Note: Visit the SourceWatch Portal on Toxic Sludge
Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry
by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
Publisher: Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine
Bookstore price: $16.95
ISBN 1-56751-060-4
Ask for it in your local bookstore or order it directly. To order by mail, send $15/book (includes postage & handling) to: CMD, 409 East Main Street, Suite 100, Madison, WI 53703.
- Description
- Reviews
- Contents
- About the Authors
- Order Online
- Read an Excerpt: How PR Helped Sell the War in the Persian Gulf
- Sample chapter: "The Sludge Hits the Fan" (PDF download)
"Terrific! Don't miss it."
--Molly Ivins
Publisher's Weekly describes Toxic Sludge Is Good For You as "a chilling analysis of the PR business...a cautionary reminder that much of the consumer and political world is created by for-hire mouthpieces in expensive neckties."
Since its publication in late 1995, Toxic Sludge has already gone into its sixth printing amid rave reviews. It's been featured on ABC-TV's Good Morning America, National Public Radio's Marketplace, and in scores of other radio, TV and print stories.
WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING
"A chilling expose."
--Tom Vanderbilt, Village Voice Literary Supplement, 11/95
"Toxic Sludge should appear on the short list of anyone serious about the study of public relations in the United States."
--Paul Swift, Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 1996
"An instant classic!"
--Norman Solomon, author
"Written with humor and outrage at the public relations industry's worst excesses."
--Utne Reader, January/February 1996
"A startling portrait of the poisoning of the American democratic process by the nation's professional spin doctors... exposes the bare-knuckled, invisible hand guiding and shaping public opinions."
--Will Fantle, The Progressive, 12/95
"A real eye-opener."
--O'Dwyer's PR Services Report, 10/95
"A font of knowledge on the anti-knowledge biz."
--Leslie Savan, Village Voice, 12/12/95
"A powerful indictment of an industry 'designed to alter perception, reshape reality and manufacture consent.' "
--Laura Castaneda, Dallas Morning News, 12/17/95
"Terrific! Don't miss it."
--Molly Ivins, author
"Revealing and motivating."
--Ralph Nader, consumer advocate
"Important ... unmasks how corporations manipulate our democracy."
--William Greider, author, Who Will Tell The People
"Exposes how far we've tumbled down the dark hole of 'Newspeak' that Orwell warned about ... it could be the flashlight to find our way out."
--Jim Hightower, author and commentator
"A well-written, enlightening look at a war of the powerful against society."
--Edward Herman, co-author, Manufacturing Consent
"Great book - I love it!"
--Bill Lutz, founder, Doublespeak Quarterly
"Helps us see corporate crime and media distortion up close."
--Jeff Cohen, Executive Director, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)
"Powerful."
--Ben Bagdikian, author, The Media Monopoly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Torches of Liberty, by Mark Dowie
CHAPTERS
- Burning Books Before They're Printed
- The Art of the Hustle and the Science of Propaganda
- Smokers' Hacks
- Spinning the Atom
- Spies For Hire
- Divide and Conquer
- Poisoning the Grassroots
- The Sludge Hits the Fan
- Silencing Spring
- The Torturers' Lobby
- All the News That's Fit to Print
- Taking Back Your Own Back Yard
APPENDICES
PR Industry Leaders
The Clorox PR Crisis Plan
Suggested Reading
Notes
Index