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* THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER * 'A clinical and merciless
account of Johnson's mendacity... gripping' Guardian 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 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. Oborne has brought the book fully up to date, to the
end of Johnson's time in No 10. The scale and shamelessness of the
lying of the Johnson administration far exceeded 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 was 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. Oborne assesses whether their time in power has
tainted their successors. 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.
As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been
replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we
are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on
terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne
reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an
existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive
fantasy. Based on rigorous historical research and forensic
contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn
states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths,
fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this
pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run
deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then
been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in
governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to
overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are
conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in
his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality,
these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the
pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance. With murderous attacks on
Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne
dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the
way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will
benefit us all in the long run.
THE WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR and THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR. 'The most complete, best researched,
roses-and-thorns history of cricket in Pakistan' Independent 'As
good as it's likely to get' Guardian The nation of Pakistan was
born out of the trauma of Partition from India in 1947. Its cricket
team evolved in the chaotic aftermath. Initially unrecognised,
underfunded and weak, Pakistan's team grew to become a major force
in world cricket. Since the early days of the Raj, cricket has been
entwined with national identity and Pakistan's successes helped to
define its status in the world. Defiant in defence, irresistible in
attack, players such as A.H.Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Wasim Akram and
Imran Khan awed their contemporaries and inspired their successors.
The story of Pakistan cricket is filled with triumph and tragedy.
In recent years, it has been threatened by the same problems
affecting Pakistan itself: fallout from the 'war on terror',
sectarian violence, corruption, crises in health and education, and
a shortage of effective leaders. For twenty years, Pakistan cricket
has been stained by the scandalous behaviour of the players
involved in match-fixing. After 2009, the fear of violence drove
Pakistan's international cricket into exile. But Peter Oborne's
narrative is also full of hope. For all its troubles, cricket gives
all Pakistanis a chance to excel and express themselves, a sense of
identity and a cause for pride in their country. Packed with
first-hand recollections, and digging deep into political, social
and cultural history, Wounded Tiger is a major study of sport and
nationhood.
As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been
replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we
are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on
terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne
reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an
existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive
fantasy. Based on rigorous historical research and forensic
contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn
states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths,
fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this
pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run
deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then
been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in
governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to
overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are
conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in
his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality,
these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the
pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance. With murderous attacks on
Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne
dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the
way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will
benefit us all in the long run.
As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been
replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we
are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on
terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne
reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an
existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive
fantasy. Based on rigorous historical research and forensic
contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn
states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths,
fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this
pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run
deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then
been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions
in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying
to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are
conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in
his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality,
these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the
pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance. With murderous attacks on
Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today,
Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he
opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding
that will benefit us all in the long run. Â
The most unusual feature of Donald Trump's nationalist and populist
campaign for the presidency of the USA was his obsessive use of
Twitter. Like other social media, this form of communication has
often been assumed to encourage the dissemination of liberal values
and the circulation of facts. Trump's tweets, by contrast, formed a
constant stream of provocations, insults, conspiracy theories,
'alternative facts' and outright lies. And they helped him win
power. Peter Oborne, author of The Rise of Political Lying and Not
The Chilcot Report, analyses Trump's incendiary mendacity in all
its bewildering guises, and shows how this fusion of entertainment
and cunningly crafted propaganda has destabilized the world's most
powerful democracy.
There have been innumerable biographies of cricketers. Peter
Oborne's outstanding biography of Basil D'Oliveira is something
else. It brings together sport, politics and race. It is the story
of how a black South African defied incredible odds and came to
play cricket for England, of how a single man escaped from
apartheid and came to fulfil his prodigious sporting potential. It
is a story of the conquest of racial prejudice, both in South
Africa and in the heart of the English sporting establishment. The
story comes to its climax in the so-called D'Oliveira Affair of
1968, when John Vorster, the South African Prime Minister, banned
the touring MCC side because of the inclusion of a black man. This
episode marked the start of the twenty-year sporting isolation of
South Africa that ended only with the collapse of apartheid itself.
In 2013 it is possible that Israel, backed by the United States,
will launch an attack on Iran. This would be a catastrophic event,
risking war, bloodshed and global economic collapse. In this
passionate, but rationally argued essay, the authors attempt to
avert a potential global catastrophe by showing that the grounds
for war do not exist, that there are no Iranian nuclear weapons,
and that Iran would happily come to a table and strike a deal. They
argue that the military threats aimed by the West against Iran
contravene international law, and argue that Iran is a civilised
country and legitimate power across the Middle East. For years
Peter Oborne and David Morrison have, in their respective fields,
examined the actions of our political classes and found them
wanting. Now they have joined forces to make a powerful case
against military action. In the wake of the Iraq war, will the
politicians listen?
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