Saturday, August 18, 2007
It's Figaro! (without the opera)
One of the good things about working in a bookstore is that you're always coming across books that you might not ever come across just browsing as a customer. (That's also one of the bad things, unless you are seriously overpaid and get lots of vacation time.) Last week I came across
Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs.
Well, anyone who can work Homer Simpson into the same subtitle as Aristotle and Lincoln has earned my attention! Heinrichs doesn't tell you to vote Democratic or Republican, he tells you how to present your position and reveals the tricks others use to persuade us. After work, I read a couple of chapters before putting a copy in the employee hold bin. I also noticed that Heinrichs refers to his blog, http://www.figarospeech.com, so I checked it out. (figarospeech....figure of speech -- get it?) It's like short chapters from the book, based on current events. For example, he cites Karl Rove's use of "antonomasia." (Sorry, you'll have to go to the blog for the explanation, but it's not a satanic incantation.)
Also, on the home page are links to pages devoted to Pythonisms, Homerisms, and Yogiisms, to name a few. Check it out, and tell Figaro I sent you.
Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs.
Well, anyone who can work Homer Simpson into the same subtitle as Aristotle and Lincoln has earned my attention! Heinrichs doesn't tell you to vote Democratic or Republican, he tells you how to present your position and reveals the tricks others use to persuade us. After work, I read a couple of chapters before putting a copy in the employee hold bin. I also noticed that Heinrichs refers to his blog, http://www.figarospeech.com, so I checked it out. (figarospeech....figure of speech -- get it?) It's like short chapters from the book, based on current events. For example, he cites Karl Rove's use of "antonomasia." (Sorry, you'll have to go to the blog for the explanation, but it's not a satanic incantation.)
Also, on the home page are links to pages devoted to Pythonisms, Homerisms, and Yogiisms, to name a few. Check it out, and tell Figaro I sent you.
Labels: webistes language books
