Thank You for Arguing

Language expert Jay Heinrichs teaches the art of persuasion with examples that range from Winston Churchill to Bart Simpson. It traces the history of rhetoric and shows how persuasion works today in politics, advertising and the media, and even how to teach a child to argue. Classical tools include a three-step method from Cicero for spurring listeners to act and Lincoln's trick of lowering expectations by seeming unpolished. Contemporary ones include the code language politicians use to reach specific groups and pop-culture dodges such as the Belushi Paradigm, the Eddie Haskell Ploy and the Yoda Technique. Readers also learn to spot figures like paralipsis and chiasmus. A New York Times best seller, it is now in its fourth edition.

Facebook content strategist Angela Pham said a fellow altMBA participant, Robin Flaherty, persuaded her to buy it.