<p>  These days fact-checking can seem like a lost art.  <i>The Fact Checker's Bible</i> arrives not a moment too soon: it is the first—and essential—guide to the important but increasingly neglected task of checking facts, whatever their source.<br><br>We are all overwhelmed with information that claims to be factual, but even the most punctilious researcher, writer, and journalist can sometimes get it wrong, so checking facts has become a more pressing task.  Now Sarah Harrison Smith, former <i>New Yorker </i>fact checker and currently head of checking for <i>The New York Times Magazine</i> explains exactly how to:<br><br>*Reading for accuracy<br>*Determine what to check<br>*Research the facts<br>*Assess sources: people, newspapers and magazines, books, the Internet, etc. <br>*Check quotations<br>*Understand the legal liabilities <br>*Look out for and avoid the dangers of plagiarism<br><br>For everyone from students to journalists to editors, the methods and practices outlined in <i>The Fact Checker's Bible</i> provide both a standard and a working manual for how to get the facts right. </p>