The Heretics
Adventures with the Enemies of Science
Published on 14. February 2013
304 pages
978-1-4472-0452-7 (ISBN)
Description
Why do obviously intelligent people believe things in spite of the evidence against them?
Will Storr has travelled across the world to meet an extraordinary cast of modern heretics in order to answer this question. He goes on a tour of Holocaust sites with David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during 'past-life regression' hypnosis, takes part in a mass homeopathic overdose, and investigates a new disease affecting tens of thousands of people - a disease that doesn't actually exist.
Using a unique mix of personal memoir, investigative journalism and the latest research from neuroscience and experimental psychology, Storr reveals why the facts just won't convince some people, and how the neurological 'hero-maker' inside all of us can so easily lead to self-deception and science-denial. The Heretics will change the way you think about thinking.
Will Storr has travelled across the world to meet an extraordinary cast of modern heretics in order to answer this question. He goes on a tour of Holocaust sites with David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during 'past-life regression' hypnosis, takes part in a mass homeopathic overdose, and investigates a new disease affecting tens of thousands of people - a disease that doesn't actually exist.
Using a unique mix of personal memoir, investigative journalism and the latest research from neuroscience and experimental psychology, Storr reveals why the facts just won't convince some people, and how the neurological 'hero-maker' inside all of us can so easily lead to self-deception and science-denial. The Heretics will change the way you think about thinking.
Reviews / Votes
'I loved it . . . funny, serious, richly vivid . . . Read this book.' Daily Telegraph An investigation not only of outlandish belief systems, but of all belief systems . . . engaging' Sunday Times 'Storr can open chapters like a stage conjurer, and his prose has an easy, laconic style embracing Jon Ronson's taste for the fabulously weird and Louis Theroux's ability to put his subjects at ease. He is a funny and companionable guide . . . [who] confounds expectations.' Guardian 'Incontrovertibly brilliant' Esquire 'Brilliant' Grazia 'The Heretics throws new and salutary light on all our conceits and beliefs. Very valuable, and a great read to boot, this is investigative journalism of the highest order.' Independent, Book of the Week 'Utterly engrossing . . . The Heretics is an accessible and absolutely compelling read, Storr leaving us with a distinct lack of trust in the verity of our own beliefs. The most dangerous thing anyone can do is dismiss as stupid the beliefs of fringe extremists.' Daily Express 'I don't totally agree with The Heretics, which is why I enjoyed it so much, it pinpricked my mind from some of its lazy slumbering' Robin Ince 'Storr takes his personal experiences on a Louis-Theroux type ride . . . [and] opens up his life as another source of irrationality, leading the reader to question their own core beliefs.' Stylist '[Storr] seeks not to mock strange convictions, but to get inside the minds of those who hold them. The result is an entertaining journey dotted with some fascinating reportage . . . Storr remains sufficiently dubious of improbable claims, but sufficiently open to the genuine distress of those who make them, to explore alternative explanations for their plight' Observer 'Read this and never trust your own mind again.' Q Magazine 'The Heretics is essentially a book about belief written by a sceptic questioning his own scepticism . . . At first glance Storr covers much the same territory as those other explorers of the outer realms of belief, Jon Ronson and Louis Theroux, but his tone is both less sneery and more genuinely exploratory than either . . . This is a humane and generous book and in the face of those ultra-rationalists and materialists who wish to rob us of the wonder of human existence, its insightful exploration of lives lived "beyond the facts" is to be celebrated.' Sunday Telegraph 'Will Storr is a versatile, imaginative, committed long-form journalist with a populist touch. He is often brave with regard to his article choices . . . a talented, ambitious writer.'Independent Impressive . . . brilliant . . . Storr makes you think about the people on both sides of the debate . . . Very astute. * Evening Standard * Impressive * The Scotsman * Storr combines hard investigative journalism with a degree of compassion and self-deprecation that is rarely found in this genre. He's also very funny. -- Ed Yong, bestselling author of <i>I Contain Multitudes</i> A very funny, scientific look, with personal stories, about why people have different opinions and whether you can ever change somebody's mind. -- Sara Pascoe * Daily Express *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
File size
3,83 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4472-0452-7 (9781447204527)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
01/2014
Picador
€14.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Will Storr is a longform journalist and novelist. His features have appeared in various publications, including Guardian Weekend, The Times Magazine, Observer Magazine, GQ, Marie Claire and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a contributing editor at Esquire magazine. He has been named New Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year, and has won a National Press Club award for excellence. In 2010, his investigation into the kangaroo meat industry won the Australian Food Media award for Best Investigative Journalism and, in 2012, he was presented with the One World Press award and the Amnesty International award for his work on sexual violence against men. He is also the author of Selfie, an investigation into social media, and the history of individualism.
