Faking It

'William Ian Miller … scratches the itch of authenticity and relieves the ache of morality with delicious determination in Faking It.' The Boston Globe

'… an erudite, accessible, and relentlessly lively book.' San Diego Tribune

'… learned and deliciously discursive book … Miller's academic specialty is, wonderfully, blood-feuds. So when it comes to apology, penance and forgiveness, he speaks with bitter, albeit theoretical, experience.' The Independent

'The book sheds a great deal of light on patterns of social behaviour in a way that will give all his readers pause for thought as they examine the recesses of their own identity and motivation.' Scientific and Medical Network Review

'… a fascinating and highly entertaining account of the small and not so small deceptions, hypocrisies and downright fakes through which we live our lives … Miller's jargon-free style, with its heavy reliance upon his own experiences of all these situations and more, is charming and immediately persuasive … it is as a literary critic that Miller is most impressive … he draws upon an ambitious range of names from across literature … Miller's pithy contribution to the ongoing debate surrounding T. S. Eliot and anti-Semitism, in a chapter on the historically recurring fear that a Jew might 'pass' as Christian, is particularly insightful. There is plenty that is amusing and playful about the arguments presented in this book … he has an eye for the seriousness of attempts to fake it too … These short examples can do little justice to the massive scope that Miller sets out for this book … Miller's demonstration of our dependence upon acts of fraud is invaluable in this field.' Manuscript