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Selling The War: Art & Propaganda in World War II
Book by Z. A. B. Zeman Zbynek Zeman
120 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 11, 2010
The part about the war itself is a bit childish /cheap. It has some ovious assumptios about propaganda, but doesn't go very deep.
May 9, 2021
A relatively light text about a very broad subject, ‘Selling the War’ is focused on reviewing a representative selection of WW2 posters in light of specific themes or subjects. That it is a short and highly subjective survey means that the book’s value is limited. However, the quality of those posters included in the book by Zeman, and the supporting captions and analysis do have merit.
Zeman’s most important achievement with this book is that he has compiled a reasonably broad corpus of posters and given them historical context and meaning, whilst also making artistic judgements on the images. The author is aware of the complexity of some issues related to the propaganda artwork included herein, such as the need for imagery to negate the need for text. As he rightly notes those posters that are too vague or symbolic in their message, or require more interpretation and reading than a bare minimum are not ‘successful’.
The discussion on propaganda and posters that accompanies the images is fine, however as said beforehand it is relatively truncated. If one considers that the posters take up approximately 80-90% of the book’s pages, then what one reads is not going to go beyond a shortened description of the work and a curtailed evaluation of propaganda theory and practice.
Another drawback if the book is that the posters included are almost all from the major combatant nations in the two opposing alliances. It is a shame that posters from countries outside the usual suspects (Nazi Germany, USA, Italy, USSR, Britain, France) are few and far between. Zeman is certainly focused on European propaganda; very little is illustrated from the Asian-Pacific theatre.
A final note of commendation that can be stated is that the brevity of the book makes it a very worthy introductory text on the subject. I would suggest high school history teachers could refer to this book if they are guiding their students through WW2.
All up ‘Selling the War: Art & Propaganda in Workd War II’ is a useful if limited text. The illustrations are the book’s strongest selling point for potential readers.
Zeman’s most important achievement with this book is that he has compiled a reasonably broad corpus of posters and given them historical context and meaning, whilst also making artistic judgements on the images. The author is aware of the complexity of some issues related to the propaganda artwork included herein, such as the need for imagery to negate the need for text. As he rightly notes those posters that are too vague or symbolic in their message, or require more interpretation and reading than a bare minimum are not ‘successful’.
The discussion on propaganda and posters that accompanies the images is fine, however as said beforehand it is relatively truncated. If one considers that the posters take up approximately 80-90% of the book’s pages, then what one reads is not going to go beyond a shortened description of the work and a curtailed evaluation of propaganda theory and practice.
Another drawback if the book is that the posters included are almost all from the major combatant nations in the two opposing alliances. It is a shame that posters from countries outside the usual suspects (Nazi Germany, USA, Italy, USSR, Britain, France) are few and far between. Zeman is certainly focused on European propaganda; very little is illustrated from the Asian-Pacific theatre.
A final note of commendation that can be stated is that the brevity of the book makes it a very worthy introductory text on the subject. I would suggest high school history teachers could refer to this book if they are guiding their students through WW2.
All up ‘Selling the War: Art & Propaganda in Workd War II’ is a useful if limited text. The illustrations are the book’s strongest selling point for potential readers.
January 27, 2022
Quick and interesting read while sitting in the library waiting for my child’s book club to finish. Recommend for anyone who’s interested in the topic or era. The text doesn’t go very deeply into the topic of propaganda, but the book as a whole was both enjoyable and informative which is what I was looking for.
June 18, 2022
Ik vond dit boek een keer bij de kringloop en het leek mij wel interessant. Dat is het ook. Al denk ik niet dat het boek mij erg bij zal blijven. Het is ook meer een kijkboek dan een leesboek. Een van de redenen waarom ik toch vrij lang over het boek gedaan heb. Toch is het een mooie verzameling van affiches die gebruikt zijn in de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews