Faking It

by William Ian Miller

In this book polymath William Ian Miller probes one of the dirty little secrets of humanity: that we are all faking it much more than anyone would care to admit. He writes with wit and wisdom about the vain anxiety of being exposed as frauds in our professions, cads in our loves, and hypocrites to our creeds. He finds, however, that we are more than mere fools for wanting so badly to look good to ourselves and others. Sometimes, when we are faking it, our vanity leads to virtue, and we actually achieve something worthy of esteem and praise William Ian Miller is the Thomas G. Long Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. He has also taught at Harvard, Yale, Chicago, and the Universities of Bergen and Tel Aviv. His previous books include The Mystery of Courage (Harvard University Press, 2000) and The Anantomy of Disgust (Harvard University Press, 1997).

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology, Sociology, Science

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book high considering I only liked 2/3 of the material. The 2/3 are a must read however. Personally, I could have done without all of the religious connotations. It's great, the author puts to words what we're all thinking, ALL the time. He makes a compelling argument that 'faking it' does nobody any good. Perhaps because his ideas closley align with my existing social biasis; that I really enjoyed book. Either way, well written and a great concept.

[Renate Eveline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable and sometimes extremely entertaining, lots of examples from literature. Miller made me think how many instants I end up faking it myself.
The book has some downsides as well: overcomplete in its ambitions to cover all aspects of faking it.
Miller takes many quotes from La Rouchefoucault, but why does the author draw so heavily from this source?
I ended up faking reading some chapters.

[Paul Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat stream of consciousness in style. But full of interesting literary and philosophical references.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a collection of essays than a linear examination of insincerity and the motivations for acting in bad faith. I especially paid attention to the chapter on irony.
Miller concentrates on 'faking it' in acedemia and religion in particular. I beleive an entire other book (or more!) could be written on adopting identities (dietary-restriction-as-lifestyle, the idealized life of an artist--or any particular career, alleged altruism, etc.).

[Marianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what i was expecting. Preface described feeling that author is faking his role as professor and subject expert. But the rest of the book discussed jesus, hypocrascy, etc.

Nancy Frazier brought it to my attention.

[reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it through the first chapter. I guess the concept just wasn't compelling enough to keep me wading through it. I'm having better luck with Eye For an Eye.

[Shatara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was slow at first. But now as I'm continuing to read the book it gets more interesting as I go on also this book is one of the books that have you wanting to skip ahead to see what is gonna happen next.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miller continues an excellent and entertaining writer, but this book was a lot more scattered than The Anatomy of Disgust.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun subject matter, some parts were funny but sometimes it felt really tiring.