Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Climate Change
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- Create Date：2022-07-27 06:54:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Naomi Oreskes
- ISBN：1608193942
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Summary
Now a powerful documentary from the acclaimed director of Food Inc。， Merchants of Doubt was one of the most talked-about climate change books of recent years， for reasons easy to understand: It tells the controversial story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers， with deep connections in politics and industry， ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades。 The same individuals who claim the science of global warming is "not settled" have also denied the truth about studies linking smoking to lung cancer， coal smoke to acid rain and CFCs to the ozone hole。 "Doubt is our product，" wrote one tobacco executive。 These "experts" supplied it。
Reviews
Matt Kosikowski
，
A very fulfilling read。 As someone who wants to be more knowledgeable on environmental policy and history， Merchants of Doubt was a fantastic place to start。 The shear amount of sources listed gives plenty of reason to trust the scientific and historical facts presented in defense of its thesis; the scientific process exposes the shortcomings of the free market in preventing environmental disaster， therefore the "Merchants of Doubt" must fight science itself to defend the free market。 The Mercha A very fulfilling read。 As someone who wants to be more knowledgeable on environmental policy and history， Merchants of Doubt was a fantastic place to start。 The shear amount of sources listed gives plenty of reason to trust the scientific and historical facts presented in defense of its thesis; the scientific process exposes the shortcomings of the free market in preventing environmental disaster， therefore the "Merchants of Doubt" must fight science itself to defend the free market。 The Merchants of Doubt discussed in this book are a combination of elite scientists and large corporations。 The majority of scientists featured are people who extended their anti-communist beliefs from the Cold War to the academic institutions and right wing think tanks they served afterwards。 While being extremely accomplished physicists in their own fields， these figures like Fred Singer， Frederick Seitz， Bill Nierenberg and Robert Jastrow all begun to stray from their foundations of scientific reasoning after moving onto administrative jobs in academia。 They became alienated from the scientific process as they began finding their colleagues using this process to suggest solutions that go against what the free market stands for; i。e。 government regulation。Each chapter covers a different environmental disaster spawned thanks to the free market。 Behind these "negative externalities" are industries who are either unaware of what they're causing， or are aware and must combat the evidence exposing these disasters to protect profits。 The aforementioned scientists having both staunch laissez-fare economic ideologies， and extensive scientific credibility due to their previous work， made them great allies to these industries。 The wealthy and powerful learned to fight science with science。 Usually with the help of one of these four men， industries would misrepresent or hide data， slander the advocate of a certain policy， create research projects in academia to camouflage an issue， you name it。 You will learn all the tools used to damage the reputation of science， and you can see how they are still used today， in the name of protecting capital。 Noting how depressing this read can be， the author's were kind enough to provide an example of an issue （ozone depletion） where science prevailed and lead to government regulation and stopped an environmental disaster entirely。 On top of being a fantastic historical archive on the topic， the book also serves as a blueprint for bringing forth new environmental policy。 However， it is honest in its pessimism in the epilogue， so don't expect to necessarily be happy after reading。 But treat it as a call to action。 I'm docking a star because the vast quantity of names and events thrown throughout the whole piece made this a little tough to keep track of without reading sections multiple times。 I also thought there were some moments where insults and "gotchas" were thrown at people， although deservingly， in ways unrelated to the issues at hand， potentially damaging the book's credibility to more skeptical readers。 But that's a minor gripe because， c'mon， climate change is here and beginning to upend the lives of billions while world leaders stick to incrementalism or flat out denial。 。。。more
Christian
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Should be required reading。
Richard Becker
，
