Customer Reviews

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics: The Manipulation of Public Opinion in America

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A book that discusses the general problems of poll taking. Some pollsters are captured by the organizations that hire them and hesitant to deliver bad news. Some pollsters also want to present polling as an exact science, when the questionaires can often be slanted, and left leaning or right leaning pollsters with agendas can be hired to obtain the expected results. At what point is a pollster reporting the findings and at what point is it manipulationing public opinion. When the polls are dead wrong, the author cites many examples of the excuses given by the pollsters and the wiggle room pollsters depend on to maintain their integrity.
This is a dated book, mainly of politics in the Vietnam War era, and has a specific appeal to older Boston voters. The book really neeeds a sequel. Has the science of poll taking become more accurate? Are exit polls the solution? The general message of this book is that people should put as much faith on election polls and with the weather. forecasts.