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David Greenberg

Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency Reprint Edition

by David Greenberg (Author)

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“A brilliant, fast-moving narrative history of the leaders who have defined the modern American presidency.”―Bob Woodward

In Republic of Spin―a vibrant history covering more than one hundred years of politics―presidential historian David Greenberg recounts the rise of the White House spin machine, from Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama. His sweeping, startling narrative takes us behind the scenes to see how the tools and techniques of image making and message craft work. We meet Woodrow Wilson convening the first White House press conference, Franklin Roosevelt huddling with his private pollsters, Ronald Reagan’s aides crafting his nightly news sound bites, and George W. Bush staging his “Mission Accomplished” photo-op. We meet, too, the backstage visionaries who pioneered new ways of gauging public opinion and mastering the media―figures like George Cortelyou, TR’s brilliantly efficient press manager; 1920s ad whiz Bruce Barton; Robert Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower’s canny TV coach; and of course the key spinmeisters of our own times, from Roger Ailes to David Axelrod.

Greenberg also examines the profound debates Americans have waged over the effect of spin on our politics. Does spin help our leaders manipulate the citizenry? Or does it allow them to engage us more fully in the democratic project? Exploring the ideas of the century’s most incisive political critics, from Walter Lippmann and H. L. Mencken to Hannah Arendt and Stephen Colbert, Republic of Spin illuminates both the power of spin and its limitations―its capacity not only to mislead but also to lead.

24 pages of illustrations

ISBN-10

0393353648
ISBN-13

978-0393353648
Edition

Reprint
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

January 10, 2017
Language

English
Dimensions

5.6 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
Print length

576 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Greenberg is a terrific storyteller. . . . An education and an engrossing read."
― Christopher Buckley, National Interest

"Fine, nuanced."
― Michael Beschloss, New York Times Book Review

"Greenberg neatly weaves a history of public relations into his political tale."
― H. W. Brands, Washington Post

"This essential book is going to wind up on every politico’s shelf."
― Matthew Cooper, Washingtonian

"In Republic of Spin, David Greenberg opens a new and revealing window on the modern American presidency by showing how the effort to manipulate public opinion has long been a central obsession in the Oval Office. Vivid characters, some very famous and some obscure, bring this important story to life and enlighten us about what presidents can and cannot accomplish."
― Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Oath and The Nine

"Anyone wishing to understand how our politics evolved from the era of Teddy Roosevelt’s bully pulpit to the exquisitely calibrated constructions of today’s publicists, pollsters, speechwriters, and snakes needs to read Republic of Spin. David Greenberg’s book is everything that a political history should be―vivid, comprehensive, and important."
― Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

"An utterly engrossing and deeply authoritative examination of spin and the American presidency―its origins, its vital role over the past century, its enduring importance. Greenberg’s elegant narrative brings this history vividly alive, as he weaves individual lives and broader societal forces into a major reassessment of modern American political culture. Spin has always been a part of politics, and it always will be; read this gem of a book to find out why that is, and what it means for our democracy."
― Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Embers of War

About the Author

David Greenberg is a historian of American politics and a professor of history and of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of the prize-winning Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image, among other books. Currently a columnist for Politico, he has been an editor at Slate and the New Republic and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other popular and scholarly publications. He lives with his family in New York City.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (January 10, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393353648
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393353648
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #235,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Media Studies (Books)
- #22 in Political History (Books)
- #48 in Government

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4.3 66 ratings

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Ken Freed

A culled set of history that’s hard to find summarized anywhere else

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

What is the correct role of the media in national politics? Does government propagandize the electorate or enlighten them? Will it allow us to scale up traditional New England town democracy to a national level, or create a society of conformists, eventually marching in lock step to disaster? Historically, how malleable has the public been? What was the media's role in advancing Vietnam and the civil rights movement? When does taking advantage of and playing the media cross the line into misuse?

And what of the media in society? Could it empower the lowest common denominator and institute the “tyranny of the majority” through demagoguery? Is it even possible to be objective?, since no single person can know all (even reasonable) points of view on a major issue. Starting at a certain level of abstraction, is truth simply a matter of spin and bias? And when the media has what one regards as biased reporting – is it due to an honest bias?, or does it come from the dictates of the outlet owner on which positions their writers should be hired for or favor?

