Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've read the Spirit Level; before plunging into this book, I thought I'd do a quick check of the author's particulars. They are pretty slim - and what they do reveal is telling. Where Wilkinson & Pickett (authors of the Spirit Level) have had long academic careers with numerous publications in reputable journals, Snowdon appears to be a fairly recent arrival with a limited list of publications to his credit. To wit, this book and "Velvet Glove, Iron Fist" which is about the history of anti-smoking campaigns and the dangers of letting politicians regulate private behavior. Snowdon is listed as an Adjunct Scholar at the Democracy Institute, a conservative think-tank based in London and Washington with ties to the conservative Cato Institute. Another publication produced under the imprint of the Democracy Institute by John Luik on "why graphic warnings don't work" (in reducing tobacco consumption) was acknowledged as being "made possible by funding provided by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC". While the evidence is circumstantial, I think the probability that this book by Snowdon is just another conservative-backed disinformation campaign is pretty high, especially since the subtitle is "fact-checking the Left". Save your money or better yet, wait till conservative think tanks start giving copies away to get the 'sales' numbers up if you absolutely have to have one. UPDATE 11-18-2010: Since first putting up this review, I've received several comments which have been highly critical. I have yet to see any of the critics however post their own reviews of this book or address the points I raised about it. The one positive review pretty much speaks for itself. In short, I've seen nothing to "refudiate" my opinion to date. Save your money, or better yet go look at Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America. If you want something in a more positive vein, check out Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country Update 01-01-2011 I see from the latest numbers (26-43) that fewer and fewer people agree with this non-review. I also see the one favorable review for the book has gotten some more positive votes after lagging for months. I still don't see any other reviews of this book, favorable or unfavorable. So, it's pretty clear what's happening here. Conservative 'bots trolling through Amazon to downrate anything that they disapprove of really, really don't like the way I've exposed this book for the hack job it is. They haven't actually bothered to read it either - but they don't care as long as they can do their best to suppress the facts. Thanks guys - I consider those negative votes a real endorsement of my original critique. ;-)