Wilful Blindness Why We Ignore the Obvious

'Willful Blindness is an engaging read, packed with cautionary tales ripped from today's headlines as well as a trove of research on why we often stick our head in the sand. With deft prose and page after page of keen insights, Heffernan shows why we close our eyes to facts that threaten our families, our livelihood, and our self-image -- and, even better, she points the way out of the darkness' Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE and A WHOLE NEW MIND 'A thoughtful and entertaining treatise on the seductiveness--and consequences--of ignoring what's right in front of our eyes, from former CEO and author Heffernan (The Naked Truth). We frequently ignore painful or frightening truths, subconsciously believing that denial can protect us, she argues, but our delusions make us ever more vulnerable, and whatever suffering we choose to ignore continues unabated. The author draws examples from the private--Bernie Madoff's family's blindness to his Ponzi scheme; a woman who married an alcoholic; another unable to see that her husband is sexually abusing her daughter--to the public: Alan Greenspan ignoring the housing bubble, a soldier working for Hitler. She gives us an insightful look into the psychology of denial and makes an ethical and pragmatic argument for engagement rather than deflection. Heffernan's cogent, riveting look at how we behave at our worst encourages us to strive for our best' US Publishers' Weekly 'We can all be guilty of denying the truth and reluctance to acknowledge uncomfortable facts is all around but just what makes us so inclined to wilful blindness? Heffernan addresses this using psychological studies and interviews and applies her theory to explain why incidents such as the financial crisis occur' Daily Express 25/2 'Writing in clear, flowing prose, (Heffernan) draws on psychological and neurological studies and interviews with executives, whistleblowers and white-collar criminals...the book made me think long and hard about how the pace and priorities of our daily lives can hinder our ability to live as decently and as truthfully as we can' Nancy F. Koehn, New York Times April 2011 'Willful Blindness is a remarkable book...It is a tour de force of brilliant insights, broad span applications and written in the most engaging style.' Philip Zimbardo 'Uniquely broad in scope, insightfully analyzed, and engagingly written. This in-depth look at willful blindness is an excellent read.' Albert Bandura