Author:Jevin D. West,Carl T. Bergstrom
'A necessary book for our times. But also just great fun' Saul Perlmutter, Nobel Laureate
The world is awash in bullshit, and we're drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Start-up culture elevates hype to high art. These days, calling bullshit is a noble act.
Based on a popular course at the University of Washington, Calling Bullshit gives us the tools to see through the obfuscations, deliberate and careless, that dominate every realm of our lives. In this lively guide, biologist Carl Bergstrom and statistician Jevin West show that calling bullshit is crucial to a properly functioning social group, whether it be a circle of friends, a community of researchers, or the citizens of a nation. Through six rules of thumb, they help us recognize bullshit whenever and wherever we encounter it - even within ourselves - and explain it to a crystal-loving aunt or casually racist grandfather.
Essential reading. Even if you feel you can trudge through verbal bullsh!t easily enough, this book will give you the tools to swim through numerical snake-oil. . .
—— Simon Ings , The TelegraphA modern classic that is troubling in some places, sobering in others, and enlightening from beginning to end. . . Bergstrom and West leave the reader feeling a very particular kind of smarter: the empowered kind. . . It works anywhere, for anyone: the academic, the citizen-scientist, citizen-skeptic, and citizen-curious
—— WiredA helpful guide to navigating a world full of doubtful claims based on spurious data. Using clever anecdotes, nods to online culture and allusions to ancient philosophy, the book tells ordinary readers how to spot nonsense-even if they are not numerical whizzes
—— The EconomistEach of us now swims through deception so pervasive that we no longer realize it's there. Calling Bullshit presents a master class in how to spot it, how to resist it, and how to keep it from succeeding
—— Paul Romer, Nobel LaureateIf I could make this critical handbook's contents required curriculum for every high school student (thus replacing trigonometry), then I would do so. I highly recommend Calling Bullshit for our modern existence in the age of misinformation
—— Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math DestructionThe information landscape is strewn with quantitative cowflop; read this book if you want to know where not to step
—— Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to be WrongI laughed, I cried -- to read Bergstrom and West's great examples of 'bullshit.' This is a gripping read for anybody who cares about how we are fooled (and how not to be), and the connection to numeracy and science. But it's also just great fun. This is a necessary book for our times
I love it. My kids love it
—— Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Breakfast ShowMark Maslin is an environmental pathologist stripping away the superfluous and cutting to the very heart of the problem with a brilliant clarity. This book is a roadmap to recovery for humanity, informing and inspiring in equal measure. It is a book every human needs to have to hand as we tackle this crisis head on
—— Bella Lack, Conservationist and Environmental ActivistIdeological debates on Global Warming often produce a fog of confusion in public life. This book cuts through that fog and suggests a way forward. The handy list of salutary and indisputable facts that Maslin has assembled here will ensure that How to Save Our Planet will serve as a much-needed guidebook that will help us negotiate our disorienting times
—— Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of The Climate of History in a Planetary Age (forthcoming March 2021)From the big bang to the future of our fast-warming world, Mark takes us at breakneck speed through the ways humanity is shaping the planet, and presents with amazing clarity steps everyone can take to make the world a better place
—— Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK and author of How to Give Up PlasticA book for anyone who needs a crash course on the condition of our planet and what can be done about it, and it offers a perfect balance of climate realism and climate optimism
—— Jamie Margolin, Climate Justice Activist and Zero Hour Founder & Co-Executive DirectorA valuable resource, in that epic struggle, now underway, to head off apocalypse. Mark does not pull punches about the nightmare that we are staring down the barrel of. He is helpfully clear that we cannot now prevent disasters: they are here, and we are going to have to adapt to a rising tide of them. He is right that there is enormous scope for us to act, collectively, to slow down that rising tide - and even perhaps, even now, to create an ecotopia on Earth
—— Prof. Rupert Read, former Extinction Rebellion spokesperson; author, PARENTS FOR A FUTURE, and co-author, FACING UP TO CLIMATE REALITYA timely and important book, not only laying out the facts - what we know and how we know it - but suggesting real solutions to the challenges facing us
—— Professor Alice Roberts, Anatomist, author & broadcaster, Professor of Public Engagement in Science, University of BirminghamA compelling and crystal clear narrative. By marshalling all the facts, by giving a reference for every single one of them, he has made this slim volume both a sword of truth and the doorway to a much deeper understanding of the facts
—— Vivienne Parry OBE, Writer and broadcasterProfessor Mark Maslin has produced what is an essential guide to climate solutions and a must for all our communities in order to tackle the minefield of climate action
—— Mya-Rose Craig, Birdgirl, Founder & President Back2NatureMore than anything this book is about empowerment. A reminder that facts and action matter, and that every one of us can make a difference. Professor Maslin has packed a rucksack for change. Pick it up and let's go save our planet!
