The Flight from Truth: The Reign of Deceit in the Age of Information

French political thinker Revel's often penetrating analysis of widespread disinformation and misinformation in free societies is marred by his pervasive ultraconservative bias. He brilliantly critiques the left for downplaying communist totalitarian abuses, but then caricatures American liberals as those who support ``authoritarian redistribution of wealth,'' while radicals are ``advocates of violence.'' He does a good job of exposing black African authoritarian regimes' mass murders and repression, but then does a comparative body count with South Africa's apartheid and concludes, ``The only way of fighting effectively for human rights in South Africa is to fight for these rights in all of Africa.'' His arguments are built around such twisted logic and misstatements. Perhaps himself a victim of disinformation, Revel ( How Democracies Pewish ) champions Reagan for eliminating ``most unemployment,'' bashes Latin American liberation theology and pooh-poohs the idea that Nazism remains an ever-present danger in Europe. (Jan.)