Very interesting, mostly in historical context. If you’ve done any modern reading on the subject at all this is not new info, and most books on the subject reference Bernays at least a little bit. For me, it was the differences I can see from when he’s talking about it and now— how much stronger and subtler the propaganda in government has become, how integral advertising for businesses has become, and how far (some of) the public has come in recognizing it. Influencer culture, pop politicians, the rise of social media and “invisible” advertising, none of this goes against Bernays’ assertions in the books, but I found it a little bit hard to remember the historical context when trying to parse out parts of it. For example, I would love an update on how the government propaganda machine has changed since it was written (even the 2005 intro was outdated on this). I’ll probably look for a more recently-written follow up. But I did appreciate how straightforward the subject is presented. I agree— propaganda isn’t “good” or “bad” it’s a tool, and one that everyone needs to understand bc everyone comes into contact with it.