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Stanley Eugene Fish
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Winning Arguments: What Works and Doesn't Work in Politics, the Bedroom, the Courtroom, and the Classroom Paperback – July 4, 2017

by Stanley Fish (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 139 ratings
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“Fish mines cultural touchstones from Milton to ‘Married with Children’ to explain how various types of arguments are structured and how that understanding can lead to victory” — New York Times Book Review

A lively and accessible guide to understanding rhetoric by the world class English and Law professor and bestselling author of How to Write a Sentence.

Filled with the wit and observational prowess that shaped Stanley Fish’s acclaimed bestseller How to Write a Sentence, Winning Arguments guides readers through the “greatest hits” of rhetoric. In this clever and engaging guide, Fish offers insight and outlines the crucial keys you need to win any debate, anywhere, anytime—drawn from landmark legal cases, politics, his own career, and even popular film and television. A celebration of clashing minds and viewpoints, Winning Arguments is sure to become a classic. 

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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 4, 2017
  4. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0062226673
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0062226679
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Compelling...The points [Fish] presents are philosophical, metaphysical, even ontological. — Kirkus

“Timely… readers will find this latest work simultaneously challenging and accessible.” — Library Journal

“A guided tour through some of the most beautiful, arresting sentences in the English language.” — Slate on HOW TO WRITE A SENTENCE

“Both deeper and more democratic than The Elements of Style.” — Financial Times on HOW TO WRITE A SENTENCE

“[Fish] shares his connoisseurship of the elegant sentence.” — New Yorker on HOW TO WRITE A SENTENCE

“How to Write a Sentence is a must read for aspiring writers and anyone who wants to deepen their appreciation of literature. If extraordinary sentences are like sports plays, Fish is the Vin Scully of great writing.” — Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, authors of They Say/I Say

An important book for any lawyer, scholar, or pundit-not to mention any spouse who has tried to walk back fractious words-Fish’s shrewd work can help everyone better understand the power of effective communication in everyday life. — Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover

“The wish to escape argument is really the wish to escape language, which is really the wish to escape politics, and is finally the wish to escape mortality—and it won’t matter a whit.”

Ever wonder how gay marriage became accepted over such a short period, after thousands of years of peril? Or how you were dumb enough to get in that last quarrel with your significant other? Or how Donald Trump became the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential primary? Or how millions continue to deny the devastating effects of global warming? In Winning Arguments, professor and New York Times bestselling author Stanley Fish touches on these hot-button issues as he reveals how successful argument can be used to win over popular opinion.

With wit and wisdom, Fish delves into a wide range of subjects, including Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, the logic of toddlers, Monty Python, the National Football League, Holocaust denial and creationism, the nature of political spin, and the fall of Adam and Eve.

For students, teachers, lawyers, managers, husbands, wives—indeed, anyone looking to persuade their opponent—Winning Arguments is a fun read and a powerful tool that will stay with readers long after they finish the book. For, as Fish writes, “argument is unavoidable, argument is interminable, argument is all we have.”

 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition (July 4, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062226673
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062226679
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 139 ratings

About the author

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Stanley Eugene Fish

Stanley Eugene Fish

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Stanley Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University. He has previously taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has received many honors and awards, including being named the Chicagoan of the Year for Culture. He is the author of twelve books and is now a weekly columnist for the New York Times. He resides in Andes, New York; New York City; and Delray Beach, Florida; with his wife, Jane Tompkins.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
139 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

gray a turner
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't stop me now
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2023
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Since buying this witty book I've become unstoppable. I win all arguments and everyone bows before my rhetorical greatness. If you buy it we can't argue because it would be like matter touching anti-matter.
4 people found this helpful
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ned
4.0 out of 5 stars Covers material well
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2023
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A comprehensive coverage of topic. Should have checked it out at local library first and not having to clutter my bookshelf by owning it.
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Alan Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars You Never Win an Argument
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2016
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As always, Dr. Fish offers his own unique perspective on the central role argumentation plays in our everyday effort to make collective sense out of the problems we humans confront. While I understand why the publishers titled this book "Winning Arguments," the theme of the book is not about winning, but about the recognition that argumentation is a necessary part of our life, that the goal of consensus is a myth, and to understand the rules of the different arguments we find ourselves in on a daily basis. As I read the book, I kept thinking of how the Irish view argumentation: "is this a private fight or can anyone join in. The point of this book is living life means you have joined the argument.
21 people found this helpful
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Ivan M
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021
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This book is a quick trip through a few different types of arguments (legal, domestic, etc.) and their examples. It's fun to read and it's short, but it's not particularly educational. I liked being reminded of how persuasion and social skills are used in different areas of life, however I didn't learn much.

The content doesn't match the title. If you're looking for advice on winning arguments, look elsewhere.
13 people found this helpful
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S. Beckwith
5.0 out of 5 stars It will make you think
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2017
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Fish, always provocative, uses the analysis of argument to give us insight into the way language determines how we think. For anyone who enjoys pondering human thought itself, this is a good read.
5 people found this helpful
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M. Caveney
1.0 out of 5 stars Nope
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020
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"I can think of at least two things wrong with that title"
-Nelson Muntz

Winning Arguments has some major things working against it, as many other reviewers have pointed out:

1) the title is dangerously close to (if not outright) clickbait. The book is NOT a how-to on how to debate. This point strikes me as odd because I can't remember the last time, or if ever, I had read another book where the title failed to descibe the contents so completely.

2) Fish's structure and prose style frankly sucks. If I had to describe the tone of the book in one word, it would be "bloviating". Fish just rambles on and fails to make clear points stick.

It's funny, because I was wondering the other day what it would take for me to give a book one star, and here we are. Please please save your money for something else.
15 people found this helpful
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David J. Cigler
5.0 out of 5 stars Winning Arguments
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016
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An interesting perspective on how opinion is shaped and changed. Really shows how a lie is sold. And we know the legs lies have!
3 people found this helpful
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LJK3200
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2017
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Did not hold my attention
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Eashwari
3.0 out of 5 stars An Okay Read
Reviewed in India on May 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
The book was delivered on time and was in perfect condition when it arrived. However, the book itself is okay. Not as interesting as I thought it was. It is an easy read and brings out of a couple of interesting points regarding the world of arguments, dialogue and discussion. That said, not really Stanley Fish’s best work.
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Ankit
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in India on October 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
boring...not good...just quoted examples with not good relevance...went over my head
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