Propaganda

People need to wake up

The "establishment" took manipulation of the masses to a whole new level during and after World War. This author was one of the propagandists who did the deed.In this book, he openly boasts that his purpose is to rehabilitate the word "propaganda" after it had gotten a "bad" reputation. He fails to mention that he is one of the men most responsible for the word's gaining that reputation. He also fails to mention that the examples he gives of propaganda in action were all campaigns of his own.The author openly tries to make you think that you really should sit down, shut up and let your betters tell you what to think and what to do. If you , by the end of the book, start to actually consider that - then you've seen for yourself how effective a propagandist he was. And remember, this is nothing more than the written word - no music, no video, no subliminal manipulations (in the commonly (mis)understood meaning of "subliminal"), no CGI, no deep fake video or audio. Not even a single picture with subliminal clues "airbrushed" into ice cubes or whatever.

There is very little in this book about the psychology, and methods of propaganda. Much of it, is about the philosophy and history. Not bad but disappointing. The book does not enter the details. The methods of mass influence have become much more sophisticated and scientific in recent years, and I hoped to get more from this book.

Use it to get crowds to believe ridiculous propositions.Shows how current Gov. Can keep pushing silly stuff until enough accept it.

Good read for those who would like to understand how propaganda is presented among varying institutions. The book was written a while ago but the principles remain the same.

Learning from our past is a key to success. GET IT.

Edward Bernays lets us know that there is an invisible government operating within the U.S., and it will always exist so long as people "need food, crave amusement, long for beauty, respond to leadership." That invisible government is the executive arm known as the public relations counsel where even the chief executive of the U.S. is stage-managed and manipulated in the public arena in order to obtain certain goals. Whose goals exactly? Bernays isn't explicit but he makes no distinction between politics and big business. Nonetheless, "shrewd persons" operate behind the scenes and the public never detects that it is being directed and influenced to make certain decisions. How do individuals get influenced? Through personalities and authority figures the individual admires and respects as well as through movies especially. The individual mind then becomes "stamped" by group influences and then these influences are capable of being studied, researched, and then manipulated just as if propaganda were a science, which it is. The individual then no longer remains a distinct "cell" in scientific terms but is seen as a cell that is a part of a larger organism that has "group prejudices" that can be swayed and directed much as a cow herder directs a herd. Thus, even our political leaders are given to us as manufactured products that reflect the personalities our "group mind" prefers.Edward Bernays's book is worthwhile-- and disturbing -- for the first six chapters. (Mark Crispin Miller's long "Introduction" is reprehensibly useless and need not be read at all to understand or appreciate the contents of this book.) After that, the remaining chapters just repeat the mantra: you and your entire belief system as well as your culture is manufactured and presented to you as real even though you as an individual made no conscious decision to have it be the way it is nor voted in any way for the actual outcome. Your world is staged and almost all of the players on the stage are fools who, like you, are having their strings pulled by a master manipulator or puppeteer. Remember, Edward Bernays says (on page 61 of this book): "There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions." This book was published in 1928 and then renewed in 1955, so the destinies being controlled now are in the billions.This publication deserved a good proofreader to get rid of the numerous typographical errors; thus, my four-star rating.

I'm sure that the book is better as you can put it down and walk away if/when the writing gets too dry or otherwise disinteresting. I don't recommend the audio & I will order the book via my library.

Fast delivery, great quality and will definitely buy again.

Very good book. At these times suggest you read.

Haven't read it yet but expect it to be good

Hab versehentlich die englische Fassung bestllt - kein problem, ist angenehm und verständlich zu lesen.

Great book to learn about how propaganda is used by malicious people.