandiose thinking, or delusion. Luckily, the only decent looking book I found - Goleman's - turned out to be just as useful on the inside. Combining his information on the effects of pain, and how it dims awareness, was magical for me because of my experience with narcissists who also have alcohol and drug addictions. I like the way Goleman touches on perception (see also Dr. Bruce Lipton's The Biology of Belief), self-esteem, projection, rationalisation, sublimation etc. On a collective level it becomes quite challenging when viewing the mirage realism or deception that some multi-national corporate and government leaders create. Perhaps a book who's subject matter is more applicable to world affairs than most of us realise. Personally I would have liked more information about the links between the psychic numbing of awareness and the addiction to materialism as an opiate, but other than that I highly recommend it. It dovetails nicely into the findings from quantum science which shows its our consciousness which creates the filters through which we transform our reality. At times I did find the reading tough going and would not recommend this for those people who might be embarking on a first tour of duty of psychological modelling. Regards, Daniel John Hancock

Even if some will surely see the conclusion as a cop out, VL,ST is more than a merely worthwhile read. Written three decades ago, Goleman did not anticipate the issues we face now as the result of the accelerated pace of change with which we are confronted at every turn. Kant critiqued pure reason almost 300 years ago, but save for legions of frustrated college philosophy and critical thinking profs, no one really paid attention. And now it's getting very close to being too late to move to existentialist empiricism and make a meaningful difference. Goleman may not quite yet have known The Way Out in 1984. But he'd steeped himself sufficiently in Eastern thought to write his remarkable synopsis of it in The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience four years later. In subsequent decades, a new wave of thought reformers including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Marsha Linehan, Stephen Hayes, Mark Williams and Stanley Block laid out a fine collection of techniques under the general rubric of mindfulness. And since then, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk and Patricia Ogden have upped the ante quite a bit further. One can in fact make it through the minefield of Freud's and Valliant's disquieting defense mechanisms and even Wilson's, Millon's and Stone's "defects of character." Google the 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing to look over just one example among many one can try on for size. But don't read this book late at night all by yourself until you have some tools in your belt.

Wow, What an Eye opener! For me the most astonishing revelation from this book SO FAR is the answer to Why did I say something and then a little bit later wonder why I just said that when what I said is not how if feel...(not how I feel right not anyway!) I really appreciate all of his books (I have most of them now) and feel that his book have answered many questions I have had for a very long time. FOR THE MOST PART HIS BOOKS ARE ABOUT NORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Which I have been looking for all of my life. All of his books give us insight and positive ways to improve what we want to do. (in contrast to Psychology which uses what I call derogatory words like neurotic,) Have a Great Life I also recommend :'Lens Neurofeedback" by Stephen Larsen. Explains that just a 15 mph auto accident (and sports accidents and head injuries of any kind, falls, abuse: physical and emotional) can knock our brain off of its frequency. Shows color brain scans and lots of case histories and information on choosing a practitioner. clearer thinking after my first session and after second session ALL Fibromyalgia Pain GONE. Pain has gone for several months and does not return unless I eat foods that trigger the pain... I also recommend the Book 'Diet Wise' by Dr. Mumby to help with the food/pain connection of food related symptoms I had not even related to food before reading this book.

I'm a professor and incorporate the teaching of emotional intelligence into all of my courses. This book is especially informative and takes a deeper educational dive into how human beings can sabotage their happiness and relationships with the self and others with instrusive false thinking. It has a great section on defense mechanisms, which is an update to the writings and research Anna Freud did in the 1940s (elaborating on her father's initial ideas about them). This is an excellent teaching tool for those who work with adolescents and young adults and are aware of the prevalence of social anxiety.

I read this book in 1985 when it was first published and I was trying to learn about self-deception. This book is an excellent review of Psychological research from Freud to modern time. It is well written and probably the one book to read to understand the shocking truth that our minds automatically hide information that would cause anxiety to our self-understanding. This is a key professional resource for counselling that lay readers can easily understand.

It is very "clinical" in the beginning so I can understand that some reviewers had some difficulty reading it. I would not recommend this book to be the first one about psychology or self help that a person reads because it could seem overwhelming and complicated. To me, however, it was fascinating and fantastically written. In fact, one of the best books on psychology I have ever read.

Very good read

I wish that I had read this before I left my business after getting totally exasperated by the behaviour of my colleagues. I now understand. Can I have my old job back please?

This book is heavy! I think it might be meant for someone who already has a good understanding of the psychology of how the mind works. I haven't yet finished it because I got a little bogged down. I'll try again and maybe proceed a little slower and try underlining as I go.

As I started this book,which is really divided into two main parts - self and collective deceptions - I was most excited about its psychological delving into illusion, and how self-deception takes a hold of our personal lives. In fact, another reviewer here gave the book a lower star rating, which I took issue with, and was wired up to prove wrong. But, then as the book unfolded, especially as it switched from the psychological to the sociological, I felt the same, that the material was nothing I would not have encountered through other media outlets, especially in the age we are living today - almost 25 years after the book was first written - which is far more informationally savy, and heavily laden in consipiracy and cynicism. However, where this book really excels, is in the first half, in its revisiting of the roots of Psychoanalysis. Freud is not as fashionable as Jung today I would argue, but I became fascinated by Goleman's retake on Freuds early theories of the mind from the perspective of his thesis. I also feel it is far harder to be honest with your own self-deceptions - which cost more personally and financially too in terms of psychoanalysis - than to look at sociological group comfort zones, however interesting nonetheless!! This is where the book excels. Thanks Dan.

As of 02/11, the Kindle version is a poorly scanned copy that is mostly illegible and cannot be edited with Kindle's viewing options.