An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language: Learn to Hear What’s Left Unsaid (Bad Arguments) Hardcover – November 9, 2021 by Ali Almossawi

Description

Author: Almossawi Ali

Package Dimensions: 0x203x788

Number Of Pages: 96

Release Date: 09-11-2021

Details: Product Description

“This is a book for every thinking person, the perfect antidote to today’s culture wars. ”—Hope Jahren

The creators of An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments return with this desperately timely guide to how words can trick us. Learn to “hear” hidden bias, slant, and spin—from an irresistible cast of woodland creatures!

Public discourse? More like public discord. The battle cries of our culture wars are rife with “loaded language”—be it bias, slant, or spin. But listen closely, or you’ll miss what Ali Almossawi finds more frightening still: words that erase accountability, history, even identity through what they leave
unsaid.

Speaking as wise old Mr. Rabbit, Almossawi leads us through a dark forest of rhetoric—aided by Orwell, Baldwin, and a squee-worthy cast of wide-eyed woodland creatures. Here,
passive voice can pardon wrongdoers,
statistics may be a smokescreen,
gaslighting entraps the downtrodden, and
irrelevant adjectives cement stereotypes. Emperor Squirrel isn’t naked; he has a
clothes-free sartorial style. Mouse’s roof
becomes flattened (Elephant’s foot just happens to be there at the time). And when keen-eyed Owl
claims a foreign shore, he seems to be overlooking someone . . .

Fans of Almossawi’s
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments couldn’t ask for a better primer on the
less logical ways that words can trick us. It takes a long pair of ears to hear what’s left unsaid—but when you’re a rabbit in a badger world, listening makes all the difference.

Review

“This is a book for every thinking person, the perfect antidote to today’s culture wars.  It doesn’t contain rules about what you can or can’t say—instead, it gives you tools to think more deeply about what your words convey, so that you may more precisely express yourself.”
—Hope Jahren, author of
Lab Girl and
The Story of More

“After you read this book, you’ll never watch news broadcasts or read news articles the same way again. And that’s a good thing.”
—Jenny Bristol, GeekMom.com

Praise for An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

“This short book makes you smarter than 99% of the population. . . . The concepts within it will increase your company’s ‘organizational intelligence.’ . . . It’s more than just a must-read, it’s a ‘have-to-read-or-you’re-fired’ book.”—
Geoffrey James, INC.com

“I love this illustrated book of bad arguments. A flawless compendium of flaws.”—
Alice Roberts, PhD, anatomist, writer, and presenter of
The Incredible Human Journey

“A whimsical, straightforward primer . . . a guide to how to strengthen—and how not to weaken—your arguments.”
—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Bad arguments, great illustrations . . . gorgeous.”—
Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net

About the Author

Ali Almossawi is an alumnus of MIT’s engineering systems division and Carnegie Mellon’s school of computer science. His books include
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments, An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language, and
Bad Choices. His writing has appeared in publications such as
Wired. He works and lives in San Francisco.

Alejandro Giraldo holds a degree in graphic design from UPB Medellín and a master’s in art direction from ELISAVA (the Barcelona School of Design and Engineering). He runs the clothing company Velmost and works as a freelance illustrator. He lives in Medellín, Colombia.