I expected Naomi Oreskes to deliver some hard science vs。 political propaganda across many topics and industries。 She mostly frames it up to be that way when discussing the fight against the tobacco industry。 But the tobacco industry's infamous faux pas isn't a foreshadow of many topics to come。 It's merely an out-of-place example that she uses to couch every other topic in the book， which are primarily environmental with an emphasis on climate change。As the book progresses， the intent becomes c I expected Naomi Oreskes to deliver some hard science vs。 political propaganda across many topics and industries。 She mostly frames it up to be that way when discussing the fight against the tobacco industry。 But the tobacco industry's infamous faux pas isn't a foreshadow of many topics to come。 It's merely an out-of-place example that she uses to couch every other topic in the book， which are primarily environmental with an emphasis on climate change。As the book progresses， the intent becomes clear。 She employs the same strategy she claims the "merchants of doubt" employed to discredit real scientists， only using the tobacco industry case as a vehicle to say "see that 。。。 these evil men are just like those who defended big tobacco。" Only， there is a dminishing rate of return on the cases she covers。 And no， they all aren't simply just like the big bad tobacco industry case。 In most cases， it's scientists who are sometimes operating from polarized viewpoints doing damage themselves。 And， unintentionally， Oreskes calls herself out for doing so。 Toward the book's end， Oreskes addresses why climate scientists don't defend themselves when attacked by the other scientists she aims to vilify in her book。 Her answer？ "The IPCC today attempts to summarize the work of thousands。 A scientist who steps out to speak on behalf of his colleagues risks censure， lest colleagues think he is trying to take all the credit for himself。" The irony is that this is precisely what the scientists she attempts to vilify are saying: those working on climate change issues are toeing the line。 Ergo， global warming advocates are equally guilty of hiding the science behind platitudes for the general public — sound bites that oversimply complex problems。 Probably the best chapter to see how well that plays out is Chapter 7。 Oreskes attempts to exonerate Rachel Carson for being an alarmist about DDT in America。 The result was that DDT was banned， leading to its wholesale dismissal of using it in Africa and other malaria-prone countries， resulting in an uptick in malaria and costing millions of lives。 Oreskes' takes is that science tried to save the day and was unjustly vilified for it。 The truth is that "science" gave us DDT and said trust us。 Then "science" told us DDT was poison and said trust us。 And then millions of people died， resulting in "science" saying that DDT might be worthwhile in some cases。 There is probably no better illustration of what is going wrong with global warming than Chapter 7 because it underpins what science really is。 Science is someone's best guess until they are proven wrong。 Don't get me wrong。 I'm grateful that we've addressed many environmental issues along the way and hope we continue to long into the future。 It's essential， not even for the planet as much as people。 But sooner or later， global warming advocates and their counterpoints need to face reality and work together to find a measured approach to mitigate the issues instead of contributing to the diatribe。 All too often we're told science has the answer （COVID response anyone？） or some policy wonk knows better than another policy wonk （there is a real irony in that Oreskes calls out some "Cold War scientists" for being overly harsh about Russia and communists in an age where Russia is literarily invading a sovereign country）。 We need fewer books like these and more books on reinstating America's imagination to deal with complex problems by finding innovative or compromising solutions because climate change is not tobacco smoke — it's more like DDT — neither good nor bad but possibly important when used where needed， when needed， and in tandem with other solutions。Between this and my next read， "Unsettled， What Climate Science Tells Us。。。" I suspect I'll have had my fill on the topic of climate change in terms of reading books on the subject。 Unfortunately， it's not much better than new releases and articles being burped out all over the place。 。。。more
Caitlyn
，
Much of this book seemed rather obvious in the sense that of course major corporations lie to consumers， corrupt government officials and bodies， and manipulate science and the media。 On the other hand， seeing it laid out in chillingly specific detail - with the same characters reappearing again and again - felt like a good reminder of how few people are needed to accomplish those immoral goals。 A good read， if not a fun one。
Marilyn
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Another book that presents lots of information， and is on such an important subject that despite its mind numbing details， I have to rate it higher than my enjoyment factor would suggest。 It’s sort of like taking that 7th grade grammar class that you hated but when the term was over and you got through it， you were glad you struggled through。
Simon MacDonald
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Whelp， this book did an incredible job explaining a lot of the things going on in the USA 12 years after its publication。 It probably should be a 5-star read but I rated it a 4 because of how depressed it left me。
Will Capps
