BS Factor

The B.S. Factor: the Theory and Technique of Faking it in America by Arthur Herzog is an outspoken and hilarious examination of America's "rogue rhetoric." Herzog presents forty-six categories illustrating the fake factor. For example a term called "Big Timing" derives from America's admiration of bigness for itself--quantity proves quality. Big Timing is at bottom inflationary according to Herzog, and leads straight to Big Time style--affluent, achieving, multinational--all words they love, but the most popular is-- power--. Another category is "Image Words"-- used to sell policies, real estate, and so on. For example in realty ads "Golden Age" replaces senior citizen, "Estates" replaces housing development, and "Towne Houses" replaces high rise apartments.One sub-category of "Newsthink" is "Countertrending".The general idea behind the trend is contradiction. This trend is very active during a general election. It goes like this: if the public has a perception about what is happening, one way to make news is to go against that perception. If the polls say the country is going to vote for the incumbant, countertrendings sets in when polls say another candidate is going to win. The media makes news by contradicting themselves. This is a witty book and just plain fun to read. I highly recommend it.

How could anyone not love a book about clarity of speech and thought -- or the lack thereof?I didn't know Arthur Herzog when I first picked up "The B.S. Factor." I still don't know much about him or his other work. Yet, if I had the means, I'd put a copy of this invaluable book in every library, every waiting room, every reading rack, and every hotel room in America. His is the crusade I've been waging for a quarter of a century.Herzog cuts to the bone in dissecting a myriad varieties of obfuscation, verbal misdirection, and just plain muddy talk. He concludes his incisive, hilarious taxonomy of verbal fakery with a brilliant essay on living in a healthy state of skepticism. One gets the sense that nothing fluffed or hyped could ever get past him.Mr. Herzog and I differ on certain political matters, and here is where I find the book's only fault: On occasion, instead of concentrating on his primary mission, which is the exposure of imprecision, flim-flam and deliberate attempts to confuse that litter our verbal environment, he allows his politics to take center stage. Still, he doesn't let it happen often, thank God.If you are concerned about the deterioration of language, truth, and meaning, but aren't sure yet how deep the rot goes, this is a must-read book. If you're already near to verbal paralysis from the seeming impossibility of getting the people around you to talk straight, Herzog is your spiritual kin, as he is mine. Either way, you'll come away from "The B.S. Factor" enlightened and refreshed.Freedom, Wealth, and Peace, Francis W. Porretto