Rating: 
Summary: A Book that: "Chilled the Marrow in My Bones".
Review: 10:12p.m. March 16/2000. Laptop flickering. Eyes heavy. Thick Cuban Cigar smoke floods the room. The 19 yr old, leans back...a sick smile forms on his face. A copy of Machiavelli on the desk. Paperwork surrounds him. After visiting Hill & Knowlton, he knew what he had to do. What he was destined for. <clock ticks>
Rating:
Summary: A Book that: "Chilled the Marrow in My Bones".
Review: 10:12p.m. March 16/2000. Laptop flickering. Eyes heavy. Thick Cuban Cigar smoke floods the room. The 19 yr old, leans back...a sick smile forms on his face. A copy of Machiavelli on the desk. Paperwork surrounds him. After visiting Hill & Knowlton, he knew what he had to do. What he was destined for. <clock ticks>
Rating: 
Summary: 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).
Rating:
Summary: 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).
Rating: 
Summary: Our history discarded
Review: As a non-PR person, I thoroughly enjoyed The Father of Spin because it confirmed my suspicion that a large part of our history was and today still is "manufactured" out of the offices of spin. Larry Tye's portrayal of Bernays seems very balanced. However, having read the contents of the book I am inclined to say that the credit given to Bernays is somewhat over-rated by naming him the Father of Spin. One question needs to be raised: Is the information and news we see everyday inspired by commerce or actual events?
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Summary: Fascinating Biography of an Amoral Man
Review: Bernays is generally acknowledged as the Father of PR. But, is he also the Father of Spin? Tye writes a fascinating biography of this key communications individual, filled with the key episodes that earned Bernays his moniker. From getting women to smoke to getting people to eat bacon, Bernays always seemed to figure out a way. But, Tye focuses heavily on these episodes and gives short shift to the implictions and consequences of Bernays's actions beyond fattening the bottom line. While it is true Bernays could not have fully appreciated all the consequences, his relentless drive to serve his clients reveals a man who forgot that public relations means being the conduit between the public and the client, not being another salesman, no matter how clever. If you're interested in seeing the modern fruition of Bernays's tactics, then I suggest Michael Levine's Guerilla PR: Wired, which updates Bernays's ideas into the digital age. Overall, this book is well-worth reading if you're interested in a man's actions. But, if you're interested in seeing how a man's actions can affect the world, then you might be better off with another book.
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Summary: The Whole Truth The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
Review: Feruary 7, 1999Did all you fine reviewers know that it was Eddie Bernays who advised Harry S. Truman to not drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima but somewhere nearby, out of the range of the fallout?Harry Truman never listened to anyone. Just like now.Jerry RekoshCounsel on Public RelationsPro Bono to the State of Californi
Rating:
Summary: This is a great, great, great book
Review: I am a PR professional. I read a lot of books about PR. This one is definitely on the top of my list. Many thanks and praises to the author for his fantastic contribution.
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Summary: Why this book sheds light on today's political scene.
Review: I am the editor of THE FATHER OF SPIN by Larry Tye. I found the book personally fascinating because the "spinning" that goes on today by the Clinton camp and the Starr camp or by the tobacco industry and anti-tobacco lobby all find their origin in the work of Edward Bernays--the man who tried to persuade women that smoking was an act of liberation for them. He got women to demonstrate for their right to smoke, a campaign that was climaxed by a torchlight parade down Fifth Avenue in New York City. He worked for many of the leading U.S. companies as well as for political figures such as Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge. Bernays borrowed a lot of his ideas from his uncle Sigmund Freud and they are as potent today as they were in the 1920's and 30's when his PR firm was shaping the way Americans believed and acted. I really enjoyed working on this book and I think you will enjoy reading it.
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Summary: This is one great read!!!!
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. Tye chronicles Bernay's lifeand times well. Bernay's is presented as a genius and a demon and thefacts support that he was both! If you disagree, read this book; it reveals how there are no real heroes, just good/bad/indifferent PR!
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