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As we enter the next phase of climate denial， that being the 'do nothing' phase， it is important to understand the roots of the corporate climate agenda - greenwashing， technology fetishism and extensive disinformation campaigns planned to a T， in a way that's devilishly smart。 People really use their brains for a quick buck。 This book makes a strong case using great examples and detailed references that would cause your most astute capitalist friend to quickly consider。。。 but again deny and rea As we enter the next phase of climate denial， that being the 'do nothing' phase， it is important to understand the roots of the corporate climate agenda - greenwashing， technology fetishism and extensive disinformation campaigns planned to a T， in a way that's devilishly smart。 People really use their brains for a quick buck。 This book makes a strong case using great examples and detailed references that would cause your most astute capitalist friend to quickly consider。。。 but again deny and reaffirm their reality。 Is not playing the 'game' of social engineering， losing the 'game'？ What is the right thing to do？Industry can't bite its own hand？ So who will do it for them？ 。。。more
Nkezabera
，
LIFFE CHANGING BOOKS
Brett Williams
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As part of a trio of books under study that addresses the anti-science movement from our economic Right， academic Left， and religious fringe （Merchants of Doubt， Higher Superstition， Darwin Day）， this book was the most shocking。 What made it so was that it chronicles the betrayal of truth in science for lies aligned with political ideologies， money， and notoriety by some of the most respected scientists in their field。 It was these men， women， and their corporate sponsors who gave birth to profe As part of a trio of books under study that addresses the anti-science movement from our economic Right， academic Left， and religious fringe （Merchants of Doubt， Higher Superstition， Darwin Day）， this book was the most shocking。 What made it so was that it chronicles the betrayal of truth in science for lies aligned with political ideologies， money， and notoriety by some of the most respected scientists in their field。 It was these men， women， and their corporate sponsors who gave birth to professional lie factories in the U。S。 All to keep the money flowing for cancerous tobacco， CFC industries that blew a hole in the ozone， and fossil fuels responsible for acid rain and manmade global warming。 Upon retirement from a life of investigation， physicist and onetime president of the National Academy of Sciences， Fred Seitz （1911-2008）， physicist and atomic bomb contributor Fred Singer （1924-2020）， and Manhattan Project physicist Bill Nierenberg （1991-2000） who also served as director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography were among the first science deniers。 With high stature in academia and government， they proved that while measured data about nature never lies， there are those among us who will lie about it for what they consider a higher cause。 Just as we see Christian Nationalists betray the teachings of Jesus for political power， so too are there scientists who will do the same to science。 These people were culture war warriors before there were culture wars。 Motivated by their combat with the USSR， they were convinced that anything less than complete laissez-faire markets with zero government oversight was the fast lane to communism。 Hence， they adopted the “Tobacco Strategy” to thwart government regulation。 As one tobacco executive declared， “Our product is doubt。” And under a hail storm of evidence that proved tobacco smoking caused cancer， merchants of doubt were able to stall action resulting in 50 years of added profits， 50 years of more dead people。 With massive corporate money， the lie factories employed editorial farms to produce “experts” and “everyday citizens” writing and speaking about the benefits of tobacco/the ozone hole/global warming to local papers， magazines， and TV。 They created pseudo-scientific papers to quote。 They organized conferences with “expert findings” and used a complicit media to present “balanced” reporting on both sides。 A method still practiced today on everything from CO2 levels to treasonous insurrections。 See PBS FRONTLINE， The Power Of Big Oil， April 2022。 One book blemish: naturally， the cold warriors would support Reagan’s SDI （Star Wars） program， but the authors lump that in with the others as another boondoggle—though without nearly the rigor of the rest。 They note Frances FitzGerald’s discredited “Way Out There in the Blue，” yet neither investigates SDI’s successes， like ASAT， FLAGE， ERINT， and the anti-missile missile， PAC-3。 In production for well over 20 years， and so far， never to miss， PAC-3 was Reagan’s first SDI program， publicly reported by Dan Rather on CBS in the mid-80s as an “unqualified success。” As yet another book with no index， while I couldn’t find other errors in the body or references， this oversight did taint the author’s cause， which I otherwise support。 Overall， yet another sad commentary on our abundance of liars。 。。。more
mils
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EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS。 exposes tobacco funded propaganda and the bad scientists behind climate denial。 so so good everyone should know this information！！！ made me so angry learning this but can’t recommend more highly！！！
Elizabeth
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1
AJ Corgiat
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Must read
Brett
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Interesting information regarding a select few scientists who appear to consistently disagree with what appears to be a consensus among scientist on certain issues from tobacco to global warming。
Cyuba Dallaire
，
