John Stossel Rules!!

In his new book, Give Me a Break : How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media, John Stossel (the co-host of ABC's 20/20) discusses his past as a consumer affairs reporter and his revelation during his work that a lot of the problem in Amercia today come from huge government intruding in our everyday lives. The programs supported and paid for by you and me stifle innovation and make us less prosperous.

Similar to "Who's Looking Out for You", by Billl O'Reilly, this book is a much more easy read and comes off as less preachy. The language is smooth and flowing and comes across a lot more like a converstation and less like a book of thought and ideas.

Stossel discusses his youth, his battle with severe stuttering, and his early work as an investigative reporter.

During his tenure at ABC he went from consumer affairs reporter to skeptic of big government. Supporters of his who loved his work when he was skeptical of big businesses, began to question his integrity when he started questioning big government.

His topics range from discussing the FDA process of approving drugs, which he sees as taking entirely too long, to government regulations which cause people to be overpaid for government contracts, to the benefits of "greed".

Frequent followers of Stossel will no doubt recognize many of his arguments. Many of the chapters closely follow and discuss many of his television specials like "Are we Scaring Ourselves to Death?" and "John Stossel Goes to Washington"

Though the book is a quick and enjoyable read, it tends to drag on a bit in some areas. Some of the chapters could be condenses slightly, as a few of his arguements tend to get repetetive.

Anyone who subscribes to the tennents of a Libertarian, that is small government, free markets, and less government intrusion in your personal life will find this book enjoyable.

For heavier reading I would point you towards books by Larry Elder or, if you are really looking for something heavy, Ayn Rand.

Posted by psugrad98 at February 18, 2004 11:18 AM