Just Trust Me: Finding the Truth in a World of Spin

SUVs are the safest vehicle because theyre so large-right? Wrong! Thats the advertising pitch, but in 2000, they had the highest rollover rate (36%) of any vehicle type involved in fatal accidents. Yet two years later their safety myth was still so strong that one of four vehicles sold in the U. S. was an SUV.

The world of spin we live in is full of such potentially hazardous illusions. We need to know if particular foods can hurt us with Salmonella or cholesterol, whether our government is truthful in its reasons for waging war, what problems a political candidate may cause or resolve if elected, and whether the items we purchase are durable or junk. But gaining those insights can be challenging when so many of the illusions surrounding us are deliberately created.

As a civil-litigation attorney for over twenty-five years, Randy Kasten has heard thousands of lies. He has witnessed that those who dispense the information we need to make decisions-advertisers, salespeople, politicians, and the media-often have a vested interest in manipulating us. Truths biggest enemies are the people whose job it is to sell us incomplete versions of the facts and our willingness to believe what we want to believe. Often, we believe what we believe because it is the only story available.

To help us see through deceptions of all types, Kasten discusses eight kinds of lies and what we can do about them, as well as methods for discerning the truth gleaned from his practice of law. Other topics include advertising magic, thirty-six places where the truth hides, lessons from science, the media and misinformation, and how we fool ourselves. Altogether, he provides a unique tool for enabling us to make decisions that will lead to more prosperity, better health, greater intimacy, and a life based on lasting values.

Today's media seems to be found on lies and deception more than anything else. "Just Trust Me: Finding the Truth in a World of Spin" is a discussion of today's world of illusions and spin from all sides and from all sources, G. Randy Kasten offers advice to cutting to the heart of the matter and how to get a leg up on understanding today's confusing world. "Just Trust Me" is filled with sage advice and very much recommended reading.

--Midwest Book Review

Just Trust Me: Finding Truth in a World of Spin by Randy Kasten '78 (Quest Books, 2011). Randy examines why deceptions occur -- not only in advertising media, but also in social and business interactions--and suggests ways to detect them. He also provides strategies for surmounting the barriers to truth: our willingness to believe what we want to believe; the absence of accurate information; and the rise of the professional spinmaster.

--Reed Magazine

"Read this book!"

--Julia Scheeres, author of Jesus Land and A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Faith, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown

“Surrender illusion, you who enter. Kastens book could have emanated a half-beat after John Lennons iconic battle cry: ‘All I want is the truth! Kasten, an attorney, writes here as a taxonomist wishing to help his reader. While categorizing varieties of truth and deceit, Kasten enlivens the journey with a trove of anecdotes, experiments, precepts, and challenges.”

--Edie Meidav, author of Lola, California and Crawl Space

“Just Trust Me is a needed resource for finding truth in a world in which we are too accustomed to accepting corporate marketing propaganda as fact. Kasten reveals how the lack of accurate and forthright information is destructive to our health, social institutions, and communities. As a prevention advocate, I appreciate the thorough analysis and strategies presented for navigating and reducing misinformation and distortion in the media. Just Trust Me is a valuable tool for advancing community wellbeing and equity.”

--Larry Cohen, Prevention Institute

“You can fool all of the people some of the time,” said Lincoln, “and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.” Randy Kasten, in his new book, Just Trust Me: Finding the Truth in a World of Spin, sets out to create another group: those who refuse to be fooled any of the time. Written with clarity, logic and insight, this is an instruction book on how to sort through the information that bombards us from all directions, and separate truth from lies. People who find themselves adrift in this world—and that includes all of us at one time or another—now have this book to help them navigate around what is phony and misleading, and sail on toward what is true."

--Walter Rimler, author of George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait

"Anyone listening to the arguments surrounding healthcare reform should keep a copy of this book in their back pocket. The types of spin Kasten describes are all there, from obfuscation with statistics to mis-direction and errors of omission. If you're sick of lies, Just Trust Me will be uniquely therapeutic."

--Doug Perednia, M.D., author of Overhauling America's Healthcare Machine

“In Just Trust Me, attorney G. Randy Kasten offers a pragmatic and engaging guide to finding the truth in the complex realities of our daily lives. In a voice that is assured, witty and trustworthy, he provides invaluable tools for sorting out truth from spin, reality from illusion. Highly recommended.”

--Blair Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Psychologist and author of Accordion Dreams