Merchants of Doubt really put light to the flaws in our country。 Highlighting the amount of influence the lobbies in congress and their money have on our countries policies。 More specifically， this book highlights how our own government and coorperations blantantly lied to the American public regarding tobacco and cigarrette smoke being harmless in the 70's - 90's， playing up the Soviet threat during the Cold War in order to push their NATO agenda， and even currently， food and oil lobbies in con Merchants of Doubt really put light to the flaws in our country。 Highlighting the amount of influence the lobbies in congress and their money have on our countries policies。 More specifically， this book highlights how our own government and coorperations blantantly lied to the American public regarding tobacco and cigarrette smoke being harmless in the 70's - 90's， playing up the Soviet threat during the Cold War in order to push their NATO agenda， and even currently， food and oil lobbies in congress paying off our Senators and Legisators to say that global warming is simply a hoax。 This book gets the facts straight without ever pushing a political agenda。 。。。more
Violeta Laralá
，
Gave up on this book as it's the most boring thing I've read all year。 Yes， the premise is good， but honestly， I'll die of boredom before I do of climate catastrophe。 I think I read a chapter and a half Gave up on this book as it's the most boring thing I've read all year。 Yes， the premise is good， but honestly， I'll die of boredom before I do of climate catastrophe。 I think I read a chapter and a half 。。。more
Sophie Pesek
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The best book I've read in a long time。 The best book I've read in a long time。 。。。more
Janina
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Nakakagalit 🫠I need everyone to read this book。
Mackenzie Haupt
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Ik this stuff is important but I was sooo bored
Hákon Gunnarsson
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If I could recommend one book to climate crisis sceptics， I think this would be it。 It's a history book。 So it's not about the science that proves that fossil fuel are causing this crisis， and it's not about the solutions how we might fight it。 What it is about is the professional sceptics， or as the authors， Naomi Oreskes， and Erik M。 Conway call them， merchants of doubt。 It really is a fascinating， and also a little frightening read。 It's not all about climate crisis scepticism。 It begins with If I could recommend one book to climate crisis sceptics， I think this would be it。 It's a history book。 So it's not about the science that proves that fossil fuel are causing this crisis， and it's not about the solutions how we might fight it。 What it is about is the professional sceptics， or as the authors， Naomi Oreskes， and Erik M。 Conway call them， merchants of doubt。 It really is a fascinating， and also a little frightening read。 It's not all about climate crisis scepticism。 It begins with tobacco， then goes to acid rain， the ozone hole， second hand smoking， global warming， and on to the attacks on Rachel Carson。 From this list one might think this book was all over the place， but it's not because the players， the merchants of doubt are very often the same from one subject to the next。The book points out something quite interesting， by showing the same players over and over in these various subjects because there is no possibility that they could be experts in all these fields。 In the early days of modern science， in 1600s you could see scientists that made contribution in many fields。 A lot of things have happened since then。 Science has gotten more and more specialised， the fields have gotten narrower， and narrower。 So the likelihood that someone， anyone at this stage in the history of science can know it all， understand it all， is just very small。 In fact， what the authors show in this book is that the main players weren't really doing original science in these fields， not peer reviewed stuff， and a lot of them none at all， not even in the fields they had made their name to begin with by the time they became merchants of doubt。 How could they claim to be authorities on all this stuff？ Because they looked good on paper。 Because someone was willing to listen。 Because someone was willing to pay。 That's the thing， when you look at the methods they used， these merchants of doubt feel less like scientist， and more like lobbyist， to be honest。 It really is a fascinating story， and it does show us how we got here， not the scientific reason for why we got here， but the political one。 That's why I would recommend this book to the sceptics。 These doubt merchants have made such a good job at obscuring the science， the real science， to some people that I think the only way forward is to actually show how that is done first。 I had read the rhetoric of merchants of doubt in books and articles， so I knew some of the tricks of the trade， so to speak， pretty well before， but this shows how well this is financed， and why all these different fields have become part of this story。 This book is from 2010， so it's twelve years old by now， and I'm sure this story has continued in much the same way。 At least one sees the same tactic being used over and over。 。。。more
Donny Nelson
