Collects and comments on materials about the theory and practice of
propaganda in twentieth century war and politics. World War I was the
first total war in history, and propaganda was disseminated to affirm
the righteous cause, sustain morale, discomfit the enemy, placate
allies, and pressure neutrals. The process continued in each war
thereafter, down to and including the 1991 Gulf War, differentiating
only to the extent that propagandists had access to ever more elaborate
technologies of mass communications. The bibliography includes works
about propaganda theory; sources that deal with the motivation,
planning, and purpose of propaganda; includes sources relating to the
media through which the propaganda was disseminated; and samples of
actual propaganda, ranging from feature films to published pamphlets.
The author has chosen entries that provide the most useful sampling of
the great variety of propaganda theory and practice that has developed
in the twentieth century, with reference specifically to war and
politics.