For For readers wanting a short history of propaganda from antiquity to the twentieth century; not Ellul's main study, which is Propaganda (1962).
Should I read this?
For the general reader
2 of 5worth a look
For the researcher
3 of 5worth your time
Difficulty
2 of 5moderate
A short historical survey of propaganda for a popular French series, written as a companion to his larger study.
How it proceeds
Philosophic2 of 5
Scriptural0 of 5
Experiential0 of 5
Sociological4 of 5
Historical5 of 5
Independent intensities, 0–5 — what the work is made of, not how good it is.
A short history of propaganda written for the Presses universitaires de France's Que sais-je? series and published in 1967 (revised 1976). Where Propagandes (1962) analysed propaganda as a feature of technological society, this little book surveys its forms historically, from the ancient world to the totalitarian regimes and mass media of the twentieth century. It has not been translated into English.
