Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel – Why Everything You Know is Wrong by John Stossel (PDF)

Description

Now in paperback: The major national bestseller that the New York Times says “tosses sand on liberal sacred cows”John Stossel — award-winning journalist, tireless consumer-rights crusader, and anchor of ABC’s newsmagazine 20/20 — has built his reputation on his willingness to debunk conventional wisdom, no matter the source. In his latest New York Times bestseller, which has sold more than 200,000 copies in hardcover, he busts the myths, lies, and downright stupidity clogging media outlets on all sides of the spectrum. Taking a shovel to the heaps of misinterpretations and outright mistakes passing for “fact” these days, Stossel proves:–That contrary to popular belief, Americans have more free time now than ever before; –How DDT could actually save millions of lives annually, if only we hadn’t been wrongly convinced it caused cancer; –That Republicans don’t shrink government — they expand it; –Why bottled water is a rip-off (hint: not only doesn’t it taste better than tap, it’s no healthier either!); –How “defective product” lawsuits end up depriving us of safer products; –Why it’s okay to marry your cousin; –And much, much more.Bursting with facts, sharp insights, and plain old common sense, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity is a modern muckraking classic.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review PRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK”If John Stossel didn’t exist, we would have to invent him. . . . hugely entertaining.” ―Miami HeraldPRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK”[GIVE ME A BREAK] will delight all believers in free minds and free markets, as Stossel gives copious instances of the harm done by excessive government regulation and politically correct censorship.”―National ReviewPRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK “Stossel is the master of confrontational reporting.’ Give yourself a break: read and heed [this] insightful, delightful book.” ―New York PostPRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK”A provocative book of commentary on business, government, politics, and the media.”―Fort Worth Star-TelegramPRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK “It would be hard for anyone willing to leave ideological blinders at the door not to learn from this entertaining read.”―Rocky Mountain News About the Author John Stossel is the anchor for 20/20. He has received nineteen Emmys and been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. His book Give Me a Break was also a New York Times bestseller. A graduate of Princeton University, Stossel lives in New York City.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I’m a big Stossel fan and this book was very good, for the most part. He goes a long way to blowing up most of the “common knowledge” we’ve been fed by the media, politicians and even the educational system. It’s well worth the read.My only gripe, is some of the more important myths, received very short coverage. For instance, the myth that the world is running out of oil. This is a big deal and it deserved significant evidence and detail. Stossel gives it 1 page, with one reason of why that’s not true. I agree, but through my own research, there’s much more detail and evidence than that. I would have liked to have seen this and a couple of other important myths get better coverage.Another myth that I felt was poorly addressed was that Outsourcing costs America jobs. Stossel argues the opposite is true. That outsourcing creates even more jobs than we lose, yet only a little evidence is mentioned to support that, and part of the reasoning is faulty. This important myth needed much better evidence to address it properly. I wouldn’t call this myth busted, only in doubt.Much of the book’s myths don’t really need a lot of evidence to bust, and many that do need the attention do get it. But like I said, a few important ones do not get enough attention.

⭐Have we become a nation of imbeciles incapable of making our own decisions in life? Are we so weak of character that we must depend upon others to protect us from ouselves. According to John Stossel (ABC’s 20/20)politicians and lawyers would have you believe that to be fact. Obviously we are too dense to realize that we shouldn’t use an electric hair dryer while we are asleep. So businesses must spend thousands of dollars, thanks to assinine legislation, warning us not to use hair dryers in bed and not to eat fishing lures.Government regulation brought on by thousand of class action lawsuits cost this country billions of dollars in needless expenses that then drive up consumer costs. For example: Non-lawyers who try to help people fill out legal forms such as wills and noncontested divorces are arrested and jailed for their efforts. One bookkeeper who worked as a document assistant to indigents and poor people had his bookkeeping business ruined by the legal system. He became an indigent himself. What was his crime? He dared to charge only $90 to do exactly what lawyers charged $250 to do. Lawyers have succeeded, with the help of friendly judges and politicians, in pushing through government legislation that virtually gaurantees them a monopoly in the business of legal aid.John Stossel’s latest book MYTHS, LIES AND DOWNRIGHT STUPIDITY (Hyperion, NY 2006) gives example after example of government incompetence, interference, and meddling in our lives. Once a liberal consumer reporter Mr. Stossel’s years of reporting have convinced him that less government is better and that we have way too many lawyers with too much time on their hands. I suggest you buy this book and read it …twice.

