Myths, Lies, And Downright Stpidity
Get Out the Shovel -- Why Everything You Know is Wrong
-
-
4.4 • 26 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A mericas favorite investigative reporter, John Stossel, tackles our favorite myths in his characteristic style and challenges us to look at life differently. Myths and Misconceptions covered in the book include: lIs the media unbiased lAre our schools helping or hurting our kids lDo singles have a better sex life than married people lDo we have less free time than we used to lIs outsourcing bad for American workers lSuburban sprawl is ruining America. lMoney makes people happier. lThe world is too crowded. lWere drowning in garbage. lProfiteering is evil. lSweatshops exploit people. John Stossel takes on these and many more misconceptions, misunderstandings, and plain old stupidity in this collection that will offer much to love for Give Me a Break fans, and show everyone why conventional wisdomeconomic, political, or socialis often wrong.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
ABC News correspondent Stossel mines his 20/20 segments for often engaging, frequently tendentious challenges to conventional wisdom, presenting a series of "myths" and then deploying an investigative journalism shovel to unearth "truth." This results in snappy debunkings of alarmism, witch-hunts, satanic ritual abuse prosecutions and marketing hokum like the irradiated-foods panic, homeopathic medicine and the notion that bottled water beats tap. Stossel's libertarian convictions make him particularly fond of expos s of government waste and regulatory fiascoes, which are usually effective but lead inexorably to blanket denunciations of "monster government" and sermons on the wisdom of the market. Sloganeering "Myth: The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) will make America less sexist. Truth: The EEOC will torment people and enrich lawyers" sometimes crowds out objectivity. The author's complacent glosses on overpopulation and global warming ("we can build dykes and move back from the coasts") are especially glib and one-sided. Fans of Stossel's similarly opinionated bestseller Give Me a Break will eat up this new book, but other readers may wince when the author's ideology overshadows the facts. Author tour.
