Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media... [Paperback]

John Stossel (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 25, 2005

Working as a correspondent for 20/20 and Good Morning America, John Stossel confronted dozens of scam artists: from hacks who worked out of their basements to some of America's most powerful executives and leading politicians. His efforts shut down countless crooks -- both famous and obscure. Then he realized what the real problem was.

In Give Me a Break, Stossel takes on the regulators, lawyers, and politicians who thrive on our hysteria about risk and deceive the public in the name of safety. Drawing on his vast professional experience (as well as some personal ones), Stossel presents an engaging, witty, and thought-provoking argument about the beneficial powers of the free market and free speech.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stossel doesn't offer much detail about how he became "the first of the in-your-face TV consumer reporters," rushing through his career's start and then shifting to anecdotes from his experiences to illustrate how he reached the ideological conclusions that have given him a reputation as a rogue, a tag he both embraces and tries to shake here. Free markets are great, the 20/20 correspondent repeatedly tells readers, while government regulation stifles innovation and keeps consumers from gaining access to the best, safest products possible. Stossel calls out the federal government in particular, citing its "incompetence" and comparing the FDA to a "malignant tumor" (he also claims September 11 happened because "the FAA never asked for tighter security"). While Stossel describes himself as a libertarian, his comments on the liberal media establishment are reminiscent of those of outspoken conservative Bernard Goldberg. Many readers who nod in agreement when Stossel complains about the "totalitarian left," however, may find it harder to share his enthusiasm for extending personal liberty to include assisted suicide, legalized prostitution and dwarf-tossing. Stossel may be effective in small doses on 20/20, but his rhetorical strength diminishes when the print format requires him to go on at length. 16-page b&w photo insert not seen by PW.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Stossel, the well-known television correspondent, was one of the first consumer reporters, sticking up for the little folks who got scammed by quack doctors, envelope-stuffing schemes, and the like. But he found himself frustrated. He would expose the bad guys, and the next month they would be back in business. Why, he asked, can't government step in and help? "The more reporting I did," Stossel writes, "the more it dawned on me that the government is often the problem, not the solution." His book, drawn from his television pieces, is full of stories of government gone mad: entrepreneurs put out of business because they violated a ridiculous regulation; competition unfairly quashed by regulators acting in the interests of lobby groups; laws interpreted so narrowly that they become ludicrous. Rapidly, he went from an intrepid consumer reporter to--in the eyes of his critics--a turncoat who abandoned the cherished liberal belief in the ability of government to help people. Although the book is clearly one man's opinion, Stossel is very persuasive. His thesis is simple: there is nothing government can do that the private sector can't do better, more efficiently, and cheaper. We are being ripped off, he laments, by excessive taxation, incompetent and bloated bureaucracies, and politicians who make decisions based on self-interest rather than public interest. It's a powerful, well-argued, and immensely thought-provoking book, and with Stossel's visibility, not to mention the incendiary subject matter, it's sure to be a hot one, too. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060529156
• ISBN-13: 978-0060529154
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (222 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

300 of 351 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Personal Journey from Liberal to Libertarian January 20, 2004

By Tucker Andersen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As a long-time resident of the greater NYC Metropolitan area, I have been familiar with the work of John Stossel since his appearances on WCBS-TV as an in-your-face consumer reporter early in his career. I took notice when he moved to network TV after being hired by Roone Arledge, and continued to enjoy his reporting even though I sometimes disagreed with some of his premises. I then became a viewer of his specials which often questioned liberal orthodoxy with such catchy titles as "Are We Scaring Ourselves To Death?" I regularly found these to be both informative and provocative. Thus, I was very pleased to meet when we both attended a conference several years ago. Since then I have seen him once or twice a year at other events that we have both attended and regard him as a casual friend since we share a common philosophical outlook with regard to the role of government in our lives. When I happened to see John at a recent meeting and he mentioned that he was about to have a book published, I asked him if I could get a review copy in order to review it for Amazon and his publisher agreed. Of course, I recognized that if I didn't like the book, a bad review might chill our friendship, but fortunately this is a thoroughly enjoyable recounting of John's career. As a disclaimer, I want to mention that my belief in the educational value of John's work (and its potential to be a catalyst for classroom discussion of the topics involved) has led me to also provide some modest financial support to intheclassroom.org, the organization which provides copies of John's programs and classroom guides to high school and college teachers interested in the material.

I view this book as a semi-autobiography, because while it is John Stossel's story told in his own words it involves his professional life supplemented by anecdotes from his personal life only where necessary to inform the story. (E.g, in one case he uses his experience as a father of a boy and a girl to discuss his insights regarding the "no gender difference" agenda of radical feminists. In another instance he discusses his stuttering in the context of the ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act.) This book benefits from the author's long media experience; as opposed to many non-fiction books which I have found necessary to read in short segments interspersed with other tasks, this narrative flowed quite smoothly and the material was presented in sound-bite segments which were both interesting and comprehensible. There were many complex ideas, but the author's presentation benefited from having had to thoroughly analyze and understand them in order to present them convincingly on TV, a medium which is often geared towards viewers with short attention spans and their fingers on their remote controls.

