John Stossel

I like Stossel. He doesn't take any guff and he doesn't give a damn. He takes on many conventional wisdoms here and he does a fine job. These are outgrowths of his 20/20 segments and often contain revealing snippets of interviews. The endnotes refer back to specific pages and contain references to primary and secondary sources, often to the 20/20 website itself, which contains a "living" bibliography. Neat idea, though, in all fairness to any readers of this review, I hate the idea. I do show more wish this was a bit more rigorous, i.e. scholarly, but what can I expect. I do wish Stossel would write an entire book on the made-up health care "crisis." Recommended for kicks. show less

tossel is great and unique. Check out his website. He is from the opposite economic spectrum from Krugman, readily quoting Milton Friedman and Frederick Von Hayek. His book is about journalism, and so many of the myths we believe in because of bad journalism and good lawyers. Here are some of Stossel's "truths": Large amounts of vitamin C don't help fight off any diseases, silicone breast implants never were harmful, there's no such thing as a "crack baby," and cutting your salt intake won't show more help prevent heart disease. Those are all covered in just 10 pages in the book. This book is an eye-opening, mind-freeing must-read. You may not agree with him, but you'll have to know your facts well to disagree with Stossel. This book stirred long-dormant Libertarian feelings in my soul. show less

I actually read quite a few non-fiction books throughout the year, often times many at once. I however, rarely finish one all the way through, which is usually what I wait until to post a review here. Here is one that didn’t take too much effort for me to move through. Short, concise sections on different myths and rebuttals to them. Everything from politics, science, personal health and economics. While John doesn’t go into great detail about any one myth, he presents enough information show more to make his case and allow the reader to investigate further to verify for themselves. As a conservative, he touched on many of the points I’ve been making for years. However, there were a few points that I disagreed with him on. Overall a well written and though provoking book. show less

I was already a fan of John Stossel's TV segments, now I can say the same about his writing. This is pretty much a collection of stories he's done for television. Well researched and put together as his work always is, and quite honest when revealing how he blindly fell for many of the thoughts and ideas exposed in the book.

A word of caution... if you are in love with your ideals and way of thinking about many items in today's culture, don't read this book. He just might challenge you to show more re-evaluate them. show less