An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language: Learn to Hear What's Left Unsaid (Bad Arguments)

“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 un said. 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. The creators of An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments return at last with a desperately timely guide to rhetoric Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the city?s streets on Friday. The actual count was 250,000. Why tens of thousands , then, and not a quarter million ? The grocer takes woke orders on its brands from a 17-year-old . The nameless 17-year-old?s opinion seems not worth considering. At what age will it be? Rabbits zapped three badgers in an ambush last night, hours after six rabbits in a neighboring town lost their lives . Were the six rabbits the sole participants in losing their own lives? Those silly rabbits . . . In this adorably illustrated book, old Mr. Rabbit is your guide to these and many more examples of loaded language. He mines real reporting (by respected and rogue media alike) to unmask rhetoric that shifts blame, erases responsibility, dog-whistles, plays on fear, or rewrites history?subtly or shamelessly. It takes a long pair of ears to hear what?s left un said?but when the very notion of truth is at stake, listening for "spin" makes all the difference **“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!**__un__**__passive voice__****__statistics__** **__gaslighting__** __**irrelevant adjectives**____clothes-free sartorial style____becomes flattened____claims__ __An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments__ __less__ The Subtle Ways Language Influences Thought Language That Conceals with Vagueness Language That Creates Sinister Associations Language That Creates Feel-Good Associations Language That Presupposes Language That Feigns Objectivity with Apparent Neutrality Language That States the Clock of History When It's Most Convenient Language That Tells You How to Think About Yourself Final Remarks Suggested Reading & Sources Acknowledgements About the Author and Illustrator The author and illustrator of backlist juggernaut An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments (140,000 in print) return at last with a desperately timely guide to rhetoric (hidden and not-so-hidden ""slant"" in speech and writing)--irresistibly explained with furry animals! "An illustrated, humorous guide to verbal and written rhetorical tricks, teaching readers to more competently analyze the hidden content behind words"-- Provided by publisher