"Merchants of Doubt " tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades that link smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole.

Doubt is our product -- Strategic defense, phony facts and the creation of the George C. Marshall Institute -- Sowing the seeds of doubt : acid rain -- Constructing a counter-narrative : the fight over the ozone hole -- What's bad science? Who decides? The fight over second-hand smoke -- The denial of global warming -- Denial rides again : the revisionist attack on Rachel Carson -- Conclusion of free markets and free speech -- Epilogue : a new view of science.