Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science

Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science by Dave Levitan

This book is a case study in how a one-sided narrative helps alienate the potential audience for your book. It is almost entirely about how Republican politicians misrepresent science to advocate police that go against the Democrat agenda. There are occasional token Democrats, but they are given soft landings. (The biggest Democrat case was Obama using "old numbers" to extol the benefits of the Human Genome project.)

The one-sided nature of the argument is a pity, because many of the tactics discussed are widespread on both sides of the political aisle. Politicians love to take credit for successes, even if they did not support the policies initially. There are discussions on how politicians will narrowly focus on one area to show that their position is accepted (or that the other position is not.) They will grab unverified garbage that is spewed on social media and quote it as gospel. A single anecdote or isolated viewpoint may be brought up to refute a complex viewpoint. Many of these "anti-science" tactics are even used by scientists themselves. 

The book spends a lot of time looking at responses to global warming. Here the science is often based on models. There has been a tendency towards both exaggeration and understatement depending on one's viewpoint. The big takeaway (which alas is not given enough coverage) is to follow the money. Politicians are much more likely to support policies that provide short term gain for their constituents. Long term policies are too far in the future to get them re-elected.