Book Review: "Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel - Why Everything You Know is Wrong" by John Stossel (2006)

Stossel's second offering is pretty much the literary equivalent of Penn and Teller's show, "Bullshit!" (see here for a particularly vicious episode which looks at what passes for thoughtful discourse in some increasingly mainstream American political circles). Less ideological and more practical than his first book (reviewed below), Stossel looks at everyday issues like how bottled water companies con a public that has been seduced by the lure of exclusivity (ever notice that Evian is the word NAIVE spelled backwards), the silliness of psychics, voodoo and astrology, and the like. Of course, it wouldn't be Stossel without breaking down the absolute fallacies behind conventional public policy wisdom around things like minimum wage laws, farm subsidies, and price controls. I liked this one better than "Give Me a Break" because he talks less about himself and more about the issues, providing a fun mix of nuts-and-bolts economics with less weighty fare for a look at society that is sarcastic, skeptical and, well, pretty damn weary of emotionalism rather than facts dictating what is assumed in society and what isn't.

(Just skip the chapter on parenting ... it's a little hokey.)

Overall rating: 9/10