Arguments are everywhere-and especially given the fierce debates we're all embroiled in today, everyone wants to win. In this guide to the art of argument and rhetoric, Mehdi Hasan shows you how.
Hasan offers an entertaining primer on rhetorical techniques ... On his show, Hasan is known for confronting his guests (or “opponents”) with factual evidence, pinning them down with details so that they can’t wriggle out of a question and are left to squirm ... The debates that Hasan writes about seem to meet certain conditions — you have a case to make; your opponent has a case to make; you’re more or less equally matched; and whatever you say won’t impinge on the relationship between you (and even if it does, you don’t care).
This book is a great resource for everyone from professionals who make presentations regularly to high school students joining the debate team for the first time. It offers simple recommendations that are easy to follow. Hasan’s personal anecdotes, well-publicized interviews, and historical moments illustrate how to apply his recommendations, which makes it easier to grasp these abstract concepts that some might typically struggle with.
Bolstered by Hasan’s incisive analysis of his interviews and debates with high-ranking political officials from the U.K., U.S., and China, this collects illuminating insights on persuasion. Readers will be won over by this perceptive guide.
