I happened on this book by happy accident. I couldn't find one of Jacob's books which would have been helpful for a class, so I picked this one up. It wasn't the least bit helpful. But it was enjoyable. The title comes from Hotspur's council to Glendower in Shakspeare's Henry IV part I:

And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
By telling the truth: tell truth and shame the devil.
If thou have power to raise him, bring him hither,
I'll be sworn I have the power to shame him hence.
O, while you live, tell truth and shame the devil.

Jacobs proceeds through this book to explore truth telling, largely through his capacity as a literary critic. He divides the essays in his book into three parts. Part I, he deals with exemplars. Here he talks about authors who were committed to telling the whole truth, as they saw it. In Part II, Explorations, Jacobs explores a different set of authors whom he feels short shrifted the truth in their literary output. In Part III, an Experiment, Jacobs explores the ways in which technologies circumscribe our quests for truth. Perhaps because his technological references are dated (this book was written in 2004!), this is the weakest part of the book. But it is an enjoyable read nonetheless.

I have never read a book by Jacobs before, but I have always found his articles in Books & Culture reflective and thoughtful, this book is no exception. I hope to find his book which would be useful for me.

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