As the title implies, this is a history of the polygraph and the men and women responsible for its development and promotion. Its central thesis is that the polygraph reveals more about the beliefs of the nation that alternately embraced and rejected its use than it has ever revealed about deception. Alder is a professor of history, and his book is less concerned with the mechanics of the device or its significance within the study of physiology or psychology than with its social and cultural implications. It is obviously well researched, as documented in the author's notes and bibliography, and Alder does an excellent job of conveying the complexity of his subject, which lies at the intersection of physiology, psychology, forensics, criminology, law, and popular culture. But Alder chooses to devote most of the book to the history of the muddled careers of the polygraph's proponents. Though their lives reflect some of the ambiguities inherent in lie detection as a pseudo-science, I preferred Alder's analysis of the machine itself, particularly its recent history in the wake of the war on terror. A muddled study of a muddled history. ( )