Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Hachette Audio (2009), Edition: Unabridged
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML:A rising threat has startled the world. Armies are preparing to fight. And as nations slip ever closer to open conflict, the struggle to reveal the truth might be the most dangerous battle of all... Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. He heads up the world�s largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to �perception manage� his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts. But Creel may have an even grander plan in mind. Shaw, a man with no first name and a truly unique past, has a different agenda. Reluctantly doing the bidding of a secret multinational intelligence agency, he travels the globe to keep it safe and at peace. Willing to do anything to get back to the top of her profession, Katie James is a journalist who has just gotten the break of a lifetime: the chance to interview the sole survivor of a massacre that has left every nation stunned. In this terrifying global thriller, these characters� lives will collide head-on as a series of events is set in motion that could change the world as we know it. An utterly spellbinding story that feels all too real, THE WHOLE TRUTH delivers all the twists and turns, emotional drama, unforgettable characters, and can�t-put-it-down pacing that readers expect from David Baldacci�and still goes beyond anything he�s written before.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member sagustocox
Have you ever wondered what would happen if a corporation had too much power and was run by a twisted mind? How about a powerful military contracting firm? In The Whole Truth, Nicolas Creel wants to spur weapons build-up among the world powers, but to recreate the Cold War, Creel must set the
The Whole Truth is James Patterson on steroids; it's bigger and better than most crime fiction. My hubby says this novel could easily be transformed into a summer blockbuster. Shaw is a deeply tormented character, and Katie is an ambitious journalist and idealist. Creel is as every bit as bad as Blofeld and Goldfinger in the James Bond franchise. The suspense in this novel will have readers on the edge of their seats, and the emotional undertones will have readers running the gamut from exhilaration and anxiety to deep sorrow. The fate of the world is in Shaw's hands.
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pieces in motion to ensure two major superpowers or super power wanna-be nations are at odds--Russia and China. Meanwhile, Shaw an underground operative for a secretive agency wants out to marry the woman of his dreams, Anna Fischer, and lead a normal life. Katie James, on the outside looking in, is an on-the-way-down reporter who stumbles upon the story of her life and the century.The Whole Truth is James Patterson on steroids; it's bigger and better than most crime fiction. My hubby says this novel could easily be transformed into a summer blockbuster. Shaw is a deeply tormented character, and Katie is an ambitious journalist and idealist. Creel is as every bit as bad as Blofeld and Goldfinger in the James Bond franchise. The suspense in this novel will have readers on the edge of their seats, and the emotional undertones will have readers running the gamut from exhilaration and anxiety to deep sorrow. The fate of the world is in Shaw's hands.
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LibraryThing member cathymoore
A really enjoyable thriller based on the idea of "Perception Management." This book explores the idea that global society can be misled into believing manufactured "truths." The story is original and features some great characters, Baldacci has conjoured up another fantastic hero in the form of the
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unstoppable secret agent Shaw. The only downside being the word-count, the story could probably have been told in 100 or so less pages, although if the characters are to be featured in a future outing then it will have been worth using this novel to introduce them fully. Here's to hoping Baldacci writes using Shaw and Katie James again! Show Less
LibraryThing member hjsesq
Disappointing - after reading Stone Cold this appears to be an attempt to use a similiar type main character who is able to preform impossible feats. Seems padded at times with philosophy of the main protoganist in order to get over 400 pages.
LibraryThing member miyurose
This was a slow starter for me, but once Katie and Shaw met, I was hooked. The conspiracy is deep, actually plausible, and I think it does raise some questions about what the “truth” of anything really is — especially in the digital age. I had a hard time respecting Katie, but I wasn’t
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unhappy with how things turned out. Not my absolute favorite Baldacci, but definitely a book he shouldn’t be ashamed of. Show Less
LibraryThing member marient
A fun, fast read about Nicolas Creel, a man who heads up the world's largest defense contractor, The Ares Co. Shaw, a man with no first name and a truly unique past , has a different agenda. Reluctantly doing the bidding of a secret multinational agency, he travels the globe to keep it safe and at
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peace. Show Less
LibraryThing member lrobe190
Nicholas Creel, billionaire defense contractor has hired Dick Pender & Associates to "spin" the truth to create war between Russia and China in order to sell more arms. A man named "Shaw", his fiancee, Anna, and a down and out journalist, Katie James, involuntarily find themselves caught up in
Baldacci is an excellent storyteller. This book is fast-paced and leaves the reader guessing right up until the end. Highly recommended.
