Truth Machine

Rating:
Summary: Poorly written, a big disappointment
Review: The Truth Machine was disappointing in several areas. It was poorly written, the characters were shallow and the plot developments were entirely unbelievable. There was very little about how the machine was built or how it worked. The emphasis was on the politics of the people who owned the company that built the machine. Halperin tried to include too many plot lines and ended up not doing any of them justice. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I only paid [$] for it, but it wasn't even worth that.

Rating:
Summary: deja vu
Review: I thought this book was a very good read but I was astonished to find that it was so incredibly close in theme and content to a book I read a few years ago. "The Lidek Revolution," by James Stark was written five years prior to "The Truth Machine." It was a bit repetative considering Stark's book was so good.

Rating:
Summary: The Demagoguery Machine
Review: The Truth Machine is nothing more than pedantic PC dogma couched as speculative fiction. How anyone could forsee a truth machine as being liberating and self-actualizing is beyond me. It's ironic that Mr. Halperin mentions Orwell's, 1984 but doesn't recognize that his conceit is nothing more than a technological Big Bother.

In addition to the paternalistic liberal propaganda, the story itself suffers from poor characterization and a hackneyed plot. As others have mentioned, treatment of ethical issues are dealt with shallowly and the protagonists are insipid. The contrived resolution of Armstrong's fate is laughable and the sole character in the book with any personality is the A.I. (a machine) that does most of the narration!

The only thing that I can identify with in this book is Mr. Halperin's attempt to get free marketing information from his "survey"; Scoggins would have loved him for that.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, then read The First Immortal
Review: Beautiful novels, both of them, and thanks to the author for having what I believe is a extrodinary amount of foresight. I read both novels 2-3 yrs ago. My interest was recently piqued again due to the media's almost feverish interest in brain fingerprinting. Of course, the first thing that entered my mind was Halperin's books. Hopefully, the movie may be "nearer than I think", as I cannot find a release date anywhere. This is just the kind of movie that the public needs to awaken them to the next phase of our society as we move toward a world hopefully filled with openness, honesty, and a true understanding of what makes us human.

Rating:
Summary: What if no one could get away with lying?
Review: The intriguing and disturbingly plausible thesis of this book is that humanity is likely to self-destruct in the not-too-distant future if someone doesn't invent a "truth machine," that is, a 100% reliable lie detector. I was hoping and expecting that the book would focus on imagining in detail the ramifications of this invention on specific individuals and social institutions. But instead, that was more the background to the story, which focuses on the life of the inventor of the truth machine--from a childhood trauma, through his undergraduate years at Harvard and his vision of the truth machine, through the development and worldwide use of the truth machine.

Rating:
Summary: Too Left Wing for My Taste
Review: I did not like the book. Here's why:
Personally, I found the idea that humanity is inexorably flying over the brink of the abyss due to its own inherent evil offensive. The idea that our only hope is a machine, brought to us by Big Brother, is even more offensive. The writing itself was excellent, but I found the characters and the basis for the story sophomoric. If you're a far-left liberal, this book could be your wet dream. But if you're a regular person and/or have actually gone beyond your college years and philosophies, you may not like it. But, like the man said, that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating -- recommended.
Review: I bought a copy of The Truth Machine on the recommendation of a friend. I am a police officer and she was interested in my opinion of the effects of such a machine on the criminal justice system. I think it would be great as it would inable us to seek truth and justice rather than the best deal. It is a fascinating book and I found the narration by the computer both witty and insightful. The summaries at the beginning of each chapter are eerily realistic and plausible, especially in light of the recent events of September 11th. I could go on and on discussing different issues related to this novel, but I think the most compelling statement comes in the epilogue. We have a philosophy at work that a person's perception is their reality and we have to address those perceptions in the delivery of public safety services. However, Tom Moseley writes, "We humans do adapt to reality extremely well, once we recognize it. That may be the Truth Machine's greatest value of all: clarifying reality." Rest assured I will recommend this book to all I know and make sure our local library staff knows of this book. Thanks for a great read and alot to think about.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: I bought 'The Truth Machine' about 3 years ago. I consider it one of the best books I have ever read, and I have re-read it several times since then. It seems obvious to me that the advantages of a truth machine would vastly outweigh the disadvantages. Getting rid of corruption would be a major application. I totally support the concept of a truth machine, and hope I live to see one developed and in everyday use.

Rating:
Summary: "Two strikes and you're executed." Very nice.
Review: Possibly interesting premise but poorly executed. Halperin fancies himself a futurist and this book is his vision of the future (there's a lot more than just a Truth Machine in it.) The only thing I liked about this book was the "Swift and Sure" crime bill. Swift and Sure could also be called "Two strikes and you're executed." Very nice. In the book they rationalize that the codex we currently live by: "better that 10 criminals should go free, rather than one innocent man be punished" does not account for all the innocent people punished (killed, maimed, whatever) by the 10 criminals who went free. Crime drops precipitously.

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking: recommended reading
Review: Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I found the first two thirds of the book riveting and I couldn't put it down, however, during the final third I began to lose interest and found the story rather predictable. But it was clear that a lot of thought and research had gone into creating this novel. And although I did not agree with all the consequences that a "Truth Machine" would have on the human race, it was certainly a thought provoking subject and an interesting analysis of human nature and what the future may hold. I found myself liking the wounded hero Petey and despising the evil Reece, but yet I also felt for Reece. And I think the author demonstrated well the "vicious circle" of human nature, and the complexity of some evil. I was also impressed that this was the author's first novel. I am also looking forward to seeing the film. I recommend reading this book.