PT Bookshelf

Books that cover hypocritic thinking, internet dating adventures, and spending more time with your kids.

By Chuck Leddy, Marissa Kristal, Jessica Park, published on May 01, 2007 - last reviewed on May 25, 2007

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)

By Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

Hypocrisy is hardest to see in oneself. Tavris and Aronson, both social psychologists, demonstrate the whys and hows of this maxim by blending research with anecdotal evidence from celebrities, presidents, and CEOs. The bottom line: Making mistakes causes cognitive dissonance, producing mental discomfort that triggers denial or blame. But sticking to our guns at all costs only distorts our perceptions of reality. The authors give a guided tour of people blinded by self-justification, including couples who blame each other rather than constructively resolving quarrels, scientists whose research "miraculously" buttresses the goals of their funders, legal authorities who help convict innocent defendants because they're sure they're guilty, and therapists who elicit nonexistent repressed memories of sexual abuse from patients "in denial." Mistakes are an inevitable part of life and the learning process, the authors argue, so the best thing to do is to just accept them, because the inability to admit human error can be the biggest mistake of all.

Millions of Women Are Dying to Meet You

By Sean Thomas

Assigned by his editor to try Internet dating for a year and chronicle his experiences, Sean Thomas gets stalked by a dater named "Chinalady5," is led to believe he's impregnated a prostitute, and becomes so addicted to Internet porn that he masturbates himself straight into the hospital. Beneath it all is an exploration of sexuality and relationships: Why are men fascinated by lesbians? Do our fetishes reveal something deeper about us? Has the Web made ogling too easy? Through his ponderings and numerous sexual encounters, Thomas prepares for his most extreme adventure of all: love.

Buy, Buy Baby

By Susan Gregory Thomas

Buy, Buy Baby exposes the methods corporations use to commercialize childhood, develop "cradle to grave" marketing, and cater to Gen-X mothering. Thomas, an investigative journalist whose project began when her toddler fell in love with Elmo, injects fresh insights into age-old controversies. She presents research showing educational TV can do more harm than good, and also reveals that many kid-friendly characters were invented specifically to be sold as toys. Although Thomas focuses on the manipulation of young children, the book is less a chronicle of villains than a call to arms for more research and more quality time with your kids.