Review of "The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics"

"The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics" was written by Major Garrett, a reporter, and Timothy Penny, a former Conservative Democrat. The book claims to be a self defense manual for voters by allowing them to see past fifteen dangerous lies used by politicians to sway said voters. The book follows a style of generally presenting a political myth/debate and deconstructing both sides of said issue. "The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics" is certainly a well researched book as one can ascertain by the evidence that Garrett and Penny present when debunking an argument. The book has both issues and strengths in its presentation, some of its research and its consistency.

"The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics", as stated, is certainly well researched but the manner in which it is presented can be hard to follow for readers who have not yet taken an economics class. The book also has moments in the second third where the writers seemed to have focused more or so on providing information in a flat manner rather than a manner that is interesting to read, such as the case with the weakest chapter, "The Budget Will Be Balanced by the Year 2002". That is not to say, that the information will not be enlightening to some, but it is to say, that it will be difficult for most to swallow at times. I personally found the first third of the book to be the strongest, as it was able to keep my interest the entire read, while the second third dragged, and the third was an inconsistent blend of the first two third's positive and negative qualities.

The book, while generally well-researched, has obvious moments, even in the exceptional first third, of political bias, in the chapter revolving around religion and politics. As I stated in my second blog, both authors seem to let their own faith cloud their judgement as to the fact that while religion has certainly aided certain political morality in cases such as abolition, civil rights, and feminism, it was also used as justification to keep these movements in check by radicals. However, the most impressive research in "The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics" was in the abortion and gun control chapters. In the abortion chapter, statistics were shown that implicated both the pro-choice movement (partial birth abortions increasing over time) and the pro-life movement (thousands of violent cases against abortion clinic doctors). Overall, the research of the book, with the exception of the chapter about religion and politics, was well rounded.

As I stated in the second paragraph, the book lacks consistency. After the first third of the book, I was disappointed tremendously with the second third as the book went from a well researched, critique of both sides of an issue to a well researched critique of one side of an issue. The final third held my interest in certain parts but by the end, I was just wishing the style had become less ham fisted and more nonpartisan that the first, second and fourth chapters handled so well. If the book had been consistent, it would have been a superior political book but as it stands, it is average at worst.

Would I recommend this book? No. The second third of "The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics" simply drags the book down due to horrible pacing. That is my review of "The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics".