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Title: poor style, spotty substance
Review: Admittedly, I expected a lot from this book. I had just learned about Bernays from Stuart Ewen's book Spin: A Social History of PR & was looking forward to getting a balanced picture of this alleged master. Tye's book did not fit the bill and, unfortunately, most of Bernay's books seem to be out of print. My main problem with the book is that Tye does not document the connection between Bernay's schemes & their outcomes - were Bernay's efforts smoke & mirrors that simply presaged natural turns in public opinion or did they actually manage to influence public opinion? This is the main question that I wanted the book to address, and it simply did not do it. Furthermore, the book is structured non-chronologically, and Tye does not have the skill as an author to bring Bernay's life together coherently in this manner; at best the structure is a good idea poorly executed. Check out Ewen's book for a more cogent history of public relations (including Bernay's innovations).
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