5 Reasons to buy ‘Unspeak’.

(Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links to Amazon. This isn’t to dupe you into purchasing, it’s to spread the love. Have a nice day. :])

We live in a time where we are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of marketing and political messages every day. Even if you’re Mr. or Mrs. Under-a-rock, I’m sure you’ll agree that our society of mass-media and quick access to information means that we have to be aware of what these politicians and advertisers are really saying to us.

So, as a bit of a political weenie, I couldn’t help but get my hands on it. And whilst I was surprised at how, ahem, heavy Unspeak is, I can’t help but be happy at my purchase. Why? Here’s why:

1.  Unspeak is critical but refrains from Ad Hominem. Quite frankly, even though I like people criticising my government, I can’t help but feel frustrated at the fact that I’m writing like Carrie Bradshaw*. Sorry. I mean, I can’t help but feel frustrated by so-called ‘unbiased’ commentaries which, truly, are just cleverly-layered attacks on individuals. Whilst Unspeak is certainly an on-the-offensive book, it’s nonetheless true to an, at least somewhat, academic tone.
2. I know that if I were Steven Poole, I would have most certainly strayed and meandered to the point where all meaning was lost. Luckily, though, from the word go (I’m a poet?) he keeps his points educational yet gently concise, without overstaying their welcome.
3. The points are broken down into respective categories and then chunked down to the point whereby they can keep cogency rather then becoming disjointed and broken up. Luckily, too, as my attention span is closer to that of a goldfish egg rather than a human with a big-ass brain, I’m quite thankful for this.
4. Each point, too, builds up on the others. For example, I have reservations over the causes of global warming being solelydue to the activities of man (which would explain, why, for example, over a dozen other rocks are also undergoing the same process as us right now). As a result, I skipped over the ‘climate’ section only to find myself, from time to time, a little confused. Not so much as to impede my “Oooh”s and “Aaaah”s but, you know, enough to make me go “Right. Uhm, okay then.” every now and again. I take this as a strength. Non-fiction that builds on itself. Delicious, as far as I’m concerned.
5. Without coming across too much as a snob, I like the fact that Unspeak makes flippant remarks at the general British populous. Which includes me too, in fact. Like, for example, he cites the result of a poll showing that people thought that approximately 22% of all British people were foreign immigrants. The real percent was, in fact, 8%. His use of other similar statistics is not just humorous but, too, helps highlight the brevity of the overall theme of his points.

Overall, Unspeak is a fantastic gently Orwellian-inspired read that helps you understand the truth behind a lot of our political masters. And with that, Poole argues, can we regain our defence from the unspeak of our modern society.

*”I can’t help but…” is a blatant Carrie Bradshaw maneuver of writing. Hence clearly stealing from her. HUSH.