Triumph of Doubt by David Michaels
$37.77
Well-heeled American corporations have long had a financial stake in undermining scientific consensus and manufacturing uncertainty. In The Triumph of Doubt, former Obama and Clinton official David Michaels details how corrupt science becomes public policy — and where it’s happening today.
Available as Kindle- $16.51 Hardcover -$23.99
Opioids. Concussions. Obesity. Climate Change.
America is a country of everyday crises — big, long-spanning problems that persist despite their toll on the country’s health. And for every case of government inaction on one of these issues, there is a set of familiar, doubtful refrains: The science is unclear. The data are inconclusive. Regulation is unjustified. It’s a slippery slope.
Is it?
The Triumph of Doubt traces the ascendance of science-for-hire in American life and government, from its origins in the tobacco industry in the 1950s to its current manifestations across government, public policy, and even professional sports. Amid fraught conversations of “alternative facts” and “truth decay,” The Triumph of Doubt wields its unprecedented access to shine a light on the machinations and scope of manipulated science in American society. It is an urgent, revelatory work, one that promises to reorient conversations around science and the public good for the foreseeable future.
SHERIL KIRSHENBAUM –
“David Michaels’s new book, The Triumph of Doubt, is a tour de force that examines how frequently, and easily, science has been manipulated to discredit expertise and accountability on issues ranging from obesity and concussions to opioids and climate change.”
—SHERIL KIRSHENBAUM, review in Science
FELICITY LAWRENCE –
“The Triumph of Doubt is a brave and important book, raising the alarm about the systemic corruption of science.”
—FELICITY LAWRENCE, review in Nature
DAN FAGIN –
“David Michaels is that rare combination: the fearless expert. He not only knows where the bodies are buried, he knows who buried them. The Triumph of Doubt and its predecessor, Doubt Is Their Product, are timely, readable, and essential guides for anyone seeking to understand how the corruption of science is damaging the health of everyone from football players and factory workers to soda drinkers and truck drivers—in short, anyone with a pulse.”
—DAN FAGIN, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River
NAOMI ORESKES –
“Few people have done more to document disinformation about science than David Michaels. His new book is an important addition to the growing literature on doubt, disinformation, and deception.”
—NAOMI ORESKES, author of Merchants of Doubt
MONA HANNA-ATTISHA –
”A page-turner—one you’ll wish was fiction. From hired guns to dark money, The Triumph of Doubt unravels corporations’ playbook for deceiving the public through misinformation.”
—MONA HANNA-ATTISHA, author of What the Eyes Don’t See
SHEILA JASANOFF –
“Scientist, public servant, and passionate advocate for health and safety, Michaels has written an absorbing sequel to his path-breaking work on manufactured doubt. He documents how powerful corporations have turned ‘product defense’ into a new political strategy, using dark money to pummel good science and keep dangerous products on the market. A must-read in the fight to restore public trust in regulatory science.”
—SHEILA JASANOFF, Harvard Kennedy School
LAWRENCE LESSIG –
“No one has done more to expose the deep corruption in American safety regulation that harms us all—and especially our kids. After spending seven years as America’s chief safety regulator, David Michaels offers a beautifully crafted argument for how much more we need to do. Required—if frightening—reading for anyone who cares about a clean and safe environment for America and the world.”
—LAWRENCE LESSIG, author of Fidelity and Constraint
ADAM SAVAGE –
“As a society, it’s vital we properly debate issues using data and research. The Triumph of Doubt, David Michaels’s wonderfully deep dive into the well-funded war on scientific consensus and certainty, makes the stakes clear: our planet. Read this.”
—ADAM SAVAGE, Mythbusters
SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE –
“From the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the opioid crisis to the Koch brothers’ climate denial apparatus, Michaels examines big industry’s jarring history of manufacturing false scientific doubt in the name of profit. This is an important book that will serve as a tool in exposing corporate deceit.”
—SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
DEMAURICE SMITH –
“A compelling and necessary work for anyone interested in the truth and those who seek to bury it. Michaels details the methods used by those in power to hide the truth-and the moral bankruptcy at work when they do so.”
—DEMAURICE SMITH, NFL Players Association Executive Director