An incredibly engaging and entertaining behind the scenes look into the war on “libel law”. Reading as a lawyer myself I can confirm that Enrich does an incredible job of explaining the legal intricacies of first amendment law in an informative way that makes sense for laypeople to understand better. The look behind the curtain of the inner workings of the Supreme Court and the right’s (and the left’s) war on free speech. A huge takeaway: speech is free for everyone until you start criticizing those in power, then, you better be willing to pay up. They’re willing to kill the truth for their own motives and ambition.

Thank you to Mariner Books and Netgalley for sharing this ARC. I must say this was a lot more interesting than I might have thought it would be. Fascinating retelling of the events that have led up to the current unsettled state of libel laws in the U.S. I recommend this for those who enjoy nonfiction and/or are interested in the media and legal system.

Murder the Truth is an amazing and detailed and well researched account of how we are slowly and methodically murdering truth was embracing and promoting "alternative facts". The examples cited are amazing and, again, well researched and documented. It is eye opening to learn that the press and social media influencers can say whatever they want with no real ramifications. Well, that was until now. Never have we lived in a time where lying is the absolute norm, especially given the fact that all can be fact checked. Ah, that doesn't matter. People will believe absolutely whatever is told to them. One missing topic in detail seems to be the history of "News" sources, which in the past had to be based on fact, and "entertainment" sources, which are admittedly bias. A great, great book that will sure to get everyone talking. I forgot how many lawsuits were filed about this topic, but all were discussed with great detail. I found the author has a very easy to read style, and the relatively different examples flow together incredibly well. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

this book was way too slow and dull for me, personally. I did not want to continue reading this book so finishing it was a chore for me. It was extremely hard to finish this book. It lacked a plot, lacked excitement, and felt so boring at all points of the book

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you, Mariner Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Murder The Truth: Threats, Intimidation, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful, by David Enrich.

This book will be released on March 11, 2025.

In 1964, the Supreme Court issued the most significant First Amendment ruling in history in New York Times v. Sullivan, which held that public figures must show “actual malice” in order to sue for libel. The right-wing has hated the ruling, especially Clarence Thomas and Donald Trump.

This book is about their efforts to attempt to overturn that decision. It thorough covers cases over the years in which efforts were made to bring a case up to the Supreme Court to get Sullivan overturned.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on September 27, 2024.

This was a really well written and researched nonfiction book, it had that concept that I was expecting and thought the overall feel worked. David Enrich has a strong writing style and was what I was expecting from this type of book.