Straight and Crooked Thinking
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Review
'It is neither a dry nor weighty tome, but is jam-packed with raw rational sense. It will give you techniques for identifying fallacies and false arguments. It will help protect you from the devious subterfuges of politicians and preachers, journalists and jingoists. It is sweet manna from a rational heaven. Thouless describes 38 dishonest tricks that are commonly used in arguments (there may be more). '
(answersingenes.blogspot.com )"Straight and Crooked Thinking remains one of the most succinct and practically-applicable books ever written. One blogger named it as his favorite book of all time, describing it as "a concise work of supreme genius."
(http://neglectedbooks.com )"...put it back on the mass market, where it belongs! (...) get it on every bookshelf on the planet."
Product Description
This new edition of a timeless classic demonstrates how the use of clear, rational thinking and logic can win any argument, however emotionally charged the topic in question. It describes the typical flaws of reasoning in argument and shows how language can be used to deceive - and how to avoid being deceived. It will show you how, by learning what is 'straight', rational language, and clear thought, you can disentangle emotionally charged rhetoric and hold your own in any argument or debate, no matter how challenging. Although written nearly 80 years ago, this book proves that certain principles remain timeless; it has shown many thousands over the decades how to cope with media spin and distorted reasoning - and now it will do the same for you.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read Straight and Crooked Thinking in 1971, when I was 16. (I found it in a public library) It had an enormous impact upon me. When listening to political debates, or reading newspapers I often had the feeling that speakers/writers were being dishonest and/or illogical. This book gave me the tools to understand why!
I did make myself rather unpopular with my contemporaries at the time by pointing out fallacies in their arguments, but that is another story.
I later found out that the book had had a similar impact upon my father when he read it in 1942. (It had been distributed free to troops to help the battle of ideas against Nazi propaganda.)
When I started teaching in 1979, I bought two copies, one to keep and one to lend to interested students. Alas, I lent and lost both of them.
I recently borrowed the most recent edition (edited by Christopher Thouless) from my university library and found it as relevant as ever.
This is a wonderful book. It is a powerful antidote to the modern culture of "spin"!...
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I went to university in 1984, to study engineering, this book was a compulsory purchase. I bought it (£1.95), and it changed the way I thought. It's as simple as that, an incredible book - I still have my yellowed, dog-eared copy and I'd recommend it to anyone.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book some twenty years ago and happened to come across it again the other day. I started delving into it and soon found myself reading it from cover to cover once more. It must still be regarded as one of those classic works that has stood the test of time. Anyone interested in thinking independantly, or critically would do well to try this. Straight and Crooked thinking is an accessible read which borders upon Psychology,Philosophy and Logic as an excellent introduction to these disciplines.
Not only does the book expose logical fallacies that one encounters in argument or every day conversation, but also the author uses humourous examples to illusrtrate illogical standpoints.
One has to be carefull though, I found myself examining my own thoughts and prejudices!
Not only does the book expose logical fallacies that one encounters in argument or every day conversation, but also the author uses humourous examples to illusrtrate illogical standpoints.
One has to be carefull though, I found myself examining my own thoughts and prejudices!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A brilliant classic, brilliantly brought up to date.
Several of the other positive reviews describe experiences uncannily similar to mine. It is one of a small number of books which have had a major, lasting effect on me, for which I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by observer100
I couldn't finish it..
A book on critical thinking and the tricks employed by others to manipulate the truth and the perception of the truth is interesting. However not in this case. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. R. D. Turner
Should be in schools.
This book should be part of the curriculum in all Secondary schools. It should be compulsory reading in the English departments as well as in Tutor Sessions. Read more
Published 7 months ago by bookworm8
Food For Thought (Straight & Crooked)
An informative book dealing with a subject that could be complicated or bogged down in new-age psycho-babble, were it written by lesser mortals more fixed in the current... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Paul Pinn
Nothing to frighten the horses.
Sometimes there's a reason why a book has remained out of print, and this is a case in point. Much of what is in here is, or at least should be, commonsense. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. M. P. Duffy
Dry
I loved the idea and blurb for this book relishing a timeless classic enlightening me. I wasn't expecting a how to or a particularly slick book but I was expecting something... Read more
Published 8 months ago by rachelcreative
Great concept, dull book
I've recently has the pleasure of reading two books by Stephen Pinker, How the Mind Works (Penguin Press Science) and The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind... Read more
Published 8 months ago by S. Day
Know your opponent!
This book offers some very useful insights into how we all use speech to put a spin on the facts and influence listeners to accept that our point of view is the right one. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Elizabeth Trigg
A well written, authoritative and possibly life-changing guide
This remarkable little book is very easy to read but is packed full of significant wisdom. It provides the attentive reader with all the tools they need to cut through BS and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Cartimand
Smoke and Mirrors
This is an interesting, if not particularly enlightening, nor readable book, in which it is easy to see the joins between the Father's original work and the Son's later inclusions. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Captain Chaos (Semper Vigilans)
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