Retrato do autor

Nigel Lawson (1932–2023)

Autor(a) de An Appeal to Reason

3 Works 175 Membros 3 Críticas

About the Author

Includes the name: Nigel Lawson

Obras por Nigel Lawson

An Appeal to Reason (2008) 97 exemplares
The Nigel Lawson Diet Book (1996) 10 exemplares

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Conhecimento Comum

Membros

Críticas

I should have realised that any book entitled, 'An Appeal to Reason', was going to be the opposite but, I was recommended to read what I was informed was the most cogent denial of global warming.

Mr Lawson seems to argue that, far from being a bad thing, if we could only pump a few more pollutants into the atmosphere, all the World's problems would be solved. Whether this is solving problems in the same way as the man who fits a pipe to the exhaust of his car, is not specified.

Ironically, the only time that I had any sympathy with this specious argument, was upon the topic of press coverage. I must confess that, whenever we have a sunny day and the press scream - "This is an effect of Global Warming!" I turn into Nigel Lawson: otherwise, we all know this to be tosh.

Mr Lawson, either through ignorance, or as I suspect, wilfullness, misunderstands the scientific term, 'theory'. He treats this to mean a wild guess, a baseless assumption. In a statement that reeks of paranoia, he seriously suggests that global warming is a government scare story. We need a big bad wolf and, after nuclear destruction in the sixties and World population in the nineties, this is the latest red herring. Not bad, in little more than a sentence, the author has denied three of the greatest threats to human kind. Is he really saying that the proliferation of nuclear weapons, particularly in the Middle East, is not a concern? The recent birth of the 7 billionth living human with projections of 10 billion by 2050, are a propaganda ploy? Apparently, yes! What is this man on, and may I have some?

This book is only just over 100 pages long but I had real difficulty in completing it because, in a situation that is very rare, I could discern no value whatsoever from this work. On reflection, perhaps a copy should be given to every sceptic - reading this will convince them that something is awry.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
the.ken.petersen | 1 outra crítica | Nov 6, 2011 |
Admitting that change is happening but gleefully noting that the earth has failed to heat up any further in the past few years, his main argument is political. There is no chance the Chinese and Indians are going to stop producing CO2, so any changes we can make will make no difference, they will only impoverish us. In fact any reduction we in the West achieve is only by getting them -the Chinese- to do our heavy manufacturing. Furthermore he is confident that we will learn to mitigate or adapt to increased temperature, and that as we all get more prosperous the disadvantages will not be significant. He rather blithely reassures us that there are no tipping points we cannot cope with... I hope so.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
oataker | 1 outra crítica | Aug 19, 2008 |
Nigel Lawson, `the iron chancellor' of Great Britain in the 1980s, has devised a diet book well suited to his character. It is basically a set of rules he rigidly sticks to, firstly, to lose weight and later to maintain weight.

The rules work but you can't help feeling, much like his economic politics, it would still work without such a high degree of deprivation - a bit more flexibility would be more fun.

Rules include: no alcohol; no sugar, no dairy products. He takes a `if it isn't hurting, it isn't working' approach. It worked. He lost 12 inches off his waist-line and five stones in under a year.

But the fast (too fast?) weight-loss took its toll. His skin hung loose on his body. Some of the recipies are Englsh country squire and that has an appeal. Try pheasant and apple casserole, duck and pigeon slices in coulis sauce and light cheese souffle. I can visualise the formal dining room, wax-polish on antique tables and the silver cutlery.

The joy of the book is not the diet itself but I would recommend anyone read it.He is an ex-journalist so he can WRITE. He loves gourmet food and some of the recipes are first-class as well as slimming. His success story in slimming is frank, witty and inspiring and it's a lighter side of political history.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
mumoftheanimals | Jun 27, 2008 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
3
Membros
175
Popularidade
#122,547
Avaliação
½ 3.6
Críticas
3
ISBN
19
Línguas
4

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