Before turning to novel-writing, William Kronick enjoyed a long career as both a documentary and theatrical filmmaker. As writer-director, his highly acclaimed Network Specials ranged from the National Geographic's Alaska! to six Plimpton! entertainments to Mysteries of the Great Pyramid. In the feature arena, he directed the comedy, The 500 Pound Jerk, and the Second Unit on such major productions as King Kong (1976), Flash Gordon and others. His first novel, The Cry of Sirens (2004) was followed by Cooley Wyatt, then N. Y. / L. A. All three explore, in the framework of morality tales, the dynamics of authentic artistic talent, celebrity and commerce in our modern culture. Each one centers on a violent act involving a physical or moral crime committed by the protagonist; both he and the reader must decide what represents appropriate justice. His fourth novel, All Stars Die, tells of two lovers for whom morality is not the issue, but their dark secrets are. The Art of Self-Deception returns to the themes of Mr. Kronick's first three novels.

Explains why self-deception is at the heart of many leadership problems, identifying destructive patterns that undermine the successes of potentially excellent professionals while revealing how to improve teamwork, communication, and motivation. Reprint.

Unknowingly, too many of us operate from an inward mindset—a narrow-minded focus on self-centered goals and objectives. When faced with personal ineffectiveness or lagging organizational performance, most of us instinctively look for quick-fix behavioral band-aids, not recognizing the underlying mindset at the heart of our most persistent challenges. Through true stories and simple yet profound guidance and tools, The Outward Mindset enables individuals and organizations to make the one change that most dramatically improves performance, sparks collaboration, and accelerates innovation—a shift to an outward mindset.

"Educated in philosophy at Yale, Dr. C. Terry Warner has devoted a lifetime to the study of self-deception. In a steady stream of lectures, papers, and seminars over nearly three decades, Dr. Warner has presented the results of his academic inquiry into the foundations of human behavior to both scholarly and non-scholarly audiences. The papers that make up this collection, among others, were all prepared as part of Warner's work at Oxford--either presented in lectures there, prepared for presentation or publication there, or prepared in response to colleagues there--and have been assembled for the use of the serious student of Arbinger's rich and robust philosophical underpinnings"--

Self-deception raises complex questions about the nature of belief and the structure of the human mind. In this book, Alfred Mele addresses four of the most critical of these questions: What is it to deceive oneself? How do we deceive ourselves? Why do we deceive ourselves? Is self-deception really possible? Drawing on cutting-edge empirical research on everyday reasoning and biases, Mele takes issue with commonplace attempts to equate the processes of self-deception with those of stereotypical interpersonal deception. Such attempts, he demonstrates, are fundamentally misguided, particularly in the assumption that self-deception is intentional. In their place, Mele proposes a compelling, empirically informed account of the motivational causes of biased beliefs. At the heart of this theory is an appreciation of how emotion and motivation may, without our knowing it, bias our assessment of evidence for beliefs. Highlighting motivation and emotion, Mele develops a pair of approaches for explaining the two forms of self-deception: the "straight" form, in which we believe what we want to be true, and the "twisted" form, in which we believe what we wish to be false. Underlying Mele's work is an abiding interest in understanding and explaining the behavior of real human beings. The result is a comprehensive, elegant, empirically grounded theory of everyday self-deception that should engage philosophers and social scientists alike.

A prominent Insight Meditation teacher presents the Buddhist concept of “no-self” in an easy-to-understand way that will radically change your perspective on life Anatta is the Buddhist teaching on the nonexistence of a permanent, independent self. It’s a notoriously puzzling and elusive concept, usually leading to such questions as, “If I don’t have a self, who’s reading this sentence?” It’s not that there’s no self there, says Rodney Smith. It’s just that the self that is reading this sentence is a configuration of elements that at one time did not exist and which at some point in the future will disperse. Even in its present existence, it’s more a temporary arrangement of components rather than something solid. Anatta is a truth the Buddha considered to be absolutely essential to his teaching. Smith shows that understanding this truth can change the way you relate to the world, and that the perspective of selflessness is critically important for anyone involved in spiritual practice. Seeing it can be the key to getting past the idea that spirituality has something to do with self-improvement, and to accessing the joy of deep insight into reality.

From the autumn of 2007 to the next fall, much will happen politically and economically in the life of the United States and the world - bank failures, home foreclosures, the victorious campaign of Barack Obama, the Iraq war ending...Much will also happen in the personal and professional life of Ben Hawthorne, who is about to devote a year to making a fi lm that will profoundly aff ect the rest of his days. At sixty-seven how much time remains for him to work at his calling - directing features - isn’t a primary concern, for he’s been blessed with quality projects during a long career, mentored early on by the aging John Huston: major prestige, awards, modest wealth and his exceptional wife, Martha, came his way during the past fi fteen years. His excellent health and physical attractiveness are the envy of many of his peers. Matthew Fleming is one of a few superstars a studio could consider backing in these parlous times, but when it’s a modestbudgeted suspense fi lm Matt proposes in his Producer role - a remake of an early Forties hit but mainly forgotten Alfred Hitchcock fi lm, Shadow of a Doubt, which the studio owns, it’s a done deal. Th e actor off ers Ben a partnership on this project, to be rewritten ASAP and rushed into production so Matt can return to his New York Rep Th eatre Company. Jessica Marlowe, Ben’s discovery for his controversial erotic drama, Th e Cry of Sirens, nearly a decade prior, now called ‘the young Meryl Streep’, will share credit with Désiree Peters in the key ingenue role. Désiree, a precociously talented actress of twenty-one has only performed on the stage, yet adapts readily. Also a generation or more younger than anyone on the picture, her mores bewilder her elders. During the fi lming in Petaluma, north of San Francisco, and in an L. A. studio, Ben must keep alert to everything on the set. Yet he misses major moments, psychological and sexual, in the off -camera reality of relationships, including his own. When, at the end of shooting, one of his leading ladies commits suicide he realizes he may have been the cause of the tragedy. His guilty conscience forces him to write down, for his young wife to evaluate after he’s dead, his sins of omission and commission during production. Knowing the facts would she still respect, much less love him?

A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021 A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021 From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being. The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don’t, why some nations hold together while others splinter. Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.

The world's most infamous hacker offers an insider's view of the low-tech threats to high-tech security Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitive form one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts in history and have spawned dozens of articles, books, films, and documentaries. Since his release from federal prison, in 1998, Mitnick has turned his life around and established himself as one of the most sought-after computer security experts worldwide. Now, in The Art of Deception, the world's most notorious hacker gives new meaning to the old adage, "It takes a thief to catch a thief." Focusing on the human factors involved with information security, Mitnick explains why all the firewalls and encryption protocols in the world will never be enough to stop a savvy grifter intent on rifling a corporate database or an irate employee determined to crash a system. With the help of many fascinating true stories of successful attacks on business and government, he illustrates just how susceptible even the most locked-down information systems are to a slick con artist impersonating an IRS agent. Narrating from the points of view of both the attacker and the victims, he explains why each attack was so successful and how it could have been prevented in an engaging and highly readable style reminiscent of a true-crime novel. And, perhaps most importantly, Mitnick offers advice for preventing these types of social engineering hacks through security protocols, training programs, and manuals that address the human element of security.