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David Baldacci has already proven he is an outstanding writer. As with his last novel, STONE COLD, he continues in the direction of ever more timely, but disturbing, topics. THE WHOLE TRUTH is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who read 1984 when it was first published will probably feel the same type of chill when they read THE WHOLE TRUTH. As Baldacci remarks in his Author’s Note, "Many of the techniques outlined in the story are standard operating procedures.... I won’t say whether the scenarios described are based in fact or not. However, you could probably discover acute similarities in the real world." The main thrust of the novel is the application of "perception management." From the Internet I understand that the U.S. Department of Defense defines perception management as "actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning; and to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator’s objectives. In various ways, perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception, and psychological operations. In THE WHOLE TRUTH, the head of the world’s largest defense contractor hires a perception management company to create an event that would return the world to the 'security' of the Cold War. The idea is to stop having the world concerned with oil prices, Iraq, and threats from the Taliban to unify around a single threat. When a video in which an apparent victim of Russian repression named Konstantin goes viral, the stage is set for a replay of the Cold War. As an indication of how pervasive the Internet is, individuals watching the video e-mail others about the story and before too long Konstantin's story and the other deaths are the talk in coffee shops, schools, and offices all over the world. Shaw, a man working for a secret multi-national intelligence agency with a mission to maintain world peace, is tasked to find out everything the claims in the video. As he explains so poignantly, "...When people wanted to believe something badly enough facts and logic never proved to be difficult obstacles." Shaw’s work is such that he never knows if he will be alive when he completes an assignment. Katie James, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for journalism has just lost her job at a very prestigious newspaper due to continued drinking problems. While trying to decide what she should do now, she unwittingly stumbles upon the biggest story of her life. In fact, pursuit of this story just may cost her life. Shaw in his effort to make the world a safer place and Katie in her need to cover the biggest story in the world seem destined to cross paths. Both are driven by past grief to take chances that few would dare to for the safety of the world at large. Baldacci from necessity has to paint his story with a broad brush. Perhaps too broad. Even so, he certainly gives the reader a lot to think about.
Reviewed by Ginger K.W. Stratton, March 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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