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finding out who is creating the lies that have brought the world to the brink of war.Baldacci is an excellent storyteller. This book is fast-paced and leaves the reader guessing right up until the end. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
Audiobook....................The best suspense novel I have read in a while. A scary story about the manipulation of the truth by "perception management" firms on behalf of the greedy.
Good characters and fast moving plot.
Good characters and fast moving plot.
LibraryThing member dbree007
Perception management. This was fascinating and scary and all too real
LibraryThing member kysmom02
I went through a total love/hate relationship with this book. At the beginning I totally loved it, then events began to unfold and I'd be mad about how things were going. Then, as the plot twisted and turned some more, I'd find that I really loved the book again. It went like this the whole time,
This book was a little more difficult for me to follow than the Camel Club series. There is so much corruption and government tug of war that I found I was really having to pay attention. However, I'm still fascinated at how Baldacci writes. His characters are so well developed, and the dialogue is amazing. His knowledge of government agencies and procedures is also amazing.
I was prepared to hate the ending. I feared that Baldacci was going to bring romance to Katie and Shaw. I was so relieved when it turned into something a little different. I also loved a quote at the end that Katie repeated to Shaw...one that had been said to her by Shaw earlier in the story.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and look to give it away soon. I just didn't like this as well as I liked Divine Justince or Stone Cold.
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yet I never felt like quitting. Not even close! It wasn't a book that I carried everywhere with me because I was dying to finish, but when I picked it up and was engaged in it I found it hard to turn off. This book was a little more difficult for me to follow than the Camel Club series. There is so much corruption and government tug of war that I found I was really having to pay attention. However, I'm still fascinated at how Baldacci writes. His characters are so well developed, and the dialogue is amazing. His knowledge of government agencies and procedures is also amazing.
I was prepared to hate the ending. I feared that Baldacci was going to bring romance to Katie and Shaw. I was so relieved when it turned into something a little different. I also loved a quote at the end that Katie repeated to Shaw...one that had been said to her by Shaw earlier in the story.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and look to give it away soon. I just didn't like this as well as I liked Divine Justince or Stone Cold.
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LibraryThing member kingsportlibrary
I had difficulty with this book because as I began reading I was unable to read for long periods of time. Thus, I had to re-read each time to keep track of characters, for nothing seemed to mesh. However, after completing half of the book things and people came together. This book was scary in a
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way because it made me wonder about things that happen with governments, political leaders and wealthy entrepreneurs. It was quite thrilling and suspenseful. Show Less
LibraryThing member FredB
A somewhat predictable thriller. This one features a man named Shaw who is indentured to some kind of shadowy worldwide law enforcement agency. He meets and falls in love with a foreign policy analyst in London. The rest of the book is about him getting revenge on the killer or killers.
The book has
The book has
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fast pacing and really pulls you along, but is otherwise not very memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member ablaze5
This was one of my favorite books - when i began to read it I never thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did because it had kind of a politcal war type theme but Baldacci masterfully wrote this book and it was a great read. I was very impressed and am looking forward to reading more of his
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work. Show Less
LibraryThing member readafew
The Whole Truth is an international espionage thriller. A Billionaire arms manufacture with delusions of grandeur and falling sales revenue decides to increase interest in his products with a world wide campaign run by a Perception Management firm. Shaw is a Black ops man who's job is to go into
This was a fast and intense book the action started in the first chapter and kept right on until the end. This is a conspiracy nuts dream distilled down to make it palatable to a large number of people for entertainment value. While you can fool some people all the time, and fool all the people some of the time you can't fool all the people all the time. I enjoyed listening to this book and found it to be engaging and for an espionage story not totally unbelievable. A little darker than the other Baldacci books I've read but otherwise keeps the same level of quality for writing and story. Well worth the read.
