Cult of the Expert

The Cult of the Expert

Hardback: Hamish Hamilton,1982. Paperback: Corgi, 1983.

Publisher's information from the rear jacket:

Press comments on the author

'Looking into the scientific future has pitfalls for scientific journalists. Accounts of brave or terrible new worlds turn easily into cliche unless the writer's information or imagination is unusually strong. Brian J. Ford shows how it ought to be done.' Observer
'Mr Ford is witty and enjoys playing with words . . . [and] made me laugh.' Nature
'Mr Ford's clear and interesting explanation is enough . . . without any of the gobbledeygook and woollymindedness of most works . . . immensely readable.' James Burke, Punch
'We need Ford's acid pen to limn the warning against trivialisation.' Methodist Recorder
'[Ford] lacks one essential quality for an Expert: he is entirely devoid of humourlessness.' Irish Press
'Brian J. Ford has the reputation of being something of a phenomenon himself. He is a strange mixture of the scientist, the author, the broadcaster and the academic.' Western Mail

Publisher's information from the front flap:

The Cult of the Expert is a highly entertaining and ingenious attack on the Experts who blind us with science, confuse us with jargon, frustrate us with bureaucracy, intimidate us with superiority - and yet - precisely because they are so successful at all this - have the power to appropriate huge shares of public funds and to make decisions which fundamentally affect our daily lives.
Stephen Potter delighted us with One-Upmanship, Parkinson coined his famous Law, Nancy Mitford brought us U and Non-U. Brian J. Ford has added to the English language Fashionism and Nonscience (the pronunciation is part of the pun).
His spirited attack on the huge institutions and the faceless pundits who dominate the world of science is hilarious - and has a dreadful ring of truth. Every reader will recognize his examples of bureaucratic waste, deceit, self-aggrandisement, bullying - and sheer idiocy. This is a timely and important book, for Brian J. Ford's message is that our blind subservience to the Experts is leading to the decay and destruction of our society.
Jacket illustration by Mark Boxer
£5·95 net (UK only)

Publisher's information from the rear flap:

BRIAN J. FORD has a world-wide following as a research biologist, broadcaster and lecturer. His many books include studies of the development of science and several textbooks, and he has contributed to publications including The Times, New Scientist, Illustrated London News, and many specialist journals. Brian J. Ford lives in Wales with his wife and six children.
ISBN 0-241-10476I-9