The Lies That Bind
Rethinking Identity
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The Lies That Bind
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Narrated by:
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Kwame Anthony Appiah
About this listen
We all know how identities - notably, those of nationality, class, culture, race, and religion - are at the root of global conflict, but the more elusive truth is that these identities are created by conflict in the first place.
In provocative, entertaining chapters, Kwame Anthony Appiah interweaves keen-edged argument with engrossing historical tales - from Anton Wilhelm Amo, the 18th-century African child who became an eminent European academic, to Italo Svevo, the literary genius who changed countries without leaving home - and reveals the tangled contradictions within the stories that define us. The concept of the sovereign nation, Appiah tells us, is incoherent. Our everyday notions of race are the detritus of discarded science; the very idea of Western culture is a shimmering mirage. These beliefs, and more, are crafted from confusions - confusions Appiah sorts through to imagine a more hopeful future.
©2018 Kwame Anthony Appiah (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"The author narrates his own work and does a terrific job. His reassuring, playful voice, tinged with a British accent, is immediately friendly and knowledgeable....overall, Appiah can count himself a double-threat." (AudioFile)
What listeners say about The Lies That Bind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
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- 29-07-20
OK
Well written and probably useful as a primer for undergraduate courses. The writer has a talent for weaving examples, references and personal anecdotes into the text so that these feel relevant rather than becoming detours from the subject at hand.
At the same time the book fails to live up to the title’s promise of “rethinking”. The author stays close to his sources, and it is hard to see that he introduces any novel ideas of his own. At most he might add a commentary as to whether he agrees or disagrees with various ideas around identity, ideas that have already been put into existence by others.
It should also be noted that this book mostly deals with the English speaking world. It would be interesting to learn about identity from, say, China or India, but that seems to be outside of the scope of this book.
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