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| Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington | 
 enlarge | Authors: Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
Publisher: Abrams Image
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $5.50
You Save: $13.45 (71%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (28 reviews)
Sales Rank: 4934
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 196
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0810995417
Dewey Decimal Number: 401.41
EAN: 9780810995413
ASIN: 0810995417
Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Negative Exemplar August 14, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I suppose I'm just piling on, but I also was quite disappointed with Aristotle and an Aardvark after enjoying Cathcart and Klein's previous book. I expected some bashing of conservatives and Republicans, but I (perhaps naively) expected balance. After all, politicians are politicians no matter which side of the spectrum they pretend to be from. While there were a few examples of silliness from the other side of the aisle, Cathcart and Klein spent the majority of the book bashing President Bush and other conservatives.
However, they did provide frequent examples of ad hominem attacks, such as the many derisive pseudo-titles given the President and the "hilarious" little reference to Tom Delay's background in the extermination business. What? Does providing a needed service and running a successful business prepare a person less well for public office than getting rich through the legal extortion that is our current tort system (e.g. a certain former senator from North Carolina, presidential candidate, and moral leading light)?
I have seen far better explanations of logical fallacies in textbooks for Freshman Composition and Introductory Public Speaking. I'm sure Cathcart and Klein will cry over my critique all the way to bank; nevertheless, I won't be buying any of their work again. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. If the authors had any integrity, they would market this book with a marketing line like "If you loved Fahrenheit 911, you'll love Aristotle and an Aardvark."
Too bad I can't get my money back.
 Picks low lying fruit July 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The problem with this book is that unlike Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes it picks the low lying fruit, skips a tight organization, and with some light sprinkles of other material, is basically a sustained rant on George W. Bush.
Not that GWB & crew don't make for great examples, but the other book was timeless, this book is locked into an era. Not only that, the lead line about Aristotle isn't a clear joke, just the title and forced into the book later.
This could have been much better with some work.
 Politics Trumps Logic July 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good and entertaining, but if you learn anything from the book you'll be able to identify some of the authors' own fallacious arguments. Just goes to show that personal politics blinds even the experts.
 Funny Erudite and irreverent July 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good read if you've been baffled by the slippery verbiage which has been flowing out of Washington recently. Fun stuff to explore and marvel at.
light, quick tour through a host of logical fallacies with lots of funny quotes and funny jokes June 30, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was convinced to read this book when I stumbled upon it at an airport bookstore and saw that it had (a) quotes from The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, and (b) funny story jokes. That was enough for me!
In this slim volume [just 3 CDs for the unabridged audiobook], the authors illustrate a broad array of logical fallacies (with fancy philosophical names like "denying the antecedent"*) using quotes from current politicians and lots of jokes (see Appendix A for an example). Members of the George W. Bush administration are the primary targets, although Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and others don't get left out.
The quotes are funny and the jokes are funny. The book is light, quick, and enjoyable.
The philosophy provides a structural framework: the authors go through various fallacies one-by-one, giving a short description and then examples and jokes. One could probably learn something about philosophy from this, but I admit that a few days after having finished the book, most of what has stayed with me are the quotes and the jokes.
I listened to the unabridged audioboook narrated by Johnny Heller [just 3 CDs]. He does a good job except when he is imitating Dick Cheney or George W. Bush: Then, not so much.
* That may not be the actual name. I'm recalling here.
Appendix A: A joke from the book, retold by me
A man approaches another man on the street and says, "Jones, you've completely changed! You used to be fat and now you've lost all the weight and are thin as a rail. You used to wear nice suits and now you're wearing these rags. You even used to be short and now you're tall." The other man responds, "My name isn't Jones," to which the first replies, "So you've even changed your name!"
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