—— Peter C. Kjærgaard, PhD, FLS Museum Director & Professor of Human HistoryA brilliantly crafted book that addresses one of the huge issues underlying the climate crisis: having the right tools and knowledge to clearly communicate facts, counter misinformation and offer up solutions. So we can effectively spread the word about how to collectively fix our planet
—— Edzard van der Wyck, CEO & Co-Founder Sheep Inc.In a strikingly original and accessible format, Mark Maslin's book provides a fascinating collection of the most important facts about the climate crisis and how to tackle it
—— Prof. Peter Stott, leader of the Climate Monitoring and Attribution team at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research at the UK Met OfficeDon't let anyone tell you climate change is an insoluble problem. It can be solved, and in time to avoid the worst impacts. In this vital book Mark Maslin - punchily and entertainingly - tells us how
—— Mark Lynas, author of OUR FINAL WARNING: SIX DEGREES OF CLIMATE EMERGENCYThis book is for everyone. Climate change is happening to us all and we all have a responsibility to understand what is going on to be able to make a difference, this book is your quick and accessible guide to understanding the science and what it's going to take for each and every one of us to save our planet
—— Sara Essa, Founder of Sustainability Hub & Sustainability Club on ClubhouseEveryone should have this book
—— Rick Edwards, BBC Radio 5 LiveAmazing book
—— Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Breakfast ShowA no-nonsense crib sheet on the state of the world and how to help it
—— The I NewspaperIf his book falls into the hands of the powerful then it could just save the planet. At the very least, it will provide some thought-provoking facts
—— The I NewspaperPunchy and to the point. No beating around the bush. This brilliant book contains all the information we need to have in our back pocket in order to move forward
—— Christiana Figueres, author of The Future We Choose[Macdonald's] beautifully written essays go a long way to improving our perception.
—— Ian Critchley , Sunday TimesA collection of wonderfully evocative essays on wildlife.
—— Choice[An] urgently beautiful book about the haunted meanings of belonging in the world.
—— Mathew Lyons , New HumanistStunning.
—— Time Magazine *10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2020*Vesper Flights weaves a beautiful proposition: by noticing how wonder arises and flows, we can learn something about what it means to be alive.
—— Merlin Sheldrake , Foyles *Author Picks for Christmas 2020*These individual essays are about badgers and ants, goldfinches and swans, but through their constellation Macdonald is able to get at something fundamental about the human condition.
—— Adam Weymouth , Resurgence & EcologyI should have started reading Helen Macdonald a long time ago and now I'm unlikely to stop. These essays and reflections are just as compelling as her celebrated H is for Hawk, and come together as a kind of manual for being in the world as you look at it.
—— Jon McGregor , WeekLovely, thoughtful and sometimes sobering essays on the vanishing natural world.
—— Reader's DigestThis book is a powerful - and entertaining - corrective to the idea that the only hopes that matter on this planet are those of our own species.
—— Tim Adams , GuardianMacdonald has a wonderful gift for exploring the intersection between nature and our experience of it, in writing that is both lyrical and impassioned.
—— Hannah Beckerman , ObserverOne of the most beautiful memoirs I've ever read. This story will say with you long after you put the book down
—— Emma GannonI just turned the last page (reluctantly!). A bold, often brutal exploration of memory, grief and love. Full of hope and heart. I can't recommend it enough
—— Terri White, author of Coming UndoneA brave, brilliant book that is both beautiful and important. Read it then buy it for all your friends
—— Hello!Gavanndra's memoir The Consequences of Love is absolutely beautiful. It's compelling, heartbreaking, sweet, honest, fascination. I recommend it HIGHLY. I absolutely LOVED it.
—— Marian KeyesThis stunning exploration of grief is so well written and profoundly moving
—— Good HousekeepingAn elegant study of grief and memory
—— GuardianHodge pours heartbreak and love into the pages of a book that never pretends to know the answers, and is all the better for it
—— Sunday TimesAn eye-opening snapshot of the fashion world in '90s London
—— Vogue UK