This book analyzes the science behind pathological lying, and offers important lessons for research and clinical practice. Curtis and Hart expertly synthesize and unify historical and contemporary writings and research on pathological lying, into a functional and cohesive resource for researchers and clinicians. By offering a succinct, theory‑driven, and empirically corroborated account of this disorder, the authors aim to provide clinicians with the tools they need to more accurately identify and effectively treat patients. For a hundred years, research on pathological lying has been fragmented and diffuse; as a result, the disorder has been called by different names and characterized in innumerable ways, with no formal definition or diagnosis. Recently, there has been a re‑emergence of research examining pathological lying, which has helped establish research markers, categorical distinctions, assessment profiles, and clinical parameters.

Some days there just isn't that much news, but the media still has to deliver. Curtis has noticed several distinct patterns that the media uses to turn the non-news into the news readers see each day. Exposing just how little reporting is actually going on, his book asks why we are overexposed to so much rubbish from news outlets.