Stossel uses extensive examples throughout this book to illustrate how his consumer reporting led him to a better understanding of how the profit motive and capitalism encourage entrepreneurs to act in ways that provide enormous long term benefits to consumers despite the cheats and scoundrels that he so often successfully exposed as a zealous reporter. concurrently he noticed that the proposed "solutions" provided by government regulations and runaway lawsuits were often counterproductive in that the problems often remained or were sometimes even made worse. Attempts to redistribute the wealth accumulated by the businessmen who provided innovative goods and services meant that their innovation was often stifled, and government attempts to correct "market failures" led to such disasters as `public housing " being trashed by tenants who had had no influence over the management of their developments and no economic interest in the property. The book is filled with examples of politicians selectively favoring their friends and enforcing the laws, often to the detriment of the least fortunate in our society. It also contains interesting material that his researchers assembled that questions the common wisdom in many areas. He presents some wonderful statistics concerning such controversial areas as the relationship between poverty and societal freedom and the relative danger which we face from different commonly perceived risks. (Are you aware that despite the general dread of toxic waste and massive spending on remediation, fire is responsible for the loss of five times as many days of life on average for an American as is toxic waste?)

Stossel deserves great credit for actually letting the reality of his experiences overcome many of the preconceptions upon which his beliefs were based, and recognizing that many of the sacrosanct liberal solutions to people's problems were counterproductive despite the best of intentions. This is an easy book to read, since it is written in a conversational style. It is likely to make the extreme liberals who read it apoplectic, since the evidence which Stossel assembles is so antithetical to many of their beliefs. But it will also make many conservatives uneasy, since he is as critical of their attempts at social engineering and the limitations which they try to impose on personal freedom and the rights of privacy in the guise of morality as he is of the liberal's desire for government intervention in the economic sphere and attempts to impose their "politically correct" solutions upon us. Thus, he advocates legalization of drugs, not because he sanctions their use but because he views the "war on drugs' as very counterproductive to our society, other goals of our law enforcement community, and our international relations.

I greatly enjoyed this book and strongly recommend it for anyone with an open mind and an interest in the libertarian view of the world. My one caveat is that there is some repetitive material in here for those who are familiar with the author's reporting and watch his programs regularly, but this was definitely not enough of a negative to affect my great enjoyment or my rating.

Tucker Andersen

223 of 260 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Epiphany Rattled the Elite Media February 6, 2004

By D. Mikels

Format:Hardcover

Epiphanies are good things. They are psychological wake-up calls to clarity and truth. They cut through years of mental and societal conditioning to expose common sense like a bright copper penny at the bottom of a swimming pool.

ABC consumer reporter (and co-anchor of the news show "20/20") John Stossel shares his epiphany through the pages of his entertaining and informative book, GIVE ME A BREAK. For years, Stossel developed a reputation as a fearless and relentless crusader by exposing rip-off artists, scams, boondoggles, and other unspeakable corruption--all in the interest of protecting the public at large from greedy and selfish corporations. For this, Stossel was an award-winning media darling, a welcome addition to the leftist culture that permeates and controls network news.

But a funny thing happened on the way to liberal nirvana: Stossel began taking a look not only at the warts of the private sector, but at those who regulate the warts as well. And he found some troubling wart hairs--from a $330,000 outhouse paid by tax dollars, to a town in Missouri essentially bulldozed because dioxin found in the soil "might" be harmful to its inhabitants, to corporate "welfare queens" who grow even richer on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. Thus, after 15 years of reporting, Stossel's epiphany was born: government isn't the solution, it's the problem. We don't need more government to interfere and obstruct, we need less.

And this revelation really hit below the belt: capitalism actually works.

Accordingly, Stossel began broadcasting this heresy (giving credit to several people at ABC for having the backbone to air his opinions); he instantly went from media darling to pariah. The "totalitarian left," as Stossel phrases it, was incensed. Countless efforts were made to get him off the air, get him fired, yet Stossel persevered, and now shares his trials and tribulations in this delightful book.

GIVE ME A BREAK is a quick, energetic read that will get you pumped up, regardless of your political persuasion. Stossel's writing style is identical to his broadcast narrative, making the reader feel comfortable and casual. Finally, this is anything but a conservative tome; it is a libertarian manifesto, as sacred cows on both sides of the spectrum are gored. Give me a break? No, give me an epiphany, instead. Highly recommended.
--D. Mikels

105 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Libertarian truths January 23, 2004

By Kevin B. Register

Format:Hardcover

John Stossel has been giving the world exactly what it needs: a shot of classical liberalism in the strict Austrian sense of the word. Leftists hate the book because it encourages free markets, and neoconservatives hate it because it spells out the obvious: Republicans have outspent Democrats for the last 75 years! Neoconservatives like more spending in their government pork than any other demographic, bar none. I expect that the book will ultimately be rated 4 stars, as the extreme left and rights will give this book a cursory glance and not the full attention it deserves. True intellectuals have no choice but to give it 5 stars. The facts are there people! Read the book! He has empirical data that is backed up not only by the "evil corporations" but also by the U.S. government. I would also like to add that Stossel has never pledged allegiance to any political party, but Libertarians know a great Jeffersonian when they see one. God bless you John. God bless you!