I read this before I got out of bed this morning. I do read rather quickly, but this is a very small, very short book. Less than 150 pages, and 3/4 size pages at that. There's not a lot of words here.

However, I think these are important words, words you should read and think about. As the title suggests, this is an exploration of "trust" in all its permutations and disguises.

As this is the week of the great Wall Street Bailout (yet to be voted upon as I write this) and just a few weeks from our Presidential elections, the sections that dealt with trust and mistrust of government were very timely. How many Americans trust that this proposed bailout is good policy? Not many, I'd guess, yet we seem to accept it fatalistically. On the election, many of us who have picked our choice still harbor deep reservations: we can see that our candidate lies just as much as his opponent. We may justify that with explanations that it is done to avoid "gotcha journalism" or "Swift Boat spins", but the reality is that it leaves us uneasy and distrustful.

This book makes the case that trusting societies are healthy societies and suggests that we should be working toward increasing trust amongst ourselves. That idea certainly isn't new: you can interpret "Do unto others" in that same light. However, the idea that governments should be working to foster trustful societies hasn't had a lot of currency in history.. perhaps it is time for that.

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