Customer Reviews

Munitions of the Mind: A History of Propaganda, Third Edition

5 star:		(1)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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As an undergraudate studying a Propaganda course at Durham University, the book was invaluable. For everyone on the course, it was the unofficial textbook.

The key to its success is its masterful combination of bredth and depth. It illuminates critical issues well with examples giving a lively history of propaganda throughout. It also never isolates propaganda from the wider context.

I paid particular attention to the Second World War chapter, which was a bit thin on Soviet Propaganda and gave too many lists (esp. of films) but was overall a wonderful chapter. The chapter on the Gulf War was also especially good.

My only criticisms would be that it needs more awareness of the metholodigical issues for the propaganda historian and more on Vietnam given its significance as the first mass television war. Could also do with some more pictures given its emphasis on visual propaganda.

Thanks for a splendid book and a great website accessible through Leeds University School of Communication.

Joe

"Munitions of the Mind" is a broad survey of propaganda and its use through history. Perhaps the one book of its kind, "Munitions of the Mind" takes the reader from early Western civilization to the Gulf War, briefly describing how propaganda was used to promote military and political goals of empires, democracies, and ideologies across the eons.

The book is an excellent basic resource for those seeking to understand how propaganda has been used through history. Clearly and insightfully written, it forces the reader to think about how emerging media may be used by entities to promote their goals.

The book contains some minor irritations, such as its references to Margaret Mead's somewhat controversial "Coming of Age in Samoa," and a section on the Cold War that appeared (to this reader) to place both sides on equal moral footing. This reviewer also hungered for more details on peacetime propaganda, more pre-20th century examples, and the an explanation about how modern marketing techniques affected propaganda. The non-Western world is virtually ignored. Visuals would have also helped the reader understand how graphics are used in conveying ideas without words. However, these are small problems in a work of such amazing scope and interest.

While the book was exceptionally well written for academia in the Queen's English, its ability to fully interest a layperson was unfortunately lacking. Additionally, the book seemed overtly preoccupied with the propaganda of recruitment by different nations and armed forces throughout history rather than the propaganda wars that reached a zenith during World War II.

Little mention is made of psychological warfare/operations, which is what I thought the book would concentrate on.

Overall, a good book but not what I personally expected.