Don't Think of an Elephant

Praise

"I knew after reading just a handful of pages that if there's one book you read this year, this should be this one."

—Markos Moulitsas, DailyKos

“Ever wonder how the radical right has been able to convince average Americans to repeatedly vote against their own interests? It's the framing, stupid! Don't Think of an Elephant! is a pithy and powerful primer on the language of American politics, and a vital reminder that he who creates the political framework controls the picture that's put inside. It's also a detailed roadmap out of the mess we are in. Lakoff shows how progressives can reclaim the political narrative—and, in the process, change our country and our world for the better.”

—Robert Reich, Maurice Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University, and author of Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America

"Fascinating insights into why progressives lose good causes and how they can start winning again. You will never listen to a political speech the same way after reading this book."

—Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, MoveOn.org

“Don’t Think of an Elephant! is a work of genius. As George Lakoff explains how the right has framed the notion of the political center, he presents both the most original and the most practical analysis of United States politics in many years.”

—Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

“Are you tired of explaining to reporters why they shouldn't call Bush's clear-cut extravaganza ‘healthy forests’? Does it bother you that the power plants upwind from your community will keep on poisoning you with mercury in the name of ‘clear skies’? Do you wonder what ‘family value’ is advanced by shifting the cost of cleaning up toxic waste from polluters to victims?

“If you want to take back our country, you have to take back your community. If you want to take back your community, you need to take back the debate. This book, and the video that go with it, are your essential tools. What the Bush Administration has done for obfuscation, George Lakoff's work does for clarification.”

—Geoffrey Nunberg, Stanford University

“I learned a lot from Lakoff. You will too.”

—Paul Hawken, author of Natural Capitalism