'Wide-ranging, witty and fresh... a stimulating read. Authentic fun'
Tim Harford, Financial Times Best Summer Books 2022

'Brilliantly witty, profoundly illuminating, Alice Sherwood is a master storyteller' Simon Schama

'Thought-provoking and beautifully written' Adrian Wooldridge, Washington Post

'A sweeping and persuasive manifesto... witty and wide-ranging... a pleasure'
Literary Review

'Terrific... the sheer breadth of her subject matter is extraordinary'
Matthew d'Ancona, Tortoisemedia.com

'Alice Sherwood is the real deal' Marcus du Sautoy

'Fascinating and hugely entertaining' Brian Eno

'Unfailingly compelling and often shocking' Philip Mould, presenter of Fake or Fortune?

'Riveting... captivating... a thoroughly enjoyable debut' Financial Times

We live in an age when the pursuit of authenticity - from living our 'best life' to eating artisan food - matters more and more to us, but where the forces of inauthenticity seem to be taking over. Our world is full of people and products that are not what they seem. We no longer know whether we are talking to a person or a machine. But we can fight back - and this award-winning book shows us how.

Authenticity argues that, although our counterfeit culture is shaped by the most powerful forces of evolution, economics, and technology, we can still come together to reclaim reality.

Along the way, we meet the world's greatest impostor, who finally became what he'd pretended to be; the wartime counterfeiter who fooled a nation; nature's most outrageous deceivers; the artist who encouraged people to forge his pictures; the 'authentic' brand that was anything but. But we also meet people living unexpectedly rewarding lives in virtual worlds, and foot soldiers in the 'armies of truth' who are taking down today's conspiracies and cons.

Provocative, insightful and original, Authenticity is that once-in-a-generation revelation: a work rich in histories but supremely and urgently of our own time. You'll never think about deception and reality in the same way again.

• We started tracking this book on May 11, 2022.
• This book was £9.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 10 times in the past 1,019 days.
• The current price of this book is £3.99 last checked 8 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was £3.99 last reached on February 21, 2025.
• This book has been £3.99 4 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £9.99 last reached on May 11, 2022.
• This book has been £9.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Politics & Social SciencesPhilosophyAesthetics
• Politics & Social SciencesSocial SciencesMedia Studies
• Politics & Social SciencesPhilosophyPolitical

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 398 Pages
• File Size: 313 KB