Product Description
Darrell Huff runs the gamut of every popularly used type of statistic, probes such things as the sample study, the tabulation method, the interview technique, or the way the results are derived from the figures, and points up the countless number of dodges which are used to fool rather than inform.
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Amazon.com Review
"There is terror in numbers," writes Darrell Huff in How to Lie with Statistics. And nowhere does this terror translate to blind acceptance of authority more than in the slippery world of averages, correlations, graphs, and trends. Huff sought to break through "the daze that follows the collision of statistics with the human mind" with this slim volume, first published in 1954. The book remains relevant as a wake-up call for people unaccustomed to examining the endless flow of numbers pouring from Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and everywhere else someone has an axe to grind, a point to prove, or a product to sell. "The secret language of statistics, so appealing in a fact-minded culture, is employed to sensationalize, inflate, confuse, and oversimplify," warns Huff. Although many of the examples used in the book are charmingly dated, the cautions are timeless. Statistics are rife with opportunities for misuse, from "gee-whiz graphs" that add nonexistent drama to trends, to "results" detached from their method and meaning, to statistics' ultimate bugaboo--faulty cause-and-effect reasoning. Huff's tone is tolerant and amused, but no-nonsense. Like a lecturing father, he expects you to learn something useful from the book, and start applying it every day. Never be a sucker again, he cries! Even if you can't find a source of demonstrable bias, allow yourself some degree of skepticism about the results as long as there is a possibility of bias somewhere. There always is. Read How to Lie with Statistics. Whether you encounter statistics at work, at school, or in advertising, you'll remember its simple lessons. Don't be terrorized by numbers, Huff implores. "The fact is that, despite its mathematical base, statistics is as much an art as it is a science." --Therese Littleton
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 Statistics don't lie, people who misuse them do
At four decades and counting this is an old book, but it's just as worth reading now as ever.
Take the O J Simpson case for example. Before the jury deliberated, the defense pointed out that but 1 in 2500 women abused by their husbands or significant others went on to be killed them.
For its part, the Prosecution could have -- but did not -- reveal the competing statistic that of all women who died by homicide, 90 percent had been killed by the man who had previously assaulted them.
And in this way, a critical point is made about statistics: that they lie when we use them to dramatically convey only part of the story.
But still, statistics have a unique power to convey important information. We need to be aware of the size of our population and which parts of it are more susceptible to certain diseases so we can better service them.
This book is a very short and very accessible some one hundred and forty pages. It is heavily interspersed with graphs and charts so even a slow reader should be able to finish it off fairly quickly.
What's more, it's written in a very simple and accessible style so that even younger readers can pick up and easily understand its lessons.
So buy it and read it: after all, 100 percent of people who do will be better informed about the uses and misuses of statistics.
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 Dated but still useful ( pathaka42 )
The book is written in a highly readable format, with a wry sense of humor in the narrative. At the same time book clearly feels quite dated when talking about 20's and 30's. I do think the reporting is not as bad anymore as it is described about the newspaper of early to mid 20th century.
At the same time, you will most likely run into such statistical jiggering in water hole topics and on channels like FOX. This books shows you how to critically all such information and take most of aggregated information and surveys with a grain *or mountain) of salt.
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Should be Required Reading!
"How to Lie with Statistics" should be required reading before allowing anyone in today's world to call themselves an adult. And, yes, there should be strict testing for understanding this book before anyone is allowed to leave public (or private) schools and take part in real life.
This book shows some of the ways media such as newspapers, TV, internet, etc. decieve you. Besides the media (especially advertisers); politicians, lawyers, and all sorts of other folks behave like confidence men and try to get your money, your trust, your vote, and your beliefs.
IMMUNIZE YOURSELF! Read this book. Buy this book. Study this book. Memorize this book!
This book will help you avoid the crooked people.
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Excellent Start for the beginners to the subject of Statistics
This book is a must read for students and professionals, who want to see the practical aspects of Statistics. This book is well organized and along with amusing illustrations gives a great insight & introduction to the subject in totality.
Go ahead and buy it!
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Great title - and very factual
This brief book, written in 1954, is quite appropriate even for today. It shows how people make statistics to be what they want the interpretation to be. That is to say, it shows how people are swindled with numbers. There are, indeed, too many lies in numbers. Politicians, business leaders and the Press are very good at the tricks of twisting numbers. As Mr. Darrell Huff submits (p.9), "The crooks already know these tricks, honest men should learn them in self defense." This book will be a g great read, for those that want to be educated. (Nwankama W Nwankama)
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