Logically Fallacious: The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies (Academic Edition) (Dr. Bo's Critical Thinking Series)
J**S
Informative and funny
I reluctantly gave this book a try after hearing Dr. Robert M. Price recommend it on his Bible Geek podcast. I say reluctantly because I was not overly impressed by the previous Bo Bennett book Price recommended, "The Concept". This time, however, the book was a worthwhile purchase.The book is perfectly described by the subtitle, "The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies". One might quibble about whether they are all *logical* fallacies but all are well explained and well demonstrated by good examples. The examples are not only instructive but in most cases funny as well. Mr. Bennett has a great sense of humor and the book is a joy to read; it's hard to put it down without reading "just one more".One can deduce Bennett's position on a lot of issues by the examples he constructs and/or chooses. It doesn't dilute the thrust of the book unduly but one does get the impression one might be getting instruction in more than logical fallacies.I purchased the Kindle edition and it was formatted perfectly; everything worked as it should. Usually I complain about the progress bar having too few chapter marks. In this case the opposite problem reared its head; the progress bar was virtually all chapter marks.My only complaint is the spotty editing. There are numerous cases where you have words like "show" instead of "shown" and "clout" instead of "cloud". Nothing too serious and standard fare for self published works like this but noticeable.Highly recommended.
E**S
Interesting, Funny, Inforative
Mike Mandel recommends this book, and if you know Mike, what he recommends is usually worth reading. Anyone dealing with argumentation, whether in formal debate, informal debate, or the persuasion arts is going to benefit from taking the time to really take a close look at the fallacies Bo Bennett has so painstakingly collected. I will admit that some feel a bit redundant, as some categories are split into finer and finer hairs. Yet if you take the time to waltz your way through this tome you will be the better for it the next time you either come across someone defending a long held belief with faulty reasoning, or when you argument needs a stronger leg to stand on. Well worth the price; well worth having in your reference library.
K**R
An Informative Read
This is an accessible read, given the amount of information packed into this volume. What prevented this from being a five star book for me was that some of the humor was a bit puerile for my tastes, and the book was rife with grammatical and typological errors, especially towards the last third of the book. For the most part though, the book explained each logical fallacy in a clear, concise manner and the examples were easy to understand and elucidating. Anyone interested in delving into the waters of online or in person debate in these divisive political times should fine this book very useful.
D**R
Remedy for the stupor of muddled thinking!
This book is a tremendously valuable self-improvement resource for clear thinking.I have the Kindle and iTunes versions of this book. They both operate flawlessly. A helpful feature contained in these electronic versions is the addition of hyperlinks embedded within the text which allows the reader to move to other relevant areas of interest. As a reader, I expect a book on logic to be organized "logically." This book passes with a five stars here. The free sample download includes the first 13 "alphabetized" fallacies which gives a good sense of the scope of the book. The author's format is: name each fallacy, describe it, represent its "logical form," give examples of the fallacy, and discuss exceptions to the rule, tips and variations. Downloading the sample will help you decide whether or not to ultimately purchase the book.Many of the examples are hysterically funny. Warning to the reader: you need to be in fairly good health to read this book, as the humor is literally gut-busting and side-splitting. The humorous examples are in and of themselves worth purchase.The often deceptive and manipulative arguments, reasoning and tactics of salesmen, talking head pundits, opinion writers and political and religious demagogues are readily seen for what they are after reading this book. Looking inwardly, I can better identify my own areas of fallacious thinking.Some of the other Amazon reviews of this book surmise that "faith-based" people will find the religious examples offensive. Perhaps. I think we all have mental blind spots no matter what religious or irreligious beliefs we hold. The author uses many examples that include "common creationist arguments". He says "let me be clear, maybe the universe is just 6000 years old. For the purpose of the book, it doesn't matter. Fallacies are not necessarily about the truth of the argument; they are more about the form of the argument."
B**E
Fairly easy to read
The author provided about 300 different types of fallacies, listed alphabetically, and each under the same structured format. It's essentially a 450-page one-volume encyclopedia on the subject.
P**.
My opinion -- everyone should ...
Everyone should have some introduction to logic. And religion/philosophy. And beer and taffy. And maybe English composition. And exercise -- do that lots. I hear that exercise is the best thing going to keep the brain healthy.On the particular book -- suits my need. Lots of stuff in there. The author is passionate about the subject. Not so easy to digest, but that goes with the subject, not the presentation of material.
T**T
Absolutely comprehensive!
This book is great, extensive and practical, for daily life and academic research. Read how for example politicians use fallacious modes of speech, learn how you can win discussions. It's absolutely comprehensive!
V**A
Great source of knowledge and guidance - to be used both professionally and personally
The book describes in detail the most common fallacies and how to avoid them, for both making and/or evaluating arguments.By identifing the errors in reasoning the reader will improve his/hers communication strategies to conduct better conversations, negociations, analisys, evaluations of any given matter.
M**Y
Great Gift
Bought for my son for Christmas, and he loves it. He uses it as a reference guide. Cant have an arguement with him now without him referencing it.
A**R
Comprehensive and engaging
This is a very comprehensive collection of logical fallacies. Although it says 'academic edition' it's an easy and enjoyable read with lots of humour to keep the reader engaged.
C**N
Very good book
Very good book learned a lot and would like to read more of the author. He is amazingly clear. I
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