Fads and Fallacies in the Social Sciences

Rating:
Summary: Re-examining myself
Review: I know that i have, at different stages of my life, reached conclusions regarding issues of choice or philosopy, closed
that door, and moved on. So sure of what I had concluded, I
rarely re-visted issues i knew resolved. Professor Goldberg's
book re-opens those doors and forces you to re-think your positions on the critical issues like the death penalty, i.q., homosexuality,and race through the logic of time and fact. The importance of this book it opens my eyes to where i was wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Hot Button Issues, Serious Thinking, Great Fun!!
Review: I really got a kick out of this book! It's as rigorously logical as it is amusing. Goldberg goes after all the hot button issues--abortion, differences between the sexes and among different racial or ethnic groups, the death penalty, intelligence testing. . . and in each case he just aims at uncovering the facts and what logical conclusions you can draw from them. The arguments are so clear and unpretentious that they put to shame what usualy passes for thought about these subjects. No special pleading or political hand-wringing, the book's a pleasure in the way it just pursues its subjects, come what may. All you need to enjoy it is an open mind and an appetite for the truth--damn subversive in today's world of left- and right-wing PC!
If you don't mind thinking without first deciding what you're Supposed to Think, or even what you maybe Want to Think, there's great fun in following Goldberg's often funny and always sharp accounts of the fads and fallacies of standard sociology.

By the way, I don't quite know how it got in the book, but as a bonus there's a really great piece on Bob Dylan's music--one of the best!

Rating:
Summary: Smart Reading
Review: Steven Goldberg's tough no-nonsense intelligence takes on some of the pressing issues of the day, and we emerge with a new way of looking at them. You may not like his conclusions, but you will be stimulated and provoked. His highly accessible writing style is a pleasure to read. Do not read this book unless you are ready to be challenged by one of America's greatest debunkers of cant.

Elizabeth Mayers

Rating:
Summary: If You Want To Know What You're Talking About
Review: Steven Goldberg's tough no-nonsense intelligence takes on some of the pressing issues of the day, and we emerge with a new way of looking at them. You may not like his conclusions, but you will be stimulated and provoked. His highly accessible writing style is a pleasure to read. Do not read this book unless you are ready to be challenged by one of America's greatest debunkers of cant.

Elizabeth Mayers

Rating:
Summary: Fads and Fallacies in the Social Sciences
Review: This book had me questioning many of my views on the "hot topics" presented and THAT is no easy task!
I found myself using every free moment to pick it up and find what "I KNEW to be the ONLY and correct opinions" on many of the issues needing additional thought and consideration on my part. This caught my husband's attention and he couldn't wait for me to put it down so he could read it. We've spent quite some time since discussing the issues therein.
Kudos to Professor Goldberg for an entertaining and thought provoking book!

Rating:
Summary: Smart Reading
Review: This is the perfect book to settle bets and arguments. There's no one who doesn't know exactly how he or she feels about every issue raised in this book, from capital punishment to homosexuality to abortion to intelligence tests. The problem is, almost everything we know about them turns out to be more about how we feel than about any objective reality. Goldberg doesn't tell you what to think, but he demands you be consistent and logical in whatever your position is. And reexamining those positions is both an education and, thanks to the humor in Goldberg's writing, enjoyable as well.