Given the role of the internet in articulately advancing so many opinions at odds with each other – in the future will it be possible to even produce consensus about anything meaningful?

I have previous purchased and tried to make my way through several books featuring Edward Bernays (Propaganda, Crystallizing Public Opinion, The Father of Spin). Past the first few chapters of nicely summarized insight I found them to become so full of routine minutia and pontification that they lost my interest.

“The Republic of Spin” traces the role of the media (newspapers, radio, TV), starting with Teddy Roosevelt’s administration. The vast majority of the book held me spellbound, with well thought out prose - ways of explaining and summing up. Only towards the end with the George W Bush and Obama administrations did it (sort of) start skimming and falling short of other books (like Frank Rich’s “The Great Story Ever Sold”) . A frank analysis of what is termed “political correctness” - in light of statistics on social pathology (our present day elephant in the room, our third rail of politics) is also missing. None-the-less, this book presents a culled set of history that’s hard to find summarized anywhere else. Five stars.

11 people found this helpful

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PoliSciJunkie

Fascinating Fun for Political and Media Junkies

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2021

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There is plenty to learn from this book--though it generally starts only from the 20th Century. There was plenty of sping going on between politicians and the media before that. However, the 20th Century is what brought us radio--where demagogues like Father Coughlin and Huey Long gained huge followings on the airwaves with a largely leftwing/populist message, onto TV where Ike and really JFK learned to manage things. The book goes up to the Obama years--and seems to let him off the hook a bit regarding spin. But that's OK. The book is generally a fun read for anyone following politics and seeking to understand how we reached the cable news pundit wars of today.

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Presidential spin from George Washington onward. . . .

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2016

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Think that political spin by presidents just started recently? This book says "No"! The volume goes back to the beginning of the American Republic under our Constitution. George Washington, for example, would ask James Madison do provide a draft of an important message. Madison would do so--and then present a response from the House of Representatives to the draft that he gave Washington! Over time, we see early presidents "spinning" their perspective.

Over time, the spin aspect of a presidency became more sophisticated and the use of media more fine grained. By the early 20th century, presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and others became adept at getting their word out. And--over time--practitioners became more skilled. FDR, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, Bush (2), and Obama. Polls became more scientific and were used to assess public opinion and suggest ways of speaking to the public's concerns.

This is a well written work, accessible to readers, and addressing an issue of some importance.

5 people found this helpful

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Ajd041

Informative read with florid and verbose language.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

A very dull read. Good lord, why do academics always have to use the most verbose, obsequious, irritating language possible? It's like this book was designed to bore undergraduates to death. I'm not one of those anymore, but this book sure makes a great bedtime read. Nothing puts me to sleep quite as fast as a chapter or two of this book.

The content is certainly enriching and worthwhile. The examination of the US media landscape, the interplays of public opinion, polling, the evolution of news media, and more, offers a lot of excellent historical lessons that many in today's age would due well to recognize. People have been debating the abilities of a democratic society to handle the propagandistic influences of the mass media on the general public for almost a hundred years. Modern iterations such as facebook and twitter aren't actually all that new, but just more recent versions of this same issue. Perhaps we need modern solutions, or perhaps our predecessors were correct. This review is comprehensive and thorough, and takes the reader through all the relevant points along the journey to the modern media landscape.

4 people found this helpful

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Safety Guy

This book is an excellent historical basis for what is seen in today's political ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is an excellent historical basis for what is seen in today's political climate. Its content is beyond accurate in stating how the present White House occupant was able to walk into it. The present occupant's playbook can be seen, nearly verbatim and nearly in act, in the chapter describing Richard Nixon's history, and behavior, from congressman, to vice president, to president, to resigning to avoid imprisonment. The present White House occupant is the mirror of Richard Nixon. That is not good for the nation, but the nation seems not to know it.

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Top reviews from other countries

Paul Gleitman

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

Different perspective.

Daniel A Beaton

Good price.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

A deep dive into "spin". Good price. Makes you think.

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