Synopses & Reviews
Singles have a better sex life than married people, right? Wrong! A University of Chicago study shows that married couples are having more sex--30% more--and better sex, than singles. But movies, TV shows, and other reporting about marriage never feature that fact.
Do we have less free time than we used to? Countless news stories and anecdotes from friends and family make the overwhelming case that we're running ourselves ragged. But when people actually keep track of their activities in a time diary, studies show that we have significantly more free time per day than in 1965. So why is everyone out of time?
Surburban sprawl is ruining America. Huge subdivisions and massive highway construction is eating up our free space and affecting our quality of life. Isn't that what you always hear? So why do you never hear that 95% of America is undeveloped, or that so-called 'smart development' prices lower-income families out of property ownership?
Also: Does shaving make your hair grow back thicker? Do girls feel more pressure to have sex than boys? Are gas prices really through the roof? Is outsourcing bad for American workers?
John Stossel takes on these and many more misconceptions, misunderstandings, and plain old stupidity in this collection that will offer much to love for old GIVE ME A BREAK fans, and show everyone why conventional wisdom--economic, political, or social--is wrong.
Review
PRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK"If John Stossel didn't exist, we would have to invent him. . . . hugely entertaining."
--Miami Herald
Review
PRAISE 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 Review
Review
PRAISE 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 Post
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PRAISE FOR GIVE ME A BREAK"A provocative book of commentary on business, government, politics, and the media."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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PRAISE 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
Synopsis
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.