Untruth : Why the Conventional Wisdom is (Almost Always) Wrong

by Robert J. Samuelson

In Untruth , Newsweek and Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson explains why our political, economic and cultural debates so routinely traffic in misinformation--popular fads that, like meteors, momentarily burn brightly in public consciousness and then fizzle out. Advocacy groups, politicians and their unwitting allies in the media instinctively create agendas of problems that afflict society and must be "solved".The problems are often exaggerated and oversimplified, and the result is that the public is misled about what is wrong and how easily it can be made right.

Untruth is the first collection of Samuelson's insightful assaults on the conventional wisdom. Included are columns arguing that campaign contributions have not corrupted politics, that the "service economy" is not turning America into a nation of hamburger flippers, and that the Internet isn't the most important invention since the printing press.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sub-title is what caught my attention when I chose this book. On many levels the book delivered just what it promised. The book is a collection of the author's previous articles and essays - some are very good and some not, but overall I like the book. I like the book best because it fits with my current thought process that the world work opposite of the way many think, but that is a discussion for another day.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting in places but way too much political bias

a sharper book on the topic
would have been appreciated