This book for young readers, the future stewards of our world, is both a history and a how-to manual for seeing through propaganda, lies, and conspiracy theories. The modern age has provided ever-more-effective ways of spreading lies, but it has also given us the scientific method, which is the most effective tool there is for discerning what is true. In the book’s final chapter, Kurlansky shows how to deconstruct a lie or conspiracy theory. Is there credible, testable evidence to support it? If not, suspect a lie. A scientific theory has to be testable, and so does an allegation. Who is the source? Who benefits? Is there a money trail?

Mark Kurlansky’s (New York, NY) thirty-four books for adults and young readers include four New York Times bestsellers (Cod; Salt; 1968; and The Food of a Younger Land) and have been translated into thirty languages. The New York Times called World Without Fish “a compelling narrative for young people.”

Eric Zelz (Bangor, ME) is a designer, illustrator, and educator whose illustrations for Pass the Pandowdy, Please, Read This Book If You Don’t Want a Story, and My Monster Moofy have received awards and starred reviews.

“A nation awash in misinformation, cloudy thinking, and suspect news desperately needs to read Big Lies. And Kurlansky and Zelz have made sure that people will want to.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“In this noteworthy guide to media literacy, Kurlansky breaks down the ‘big lies’ that permeate global history and explores how they affect the current US media landscape. Big Lies encourages readers to think critically, citing that a ‘lack of caring what is true or false is the undoing of democracy.’” —Publishers Weekly

“Impassioned, thorough, and brilliant; describes the struggle for truth that ‘keeps the world from descending into chaos.’” —Kirkus Reviews

“A sweeping and essential book.” — Books to Borrow . . . Books to Buy

“A tremendous asset to a classroom or library.” — Jewish Book Council

“Offers a particularly broad view of how and why hucksters lie, how technological changes have magnified the lies’ effectiveness, and how critical thinking skills enable people to recognize the big lies that can threaten a free society.” —Booklist