Explores the ability of political documentary films to address vital issues ignored or glossed over by the corporate-controlled mass-media. Political documentaries are more popular now than ever? Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11", the top-grossing documentary film of all time, is one of many such recent films. In this incisive book, James McEnteer examines the politics of nonfiction films of recent decades, which together constitute an alternative history to the official stories offered by the U.S. government and its supporters in the media. Tracing the origins of an oppositional documentary movement to the Vietnam era, McEnteer shows how a strong independent documentary tradition grew from television's failure to sustain a commitment to the public interest. He devotes an entire chapter to the many 2004 documentaries made by both sides in that hotly contested presidential election. He concludes with a look at populist anti-war and anti-globalisation films of "Big Noise" and the "Guerrilla News Network", whose youthful producers push the boundaries of the documentary form. As mass media fail to fulfil their watchdog role over public officials and policies, the importance of documentaries committed to telling the truth increases. Such films bear witness to important events otherwise hidden from our view. Their makers dare to refute the falsehoods passing for conventional wisdom, sometimes risking their lives or reputations to reveal the nature of those lies and the interests behind them. As "Shooting the Truth" clearly shows, documentaries have become an essential component for making sense of our time. This book enlarges our appreciation of contemporary nonfiction films and invites debate on the many issues it raises. It discusses political documentaries at a time when they are more popular than ever before, and treats politics as a whole, not just partisan films. This is the only book to critically examine Michael Moore along with other major figures in the genre.