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I felt very tricked by this book and at times it seemed much more political than about the science。 For example， in the chapter on acid rain， the authors spent much of the chapter lambasting a Reagan scientist and then concedes at the end that the cap and trade policy he pushed for may have been what worked most effectively。 The last chapter is an argument for less free speech in science which seems antithetical to the scientific process。 Didn’t we just learn during two years of Covid that many I felt very tricked by this book and at times it seemed much more political than about the science。 For example， in the chapter on acid rain， the authors spent much of the chapter lambasting a Reagan scientist and then concedes at the end that the cap and trade policy he pushed for may have been what worked most effectively。 The last chapter is an argument for less free speech in science which seems antithetical to the scientific process。 Didn’t we just learn during two years of Covid that many mainstream beliefs on combatting it were not based on science quite as “settled” as we originally believed？ 。。。more
Danielle
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Definitely an enlightening read。 I read this a couple years into the Covid pandemic， so reading this book provides a lot of insight into how this issue has been portrayed in the media， etc…。 That being said， the book is a bit dry and took me quite a while to get through。
Eran Weiss
，
The book covers the political discussion of several environmental issues in the US， showing how a concentrated group of ideologues and commercial interests pushed back against regulation， and in many cases significantly delayed - and are delaying - environmental protection action。 The methods used are system， repeated and evolving， to create the impression of scientific doubt when there is none。As a whole， it's a very interesting and complete overview。 It shows the limitations of science to infl The book covers the political discussion of several environmental issues in the US， showing how a concentrated group of ideologues and commercial interests pushed back against regulation， and in many cases significantly delayed - and are delaying - environmental protection action。 The methods used are system， repeated and evolving， to create the impression of scientific doubt when there is none。As a whole， it's a very interesting and complete overview。 It shows the limitations of science to influence policy （science itself is fine， progressing well - it's the government policy that's flawed）; How corporations use money to sway policy， how corporate donations are far from altruistic， how money is power and why such concentration of money harms society。I do have 3 issues with it:1。 It is very US-centric。 Especially with environmental issues， which none are special to the US， and many are global and require global solutions， this is a serious omission。2。 It looks only at environmental issues。 Other issues where science is ignored by the public， like health issues （vaccines for example） are not mentioned， and the comparison could add valuable context。3。 I have never been able to hold more than 1 child in a single hand。 I don't see how several scientists could fit in a single hand。 。。。more
Philip Tidman
，
Merchants of Doubt reveals how tobacco companies and big oil and big pharma obscured and befuddled the science over every major health scare since the sixties。 Not only are the same tactics tobacco companies used in the sixties and seventies now being used to confound the science around global warming but in many cases， it is the same handful of scientists-for-hire doing it。
NoID
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Les marchands de doutes de Naomi Oreskes et Erik M。 Conway。Ca c’est de l’information sur la désinformation。https://www。noid。ch/les-marchands-de-。。。 Les marchands de doutes de Naomi Oreskes et Erik M。 Conway。Ca c’est de l’information sur la désinformation。https://www。noid。ch/les-marchands-de-。。。 。。。more
Andriana
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Just another MUST READ！You will understand why we are where we are。 Not an easy read but definitely one of the most important books out there。
ElFalleret
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Un libro largo pero muy necesario。 Un análisis exhaustivo y muy trabajado sobre cómo el dinero y el fanatismo hicieron que un puñado de hombres y toda su red de apoyo declararan la guerra y sembraran la duda ganando tiempo en su causa。 A pesar de ser una minoría。 A pesar de tener todas las pruebas en su contra。 A pesar de solo desinformar。 Un libro que considero debería conocer más lento。 Cómo punto negativo que en ciertos puntos resulta bastante repetitivo， porque al final es la misma estrategi Un libro largo pero muy necesario。 Un análisis exhaustivo y muy trabajado sobre cómo el dinero y el fanatismo hicieron que un puñado de hombres y toda su red de apoyo declararan la guerra y sembraran la duda ganando tiempo en su causa。 A pesar de ser una minoría。 A pesar de tener todas las pruebas en su contra。 A pesar de solo desinformar。 Un libro que considero debería conocer más lento。 Cómo punto negativo que en ciertos puntos resulta bastante repetitivo， porque al final es la misma estrategia en diferentes temas。 。。。more
Jenny Chang
，
One of my favorite books。 Really interesting history of how science has been manipulated by a few。
felicitas
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is it a super important topic？ absolutely！ still not the most enjoyable to read though， as it is super dense。 if you are interested， i would recommend it either way。 there is loads to learn about this topic。
Gurhan uysal
，
The topic is 5 stars， but the way it’s written is very boring。 This content should have been a documentary instead of a book
Víctor
，