The Opinion Makers

With a new afterword by the author. Drawing on over a decade's experience at the Gallup Poll and a distinguished academic career in survey research, David W. Moorepraised as a "scholarly crusader" by theNew York Timesreveals that pollsters don't report public opinion, they manufacture it. In this highly critical book, he describes the questionable tactics pollsters use to create poll-driven news storiesincluding force-feeding respondents, slanting the wording of questions, and ignoring public ignorance on even the most arcane issues. More than proof that the numbersdolie,The Opinion Makersclearly and convincingly spells out how urgent it is that we make polls deliver on their promise to monitor, not manipulate, the pulse of democracy.

David W. Moore is a senior fellow at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire and a former senior editor of the Gallup Poll. The author of two previous books, How to Steal an Election and The Superpollsters, Moore has also written for the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, TalkingPointsMemo.com, and Pollster.com. He lives in Durham, New Hampshire.