From the WSJ Opinion Archives
FIVE BEST
Flack Jackets
These are the ultimate books on public relations--and that's not just spin.
1. "Propaganda" by Edward Bernays (Liveright, 1928).
"Propaganda," the seminal work by the man regarded by many as the father of public relations, is as cynical as it is pragmatic. Edward Bernays made no apologies for his elitist view that a handful of trend-setters and corporate communicators--he called them "invisible governors"--are charged, if not ordained, with the responsibility of shaping public opinion. He was one of the first to understand the power of using third-party "authorities" as unwitting accomplices in PR schemes--as when he manipulated the findings of a physicians survey that emphasized the health benefits of a hearty breakfast. Bernays, who represented a bacon company, managed to work this benign concept into an endorsement (unapproved) of bacon and eggs. And it worked. He referred to this PR tactic as "organizing the chaos"--a spin master's own spin on his calling.
2. "American Hero" by Larry Beinhart (Pantheon, 1993).
Retitled "Wag the Dog: A Novel" after the movie it inspired became a hit, "American Hero" was based on a real war (Desert Storm) and a real president (George H.W. Bush). The release of the 1997 movie "Wag the Dog," starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, coincided with a real scandal: the President Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair. But regardless of historical context, the novel and the movie posed the same question: How far will a president go to extricate himself from the white-hot spotlight of media scrutiny and public outrage? Answer: all the way. By creating a fake war with the help of Hollywood, the White House PR machine manages to manipulate the public with frightening ease.
3. "The Eloquent President" by Ronald C. White Jr. (Random House, 2005).
Abraham Lincoln's words moved public opinion as no other U.S. politician's have before or since. In this close reading of his speeches, letters and papers, Ronald C. White Jr. does a superb job of illuminating Lincoln's political use of language. One of the finest examples comes in the section describing how Lincoln's position on slavery changed from his early thinking ("I oppose it personally but am bound by the Constitution") to his ultimate support of full emancipation. However great the public dismay over the Civil War's length and costs, Lincoln succeeded in uniting the country behind him--in large part, as this book shows, because of the moral clarity and the eloquence of his appeal.
4. "Thank You for Smoking" by Christopher Buckley (Random House, 1994).
This fine satirical novel concerns Nick Naylor, a spokesman for Big Tobacco who does a brilliant job of defending not only tobacco companies but also those who partake in the dangerous habit of using their products. Naylor skewers the media, bureaucrats and health officials with such ferocity and acumen that, amazingly, he somehow gets the reader to sympathize with Big Tobacco's plight. But because he's so good at his job, he becomes a target of both the FBI and, it appears, a zealous group of anti-tobacco terrorists, all of which puts him in the way of some richly entertaining mayhem. Christopher Buckley clearly understands the central principle of spin: However bad the trouble you're in, you can generally make the other side look worse.
5. "All's Fair" by Mary Matalin and James Carville (Random House, 1994).
Here's a sharp-eyed, behind-the-scenes account of the challenges confronted, with varying degrees of success, by the campaign managers for President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton in the 1992 election campaign. That Mary Matalin and James Carville were on opposite sides of this epic spin-battle and romantically involved adds spice to an already fascinating saga. There are plenty of telling moments along the way--perhaps the most persuasive is Matalin's description of President Bush's infamous, supposedly dumbfounded encounter with a grocery check-out scanner. While her husband used the image to portray Bush as so out of touch that he'd never been to a supermarket, in truth the photo was of the president examining a new product at a National Grocers Association convention. But people believed Carville's spin--mainly because it confirmed what they already thought of President Bush.
Mr. Kempner is president and CEO of MWW Group public relations.