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tight situations and come out quite often as the last man standing. Katie James is an alcoholic reporter who's busted to the obituary page, the events the earned her, her second Pulitzer drove her to the bottle. The lives of these three individuals cross in interesting and destructive ways, each one trying to do what they can to save the planet in from destruction.This was a fast and intense book the action started in the first chapter and kept right on until the end. This is a conspiracy nuts dream distilled down to make it palatable to a large number of people for entertainment value. While you can fool some people all the time, and fool all the people some of the time you can't fool all the people all the time. I enjoyed listening to this book and found it to be engaging and for an espionage story not totally unbelievable. A little darker than the other Baldacci books I've read but otherwise keeps the same level of quality for writing and story. Well worth the read.
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LibraryThing member csayban
“Dick, I need a war.”
“Well, as always, you’ve come to the right place, Mr. Creel.”
“It won’t be a typical conflict.”
“I never expect typical from you.”
“But you have to sell it. You have to make them believe, Dick.”
“I can make them believe anything.”
In the 21st century the
Baldacci has been the master of the modern thriller for a long time now with titles such as Absolute Power and The Camel Club series. However, with The Whole Truth, Baldacci may have raised his game to an even higher level. Baldacci’s trademark twists and turns are everywhere and very well done. The characters come alive with each page and make the sizzling action very believable and enjoyable. He is once again able to take a fantastic and frightening plot premise and make it seem entirely plausible. Not an easy task for any writer to accomplish. He also ensures that the reader is hooked for the entire ride by creating such engaging and authentic characters.
The Whole Truth is the beginning of a brand new series with these characters for Baldacci. I for one am very excited to read the next installment. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, fast-paced modern thriller.
“Well, as always, you’ve come to the right place, Mr. Creel.”
“It won’t be a typical conflict.”
“I never expect typical from you.”
“But you have to sell it. You have to make them believe, Dick.”
“I can make them believe anything.”
In the 21st century the
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only thing more powerful than information is disinformation. News travels so fast in the digital age that nobody has time to check the facts before it circles the globe many times and becomes ‘the truth’. It is within this dark new reality that David Baldacci crafts his thriller – The Whole Truth. Perception Management agencies no longer spin the truth – they create a completely new truth based on carefully crafted lies. Nicolas Creel is trying to send the world back into a second cold war to allow the world’s largest defense contractor to realize billions in profits. However, journalist Katie James and a man named Shaw with a unique past, stand in the way of his plans. While the rest of the world braces for the possibility of World War III, Shaw and James race to find out what the real truth is before it kills them.Baldacci has been the master of the modern thriller for a long time now with titles such as Absolute Power and The Camel Club series. However, with The Whole Truth, Baldacci may have raised his game to an even higher level. Baldacci’s trademark twists and turns are everywhere and very well done. The characters come alive with each page and make the sizzling action very believable and enjoyable. He is once again able to take a fantastic and frightening plot premise and make it seem entirely plausible. Not an easy task for any writer to accomplish. He also ensures that the reader is hooked for the entire ride by creating such engaging and authentic characters.
The Whole Truth is the beginning of a brand new series with these characters for Baldacci. I for one am very excited to read the next installment. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, fast-paced modern thriller.
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LibraryThing member bbuchan
Another solid mystery thriller from Baldacci in which a plot by world's largest defense contractor, Nicholas Creel, threatens to re-start the Cold War and in the process create a little more business for himself. The first step involves spreading a false video of a Russian claiming torture and mass
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murders within his country. Baldacci's hero is Shaw, a globe-trotting troubleshooter for a shadowy international law-enforcement organization. Overall a believable story line with lots of fast-paced action. Show Less
LibraryThing member jreinheimer
A defense contractor knows the best time to sell weapons is when countries are preparing to go to war. He makes two countries believe war is eminent and almost starts WWIII. This novel is fiction but would teach students about perception. Students would be asked are the events in the novel
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possible, and were any real events manipulated like in the novel. This novel is directed at high school students because of content. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivergen
Another good (but not great) book in typical Baldacci style. A super-human intelligence guy manages to escape certain death several times, all the while solving the crime of the century and preventing a crisis of global proportions. Predictable yet enjoyable, with a few twists and turns to keep the
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reader on their toes. Show Less
LibraryThing member jo-jo
In The Whole Truth, Baldacci sets a scenario for us of how countries can go into a war by being led on from evidence that has been placed by some greedy individuals. These private parties are looking for a war just to benefit their personal wealth. Ron McLarty did a great job of narrating this
Shaw is our hero in this novel and he works for an unnamed international secret agency that helps to enforce the laws in various countries. Let me verify that we aren't talking about speeding or parking tickets, but more along the lines of drugs, espionage, and assassinations. Shaw has been doing this job for a long time and events have played out for him that bring him to the decision that it is now time to retire from this dangerous line of work. His boss, who is much older than him basically tells him that he can be done with the work when the agency no longer needs his services.
