Propaganda: Truth and Lies in Times of Conflict

by Tony Husband

The best propaganda is made by the best artists. Posters have to be sharp, attractive and to the point, as well as exploiting ancient prejudices using techniques that sway opinion. They are designed to be understood in the blink of an eye from a distance of at least six feet and, if they don't appeal directly to the emotions, they should immediately be torn up and thrown away.This book features propaganda posters and cartoons by some of the world's greatest artists, including portraits of Napoleon by Gillray and Ingrès, Edward VII by Jean Veber, the drooling gorilla of German militarism by H R Hopps, Uncle Sam by James Montgomery Flagg, Hitler in several guises, and so much more.Within these pages, you'll find extraordinary art with a job to do. And from these ingenious images, you'll gain unique insight into the cultures that produced them.

Genres: History

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2014

About the author

Tony Husband was a British cartoonist known for his black humour. He was mainly known for his work in Private Eye magazine, and his work has appeared in The Times, the Daily Mailand the Sunday Express as well as magazines including Playboy and The Spectator.

Reviews

[Andy Carrein · Rating 4 out of 5]

War, what is it good for? Propaganda.

This book contains a lot of propaganda posters, it makes for an interesting mixture of art and history. What were ad man doing during the world wars? Looks like making propaganda posters beat going to war. We get to see a lot of nice looking propaganda posters from WW1 & WW2.

Well worth the 7 euros I paid in the bargain bin section.

[Mylesgorton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good collection of propaganda images/posters from throughout history but focussing mainly (not surprisingly) on immediate pre-ww1 through to post ww2 with some from Korea and more modern conflicts. Each image is explained and contextualised and supports a loose narrative through the book, but this is a book one can dip in and out of. You will see some images you are familiar with, but the vast majority will likely be new to you.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's *fine.* I anticipated more insight on and interpretation of what I was seeing, but this is essentially just a big picture book of — mostly — WWI and WWII propaganda. I would have liked to see more modern examples, maybe a section on multimedia propaganda during the war on terror, for instance.

Good to have on a coffee table, or for inspiration, but not much else.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Propaganda Art

Excellent overview of artwork in the field of propaganda with mainly European/Western slant. Many powerful images were created in the service of promoting and encouraging the War Effort. Madison Avenue influenced much of American propaganda!

[Ptera Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It looks at propaganda posters and places them in the context of their periods. Great explanations and great examples of how easily we can manipulate others or be manipulated. If you're interested in improving your defenses against the "dark arts" of brainwashing, I recommend this book.