Great review. I find nonfiction books with titles like these, which make a claim that is either hedged about in the book itself, or is only defended on the basis of idiosyncratic definitions of words in the title, irritating.
It also makes you wonder whether the book is worth reading; if the author is prepared to use a deliberately misleading title to aid sales, what other, less obtrusive compromises with regards to accuracy have been made? Though I'm sure publishers often leave authors with little choice.
See also Why The Germans Do It Better (the author believes that they often don't), and The Sleepwalkers (the author does not believe that German decision makers sleepwalked into WWI).
Great review. I find nonfiction books with titles like these, which make a claim that is either hedged about in the book itself, or is only defended on the basis of idiosyncratic definitions of words in the title, irritating.
It also makes you wonder whether the book is worth reading; if the author is prepared to use a deliberately misleading title to aid sales, what other, less obtrusive compromises with regards to accuracy have been made? Though I'm sure publishers often leave authors with little choice.
See also Why The Germans Do It Better (the author believes that they often don't), and The Sleepwalkers (the author does not believe that German decision makers sleepwalked into WWI).