⭐Its hard to say that this program is about any one thing. The only real common thread is the desire to debunk popular myths and “common knowledge”. From there, the topics are as widely diverging as child rearing, sex, finance, bottled water and disease transmission to name but a few. The basic premise is to take a “myth”, state it clearly and then proceed to deconstruct it. Sometimes he surprises us and the myth is actually true.There are several things that make this a delightful program. One is the presentation. John Stossel comes across as interested and interesting. He is engaging, not a dry lecturer. The second is the sheer competence of the manner in which things are presented. It is done in a rational manner with facts and personal preferences don’t get in the way. That doesn’t mean that there are not any personal preferences; it only means that the desired results do not dictate the presentation.The last few minutes of the 3rd CD are used to pitch Stossel’s own political viewpoint, Libertarianism. He is often accused by liberals of being a “conservative”. He is not and he plainly delineates the many differences between the two. He also delineates the difference between classical liberalism and the modern version. This could have been pedantic but is done instead in the same, friendly and engaging style.It is an educational and informative presentation made all the more pleasing for being interesting as well.

⭐This is the author’s second go at writing a book, and this time around he gets it right. It is quite educational and I recommend it highly.Here, he adopts a pseudo-scientific approach. Each subsection has a box with `Myth…Truth…’ statements, followed by the author’s exposition. Even better, this book is thoroughly researched, and there are extensive references in the back of the book.Still, there is much to criticize. Getting someone to say something goofy in a TV interview or coming up with a clever non sequitur is not the same thing as disproving a myth. Sometimes, the author simply misses the boat: kidneys for transplants are illegal to buy and sell because then only rich people would ever get kidneys, new drugs are expensive to bring to market because of the overwrought procedures required by the FDA. In the last 2 chapters on parenting and happiness, the author delves into pop psychology and is in over his head. There are extensive references in an appendix in the back, but the text is not footnoted, alerting the reader about a verifiable source that the author has found.However, the author scores a bull’s-eye often enough to make this book a must-read. Not only does DDT not cause human cancer, but DDT can save millions of lives in Africa by fighting malaria. Food irradiated with cobalt-60 is totally safe for food, and both the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association approve of its use; only Stossel seems to have noticed.

⭐An interesting book that busts many of the media myths

⭐Overall very pleased with the products, speed of service and price.

⭐Stossel’s writing is very entertaining and quite information. His clear bias comes from his libertarian philosophy and because he is a libertarian he takes aim at a lot of different people; e.g. Democrats and Republicans. Many people who read the book without a good understanding of political ideologies will probably assume he’s a conservative, but he’s far from it. Stossel provides an alternative view of things that is quite unusual to find in this day and age. He reviews several common assumptions and claims in areas such as healthcare, education, consumer advocacy, politics and competition. In true libertarian fashion he doesn’t pull any punches and attacks Democrats, Republicans, big-businesses that want protection, unions that want protection and all kinds of people who are looking for handouts such as wealthy farmers who receive tax-payer funded subsidies. It’s one of the few books I’ve read that looks at several aspects of our society and critiques them. We usually get to hear/read things from a left vs. right perspective, but Stossel offers up a fresh perspective. I don’t agree with a number of suggestions he makes such as the suggestion that there should be a free market for organ transplants; I happen to think that implied consent would address the need for organs more effectively than creating a legitimate trade in human organs. But the thing about Stossel is: he’s not apologetic and he doesn’t mince words. You know where this guy stands and he’s a good writer. This book is a quick, easy read and I know I learned a thing or two and thought about a number of other things from a different perspective – even if I didn’t agree with all of it.

⭐I recommend that more people read this book and similar articles. It shows us why our society is being misdirected and how tax money is being wasted.

⭐A relief to read someone reasonable at last!

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