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    The Whole Truth
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    The Whole Truth
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    The Whole Truth
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Whole Truth

    Written by David Baldacci

    Narrated by Ron McLarty

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A powerful defense contractor, a reluctant intelligence agent, and an ambitious journalist race to contain and control an international crisis that could destroy the world in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.

    "Dick, I need a war."

    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 multi-national intelligence agency, he travels the globe to keep it safe and at peace.

    Desperate to get back to the top of her profession, Katie James gets the break of a lifetime: the chance to interview the sole survivor of a massacre that has left every nation stunned.

    In David Baldacci's first international thriller, these characters face a catastrophic threat that could change the world as we know it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateApr 22, 2008
    ISBN9781600241475
    Unavailable
    The Whole Truth
    Author

    David Baldacci

    David Baldacci is one of the world’s bestselling and favourite thriller writers. A former trial lawyer with a keen interest in world politics, he has specialist knowledge in the US political system and intelligence services, and his first book, Absolute Power, became an instant international bestseller, with the movie starring Clint Eastwood a major box office hit. He has since written more than forty bestsellers featuring Amos Decker, Aloysius Archer, Atlee Pine and John Puller. David is also the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across the US. Trust him to take you to the action.

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    Reviews for The Whole Truth

    4/5

    588 ratings37 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Excellent read ... even the second time around ..., but predictable plot twists. Typical Baldacci superhero is at the center of everything. Baldacci's brief descriptions of the arms trade are interesting, but repetitive. His description of PM (Perception Management) is well done and relevant in today's world.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book, though there were parts where I was urging either the characters or the author to "get on with it". In at least one case, this was justified, since the character's hesitations led to her death.
    • 2/5
      I enjoyed the characters and storyline, but the writing in this particular work didn't feel up to the standard I usually expect from Baldacci. Pieces of the story also felt more melodramatic than I'd normally expect, making me feel like this one was more rushed than normal. On the whole, I don't think this is one of his best works, but it was still an enjoyable escape and a fast read.
    • 3/5
      This book was pretty good. it took an old topic (the cold war) and modernized its placement in today. i enjoyed the old school topic without reading a very dated book. It also goes into the topics of mass propaganda and how easily it can apply with the technology that we have today. which i'm sure we are all aware of how easy it would be. this just took it to a grander scale, which was a concern with me anyway.
    • 3/5
      I read Shaw #2 prior to #1 and both were good; however, liked #2 better. David does a great job and I especially like his audio books. Look forward to reading more!
    • 3/5
      War mongering is a lucrative business, especially if one is a defense contractor. And peace times are not good for the bottom line, so 'truth' is fabricated, or in other words 'perception management' (a very ugly terminology in 'Public Relations') is needed. In it, lies are so brilliantly packaged that conventional investigation is not going to unearth the real story. Baldacci does good work on this one, and although I would have preferred a more micro-writing approach, it probably would be too much detail for a story that is set on a global scale.
    • 3/5
      The Whole Truth carries the stamp of Baldacci all over it. He recycled some of his plot points from the Camel Club. If Oliver Stone had had a flashback sequence about his distant past, this book, partly, could be just that. This book behaved like the page turner it was. Though it didn't hit the high notes that I've come to expect from the author, it was a pleasure to read. I liked that the platonic distance between Shaw and James was enacted with natural effortlessness. There was something that struck me though. When I read, the book plays like a movie in my mind. Well, Shaw is a very tall and broad man. I imagined his 'acting' as competent enough, but when he cried for his girlfriend in the hospital 'scene' the acting in my mind was bad. It seems that even in imagination, tall and muscular heroes were still awful actors.
    • 4/5
      I love David Baldacci books but, this one just left me wanting more and less at the same time. A book about power, love, greed and a desire to feel whole again. Shaw returns to stare down an enemy that seems so unrealistic yet could be so real in our modern, "believe anything on the internet" times.
    • 5/5
      An excellent book to listen to on the treadmill and walks. This may be my favorite Baldacci yet.
    • 3/5
      Typically good Baldacci read. An interesting take on 'perception management'. I wonder how much of this actually happens.
    • 4/5
      A page-turner, and an eye-opener.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 2/5
      Cardboard characters, ludicrous plot and a fairy tale version of how the world works.
    • 3/5
      A very dark, almost joyless set of circumstances and characters made this a difficult book to stick through to the end. I almost gave up halfway through, but it redeemed itself by the finish.
    • 3/5
      This book was pretty good. it took an old topic (the cold war) and modernized its placement in today. i enjoyed the old school topic without reading a very dated book. It also goes into the topics of mass propaganda and how easily it can apply with the technology that we have today. which i'm sure we are all aware of how easy it would be. this just took it to a grander scale, which was a concern with me anyway.
    • 3/5
      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 fast pacing and really pulls you along, but is otherwise not very memorable.
    • 3/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 reader on their toes.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 5/5
      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 work.
    • 5/5
      Nicholas Creel heads the largest defense company. Dick Pender is hired by Creel to manage perceptionsof his company. Shaw works for a secret multinational intelligence agency. Journalist Katie James will do anything to get back to the top of her profession after a fall from grace. All face a catastrophic threat to our world as we know it.
    • 5/5
      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 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!
    • 5/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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, 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.
    • 4/5
      Perception management. This was fascinating and scary and all too real
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      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 peace.