Sensible, evenly-tempered, concise book. Bit odd in its scope, perhaps, in that it seems to have been written as a reaction to the Iraq War, and looks only at lying in international politics, and almost exclusiely in (or by) the US. Which constrains it somewhat. I wonder if it had its genesis in academia.

Concludes, worryingly and I think correctly, that democratic leaders are mostly likely to lie, that fearmongering and strategic cover-ups are hugely damaging to the body politic, and that given America's unique military strength, the years to come will see it fighting wars of choice far from home, something that virtually guarantees more lying - and more debacles like Iraq - in future. ( )

A well known pun says that all so called scientific fields that carry "science" in their name aren't science at all. This is certainly true for Mearsheimer's political science and international relations where most writings are but sophisticated repackaging of one's prejudices and opinions. One has just to read some old issues of Foreign Affairs to discern the flaw in their theological approach. In all too few pages, Mearsheimer tackles an important and timely topic, but is crushed by the recent Wikileaks revelations and his own flawed approach.

It is quite unclear why he assumed to be able to answer his topical question in so few pages (as Frankfurter has done in his seminal Bullshit). All he offers are a set of categories of lies with some US and international examples for each type. All of his three major topics (lying to their own population, lying to other governments, and lying to the international audience) are important and large topics in themselves which merit full-length book treatment. He also fails to develop a multi-actor perspective: From the president's plausible deniability approach to the professional liars called press secretaries and diplomats, there are vastly different expectations and practices regarding lying. Curiously, Mearsheimer does not discuss the house of cards of lies that made up the Soviet Union and its satellite states either.

Mearsheimer's question actually cannot be answered (unless we suddenly develop mindreading capabilities). They lie because they can. Lying is a form of communication. Its success lies totally in the sphere of the liar's audience. Unfortunately, Mearsheimer fails to address this crucial topic. The interesting question is why so few politicians from Silvio Berlusconi to David Vitter to Bibi Netanyahu to George W. Bush pay a political price for their blatant lies. Has any of the recent Wikileaks revelations caused the end of a political career or shaming of a major politician? Politicians lie because they can and because some of their audience even rewards their lying. Why they can't handle the truth remains to be answered. ( )