Rating: 
Summary: A book that decieves to try and prove deception
Review: When I was ordered to get this book for a college course, I knew there were problems arrising when i saw what the title of the book was. Being moderate in beliefs, I chose to support the war based on the fact that Saddam Hussein is a murdering madman, and that was proven years ago. This book is pure spin. Facts are spun, and examples are not given in complete context. One prime example of this is how the authors give us an "edited" conversation that Bill O'Reilly has with a Mr. Glick on his show. I saw that interview, and remember it fondly. The interview in this book is not the one from the show. There are bits and pieces, but the authors did not give the full interview which showed how truly wrong Mr. Glick was. Written by biased people, this book has facts in it, but not complete facts. It makes me sick to read, and I've honestly attempted to swallow the content. This is not an accurate depiction of what transpired during the war. "Weapons Of Mass Deception" is a fitting title, as the authors are trying to decieve you into buying their point of view. Be warned.
Rating: 
Summary: An information, insightful, well researched book.
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone. Especially those that were so rabid about war with Iraq. This book is well researched and footnoted. Learn to recognize when you are being lied to and manipulated by the media. One thing I find strange, is that there were some reviews on this book only a few days ago. And now they have been removed. Makes me wonder.
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Summary: Other side of the story
Review: Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber have done a great service to the democracy in general and to all Americans in particular by tearing apart the bulwark created by a coalition of the neo-conservatives, far-right officials and like-minded think-tanks, vehemently supported by mass-media, and scheming highly-paid PR companies - working together to pull off a sensational piece of intellectual dishonesty. The avalanche of the resultant information made us believe on one side of the picture, which was probably not true. This highly readable book lays bare an entirely different side of the story, and gives us a chance to detect lies and distant ourselves from it. My congratulations to the authors.
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Summary: Explains where the "real" war was fought.
Review: Rampton and Stauber present a logical well documented summary of the efforts to package and sell "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Most of the books content comes as no surprise to anyone who listens to or reads news from sources (BBC,CBC, London Guardian etc.) other than the U.S mainstream media. To see months of what really happened carefully documented and footnoted alongside the story as presented by the U.S. mainstream media, is truely frightening. The Bush Administration's Public Relations campaign and it's effective selling of the war, indeed rival or exceed previous administrations efforts to dupe the public into accepting their policies. It appears the Bush Administration put much more effort into winning the propaganda war than they put into developing alternatives to remove Hussein from power. Clear and concise, a great exopose' of the unholy alliance of the Public Relations Industry, the media and the Bush Administration.
Rating: 
Summary: Stauber Is A Tad Goofy-Read His Review of His Own Book
Review: Stauber flashes un poco self-absorption in his semi-diatribe above bashing people for commenting on his book without, as he discerns, having actually read the book, and in doing so, suggests (1)that his co-author may be the better editor (see weights instead of weighs in the review)(2)that using this space for commentary rather than reviews is okay for him but not us. Now, I haven't read the book either yet nonetheless rated it with 3 stars because the subject matter needs exploring and because I can. Stauber, how about a brewski, amigo? We can talk and talk, you choose the subjects of course.
Rating:
Summary: Shows Us How to Spot Doublespeak and PR Manipulation
Review: Should the United States promote dialog and democracy around the world? Or should it support dictators and repressive regimes -- then use public relations techniques to convince Americans and the world that we support dialog and democracy? PR Watch staffmembers, Rampton and Stauber demonstrate, in this well-reasoned and well-documented analysis, that the United States has, unfortunately, often chosen the second path. Was Saddam Hussein's Iraq an imminent threat to the United States and other countries? Or was the perception of a threat just another successful public relations campaign by an unprincipled president and his skillful PR squad? Rampton and Stauber describe how the Bush Administration sold to the American public the idea that Iraq was an imminent threat -- beginning with the "product launch" in September 2002. Writing in a very calm, understated tone, they meticulously document how the Bush Administration used PR techniques to sell "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to the public and how the US news media uncritically repeated these messages. Now, months later, the reality is clear. No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime, like many other Middle East governments, was undeniably repressive, but clearly it was not a threat to the United States or any other country. Every item in the "thick intelligence file" used to justify the invasion of Iraq turns out not to be true. We were duped. Rampton and Stauber argue that what we need is more truth and less public relations spin. Their book goes a long way toward showing us how to spot doublespeak and PR manipulation.
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Summary: Nice Job! The best on the subject so far.
Review: Having read most of the recent crop of books exposing the true motives behind the reasons used to sell the war to American citizens, I can say that this one takes the cake. It brings together all the well-documented evidence in one very well-written and highly engaging book. It lets YOU, the reader, make your own conclusions. Who needs pulp-fiction in this day and age...when truth is even stranger than fiction! Don't let the silly cover fool you, this is serious (and often scary) stuff. Did I say it was entertaining as well? Very! I wish this book never had to be written, but unfortunately it did. This one of the most important books out there right now. Awesome book. Just AWESOME. I was thoroughly IMPRESSED!
Rating:
Summary: Weapons of Mass Deception
Review: Anyone who the harbors the smallest suspicion that they were deceived about the reasons for the U.S invasion of Iraq will find Weapons of Mass Deception by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber a fascinating vindication. The book will hopefully find its way into the hands of the dis-inclined-to think folk as well as other authoritarians, since the evidence it presents -that most U.S.citizens were manipulated (by greater authority figures then themselves) is impeccable.
More significantly, despite its bipartisan orientation, the book has the potential to focus a reader's attention on the fact that that those most responsible for the recent wars in the Gulf are "royal" families on both sides of the Atlantic, i.e., both Kings and CEOS. In other words, the book has the potential get people to see that the last two wars in the Gulf were far less about "national security" than about insuring security for capitalists in the oil and weapons industries. And that makes it one of the most hopeful books I've read in a while.
This book is so timely it's practically on fire.
Rating:
Summary: Pure bunkum
Review: typical liberal tripe. Ignore facts and attempt to re-write history. Anyone who thinks the USA needed an excuse to attack Iraq has no grasp on geo-politcs. Iraq has long been a state sponsor of Terrorism, that fact is well documented and undeniable. Not a single credible inteligence agency of any country denied that Iraq had WMD's prior to the war.NOT ONE!!! The Iraqi goverment itself claimed it had these weapons after the first gulf war. Strong inteligence supports the claim that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was an Iraqi intelligence agent. The list of indictments on Iraq are endless. About the only thing this book is good for, is wiping my arse.
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Summary: Deception and the Lives of US Troops
Review: Stauber and Rampton have written a first-rate book which presents a terrible reality: that the Bush Administration lied to get us into a war with Iraq, a war which continues to cost
us the lives of US soldiers. As a US Army veteran, I'm appalled that the lives of US troops are worth so little to Pres. Bush and his Administration, but as Stauber and Rampton detail, the president and his people KNEW that many of the things they were
telling America to get us into this war simply were not true. And don't just take Stauber and Rampton's word for it. Daily, our newspapers and televisions news are uncovering even more deception on many of the key points which Bush and Company used to push us into a war with Iraq, confirming much of what these two authors assert. Read this book!
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