A century of spin: how public relations become the cutting edge of corporate power

This book charts the relentless rise of the public relations industry and how it has transformed our society. Revealing the roots of the PR movement in the years leading up to the First World War, it shows how PR became a key tool in the struggle to subordinate democracy to corporate rule. It is the first book to offer a history of the emergence of corporate propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic during the twentieth century.

The authors show how the origins of PR were always covertly political.

Spin has been around for a long time and its anti-democratic potential is well known to all those who have made use of it. Based on extensive use of original archival material, the book presents a clear chronology of PR's development, culminating with a detailed examination of the corporate takeover of the political process under Blair, Brown and Cameron.