As this story plays out, items are planted that could be the beginning of a war between Russia and China. Shaw must track the evidence to get to the bottom of this escapade. As he uncovers more unnerving information he finds himself becoming personally involved in the situation and decides that he will do whatever is absolutely necessary to bring a stop to this madness. Not expecting to live through the events that are about to take place, Shaw finds himself in imminent danger.
This was an action-packed audiobook that had me holding my breath praying that Shaw would pull through in the end. I did find that the book did get a little bogged down for me with all of the global politics that were taking place and my mind tended to wander during those parts. Besides that, I loved the characters and the rest of the story and look forward to listening to the next installment of this series.
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action packed thriller.Shaw is our hero in this novel and he works for an unnamed international secret agency that helps to enforce the laws in various countries. Let me verify that we aren't talking about speeding or parking tickets, but more along the lines of drugs, espionage, and assassinations. Shaw has been doing this job for a long time and events have played out for him that bring him to the decision that it is now time to retire from this dangerous line of work. His boss, who is much older than him basically tells him that he can be done with the work when the agency no longer needs his services.
As this story plays out, items are planted that could be the beginning of a war between Russia and China. Shaw must track the evidence to get to the bottom of this escapade. As he uncovers more unnerving information he finds himself becoming personally involved in the situation and decides that he will do whatever is absolutely necessary to bring a stop to this madness. Not expecting to live through the events that are about to take place, Shaw finds himself in imminent danger.
This was an action-packed audiobook that had me holding my breath praying that Shaw would pull through in the end. I did find that the book did get a little bogged down for me with all of the global politics that were taking place and my mind tended to wander during those parts. Besides that, I loved the characters and the rest of the story and look forward to listening to the next installment of this series.
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LibraryThing member elsi
A fascinating premise: a zealot billionaire manufactures international incidents to bring the world to the edge of war. Baldacci leaves plenty of room for the main characters—journalist Katie Shaw and super-spy Shaw—to return in yet another adventure.
LibraryThing member she_climber
Shaw (no first name) was a mysterious character but maybe a little too much so. I needed a little something more tangible about his employment, his past, something to hold on too. Same with journalist Katie James. These characters were pretty much hatched out of thin air for this book, not much of
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a backstory. Storyline was interesting and lots of action though to keep me going. I'll read the second, and currently last, book in the series as well just to see where it goes from here and I figure Baldacci deserves at least that much. Just not my favorite series, which may be why it's so short-lived. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChristineEllei
A huge defense contractor hopes to stimulate his business ventures with a few fake news stories. Enter our heroes Shaw (whose fiancée was murdered in a resulting bomb blast) and Creel (a disgraced reporter) to get to the bottom of the problem. Typical fast paced Baldacci. Enjoyable read.
LibraryThing member mcal
Overall it was a good read and a quick page turner. Some parts seemed to be very far fetched: How does an organization that knows all and can track someone with pin-point accuracy not know when an agent has gone rogue?
LibraryThing member RDeck
Cardboard characters, ludicrous plot and a fairy tale version of how the world works.
LibraryThing member Ameise1
Well, I really like Baldacci's book specially The Camel Club Serie, so I was slightly disappointed with this first book of the Shaw Serie. It took me quite a length to deep into the story. In the beginning the plot was jumping around all over the world and it was a bit difficult to be acquainted
Frankly, I'm looking forward to reading another of The Camel Club Serie but nevertheless I'll give another try to the Shaw Serie too.
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with the main characters. In the second half I started to enjoy the twists and turns and it was then also fast-paced. Frankly, I'm looking forward to reading another of The Camel Club Serie but nevertheless I'll give another try to the Shaw Serie too.
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LibraryThing member Georgia.Bets
A page-turner, and an eye-opener.
Awards
Delete Key Award (Finalist — 2010)
Language
Original publication date
2008-04-22
Physical description
5.8 inches
ISBN
1600241441 / 9781600241444