Winning Arguments: What Works and Doesn’t Work in Politics, the Bedroom, the Courtroom, and the Classroom

Legal scholar Fish (Versions of Academic Freedom) provides a practical, thought-provoking guide to improving argument skills. By dividing the book into four mini-guides on politics, domestic matters, law, and academe, Fish ensures that it offers something for everyone. He begins with an illuminating philosophical treatise on the nature of argument, showing how embedded it is in human nature. Fish uses several object lessons, including the characters of Satan in Paradise Lost and Juror #8 in Twelve Angry Men, to illustrate the subtlety and complexity involved in successful persuasion. Throughout, he shows how arguments operate according to different rules in different contexts. What is valued in the academy is not necessarily valued in the courtroom—or the bedroom. At home, he claims, arguments are first and foremost “performances of personality creation.” The variety of references, such as in a comparison of Donald Trump to Michel de Montaigne, is just one aspect of Fish’s stellar knack for crafting his own persuasive style. 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. (July)