Art of Argument

New York: Emerson Books Inc., 1965. Third Printing . Hard Back. Near Fine/Very Good. 5" x 7 1/2. 128 Pages Indexed. Gift inscription of four inked lines with the date Phoenix Ariz. Aug 1965. No other marks or stamps. From the Dust Jackeet flaps: his is a book for those who suspect that their training in clear thinking has been imperfect and their effectiveness in argument is less than they could wish for. Many people naively assume that the mind is effortlessly logical; whereas, in fact, to be rational is not to comply with nature but to defy it. Thought, like all potent weapons, is exceedingly dangerous if mishandled. Clear thinking is therefore desirable not only in order to develop the full potentialities of the mind, but also to avoid disaster. In This book his main purpose is not so much to provide lessons in logic-though the book does fill the need for a simple groundwork in the subject-as to persuade the reader that he requires such lessons. The author brings out with admirable clarity what it is that makes people irrational, rejudiced, and prone to wishful or crooked thinking. Possibly one of the most interesting and useful features of the book is the section called The Good Old Days. This consists of an imaginary debate and its rebuttal, which the author proceeds to analyze step bfy steop to demonstrate lthe flaws in logic and clear thinking pointed out in the book. Contents in Six Chapters: Irrational Man, Prejudice, Thought and Language, The Power of Suggestion, The Simple Truth, Argdument by Analogy. A book from the Jack Pardee collection. Mr. Pardee was a collector of Americana who focused on frontier and natural history, hunting, wildlife, and firearms and is noted not only for his book selections but for his careful handling and storage. Most of his collection had faultless interior pages. E-mail for scans or more information regarding the Pardee collection.