Praise

“Barnes is always a compelling essayist, steering clear of polemical thinking to carefully consider all angles of a topic, and the range of his references, from Dadaists to John Maynard Keynes, constantly astounds.” —Booklist

“It feels right for Barnes to approach his topic through autobiography, in the first person. This genre goes back to Descartes’ Meditations: epistemology as memoir. And like Descartes before him, Barnes confronts the specter of self-doubt.” —Kieran Setiya, The Atlantic

“A witty, personal reflection on the ways we continually convince ourselves that ‘we are consistent human beings rather than seaweed tossed around by the tides.'” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post