Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive

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How does society function when you can't trust everyone?

When we think about trust, we naturally think about personal relationships or bank vaults. That's too narrow. Trust is much broader, and much more important. Nothing in society works without trust. It's the foundation of communities, commerce, democracy—everything.

In this insightful and entertaining book, Schneier weaves together ideas from across the social and biological sciences to explain how society induces trust. He shows how trust works and fails in social settings, communities, organizations, countries, and the world.

In today's hyper-connected society, understanding the mechanisms of trust is as important as understanding electricity was a century ago. Issues of trust and security are critical to solving problems as diverse as corporate responsibility, global warming, and our moribund political system. After reading Liars and Outliers, you'll think about social problems, large and small, differently.

"Schneier makes an original and powerful argument for rethinking society. . . . His message is full of insight into how we function, or don't function, and along the way we are constantly hearing from the giants—such as Emerson, Thoreau, Socrates, even Emily Dickinson."

—Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker

"Deeply philosophical yet highly accessible, Liars and Outliers is more than thought-provoking—it's the kind of book that fundamentally changes the way you think."

—Daniel J. Solove, John Marshall Harlan Research Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School

"Brilliantly dissects, classifies, and orders the social dimension of security—a spectacularly palatable tonic against today's incoherent and dangerous flailing in the face of threats from terrorism to financial fraud."

—Cory Doctorow, Author of Little Brother and Makers; co-editor of BoingBoing.net

"Engaging, insightful, and thought-provoking, Liars and Outliers will alter how you think about trust and security."

—Dorothy Denning, Distinguished Professor of Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School, and author of Information Warfare and Security