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The Truth Detective

How to make sense of a world that doesn't add up
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( 60 ratings, 8 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Truth Detective by Tim Harford is an engaging children's book that introduces young readers to the concepts of critical thinking and fact-finding. Through a series of fun puzzles and challenges, the book encourages children to become little detectives in their everyday lives, teaching them how to question information and search for the truth in a playful and insightful manner.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this children's book if you're intrigued by clever problem-solving and critical thinking. It encourages young readers to become detectives of truth, teaching them how to navigate through misinformation and understand the world from multiple angles, all in a fun and engaging way.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A must read for curious kids looking to make sense of a complicated world, from presenter of BBC Radio 4's "More or Less", Tim Harford.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
***'A book that all children should read' - Matthew Syed***

-> Did you know that a toy spaceship can teach you about inflation?

-> Or that a pooping cow can show you how to invest your pocket money?

-> And that even the greatest detectives have been fooled by fake news and dancing fairies?

The world is often full of bamboozling headlines and numbers that don't add up. But don't panic. Within these pages you will transform into a Truth Detective, hunting down the truth about the world around you.

You will meet heroic truth detectives, such as Florence Nightingale who started a revolution with a pie chart. You will encounter dastardly villains who have tried to trip us up with dodgy data and misinformation. And you will learn how being smart and savvy with numbers, will help you be smart and savvy about everything else in life too.

So grab your detective cap, pick up your magnifying glass and start seeing the world like never before.

A must read for curious kids from presenter of BBC Radio 4's "More or Less", Tim Harford and with wonderful illustrations to enjoy by Ollie Mann.

***LONGLISTED for the SLA's Information Book Awards 2024***

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Truth Detective by Tim Harford is praised for its ability to simplify complex concepts for children. Matthew Syed remarks on its importance for young readers, while Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter highlights its universal appeal, suggesting its value extends beyond just a young audience.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526364579

Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 March 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Wren & Rook

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Ollie Mann

Audience: Primary and secondary education, Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 214.0mm

Weight: 400g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Tim Harford (Author)

Tim Harford is the author of nine books, including The Undercover Economist and How To Make The World Add Up, which was a Sunday Times number 1 Business Book Bestseller. Tim is the writer and presenter of the Cautionary Tales podcast, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Jeffrey Wright, which has already reached 10 million downloads. He is also the presenter of the BBC Radio shows More or Less, Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy and How To Vaccinate The World - where his guests included Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates.

Tim's TED talks have been viewed more than 11 million times and he has spoken at the Royal Institution and the Sydney Opera House. He is a member of Nuffield College, Oxford, an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and in 2019 was made an OBE "for services to improving economic understanding".

Tim's children are aged 16, 14 and 9.

Ollie Mann (Illustrator)

Ollie is a London-based illustrator who loves to draw playful character-led illustrations. He has worked on a variety of projects in publishing and by commission, but his favourite thing is making books for young people.

Also by Tim Harford

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  • Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy
    Based on the series produced for the BBC World Service In Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy, Tim Harford delves into the intriguing stories behind the everyday inventions and ideas that have shaped our world. From the use of paper money to the revolutionary impact of the contraceptive pill on the legal profession, Harford reveals the pivotal moments and...
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  • The Next Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy
    'Endlessly insightful and full of surprises - exactly what you would expect from Tim Harford' - BILL BRYSON 'Entertaining . . . A lively introduction to some of the most ingenious, yet often overlooked inventions that have changed the way we live' The Times 'Every Tim Harford book is cause for celebration' - MALCOLM GLADWELL 'Harford is a fine, perceptive...
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  • How to Make the World Add Up
    The Sunday Times Bestseller How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford is an enlightening journey into the world of statistics and data, told through the lens of one of Britain's most engaging economists. Harford, drawing from his wealth of experience as the host of the BBC's 'More or Less' radio programme, skilfully navigates the murky waters of...
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  • Adapt
    Everything we know about solving the world's problems is wrong. Out: Plans, experts and above all, leaders. In: Adapting - improvise rather than plan; fail, learn and try again. In this ground-breaking new book, Adapt by Tim Harford, shows how the world's most complex and important problems - including terrorism, climate change, poverty, innovation and the financial crisis - can...
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  • Messy
    Ranging expertly across business, politics and the arts, Tim Harford makes a compelling case for the creative benefits of disorganisation, improvisation and confusion. His liberating message: you'll be more successful if you stop struggling so hard to plan or control your success. Messy is a deeply researched, endlessly eye-opening adventure in the life-changing magic of not tidying up. - Oliver...
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  • The Undercover Economist
    In The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford delves into the hidden economic principles that influence our daily lives, often in ways we don't even realise. Through a series of engaging and thought-provoking examples, Harford explores the economic forces at play behind everyday situations and larger societal phenomena. Whether you're curious about the hidden costs of your morning cappuccino, the complex dynamics...
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