Propaganda

by Nathan Crick

This concise and accessible guide makes clear the ubiquity of propaganda so that readers can understand its function in all layers of society, for both good or for ill, and ultimately use it to make their own voice heard.

Propaganda often appears as a paradoxical modern society is awash in propaganda and yet many deny consuming it. Using short, easy to understand examples drawn from politics, culture, and advertising from around the world, this book introduces readers to the basic theory, research, and techniques of propaganda from the American Revolution to the present day. It demystifies propaganda for the purpose of democratizing it, revealing it as a form of mass persuasion that is a necessary part of political culture and essential to promoting social movements, social reforms, political agendas, scientific ideas, and aesthetic tastes. The book emphasizes the creative aspect of propaganda while also stressing the need for critical media literacy and ethical judgment.

Filling a major gap in the literature, this book is an essential read for students of persuasion, rhetoric, communication, journalism, advertising, and public relations. It is also ideal for anyone interested in the fundamental principles and tactical forms of propaganda and those approaching the subject for the first time.

188 pages, Paperback

Published May 19, 2025

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm certainly biased since I studied with the author, but there are few who so straightforwardly but comprehensively define and elaborate on critical, crucial theoretical ideas as Nathan Crick. His scholarly work has encompassed a variety of things, to the point that this book feels like a kind of culmination of sorts, a concise, readable, but thorough and even lofty exploration of the methods and functions of propaganda. Of course, a crucially unique element is the way that Crick emphasizes the reality of propaganda in a way that necessitates positive, better propaganda to make the world a better, more democratic place. Too often books and article about propaganda approach the phenomenon from the perspective of pure danger and even fear, which is sensible in a certain way but impractical for offering productive perspectives and thoughts on the ways we should and can respond to propaganda. Crick doesn't make the mistake, but approaches the entire book from the standpoint of something needing and even having to be done, and then equips his readers with the tools to do those things.