I Am Happily Aghast -- My 18-Yr-Old Loves It -- Great Gift!(Rating: 5)
You might call me the "aging hippie mom" wondering when and if my teenaged son would *ever* get passionate about, and see, some important truths of what is happening in the world today. He's a great kid, but frankly he's pushing eighteen and I had given up hope of his ever "seeing the light" if he didn't by now -- the "light" in this sense meaning a lot of the truths that were important to me at his age and that are pressingly important more and more for the world at large.

A huge *spark* happened when he read some articles on thedoctorwithin.com, especially an article that cited this book. When he said, "I'd like to get that book," I was happily astounded in his interest and purchased him a copy as soon as I could. He's been reading it now for weeks and several times has commented on how much he appreciates the book, has used facts from the book for arguments in his high school debate class (with great results -- he won the debate "hands down") -- and better yet, he is now "turned on" to learning more.

Shoot, because of this book, "Trust Me, We're Experts" my son has also gotten turned on to reading again for the first time in years. Said so himself! When he saw my fresh-off-the-press copy of "Our Toxic World: A Wakeup Call" by Doris J. Rapp., M.D., sitting on the coffeetable -- where before I would have gotten from him a distinterested "Hum," he said, "I'd like to borrow that book sometime!" WOW.

It's today's youth that will gain the mantle and have to deal with this world and all the problems of corporate greed/control. I strongly feel that becoming aware of the kinds of things this book delineates is a very, very hopeful sign for our future and the future of this planet. This book is a radical TURN-ON, and for that I give it a big two hands up! (Hey, he's even gaining interest in organic food now!)

Believe none of what you hear....(Rating: 5)
...and only half of what you see. That's how an old friend paraphrased some public figure many years ago. And this book makes that statement far less cynical.

While "Toxic Sludge is Good for You" by the same authors was a fine book, this is somewhat of an evolution. It's even better.

So, let's see, you may have been impressed with the findings of a study that has been in all the major daily newspapers and network news. After all, the findings were applauded by the Association for Warm Cuddly Chemicals, they were endorsed by your favorite authors, and, after all, what would we do without the wonderful products available that were the subject of the study?

What the trusty newspapers and networks didn't tell you is that the aforementioned association--the list of such front organizations will boggle your mind--is a front for the manufacturers of the chemicals making up the product they're endorsing, and the "study" written up by professional PR flacks. (I took a writing course six years ago in which the instructor, who claimed to be well-informed, was astonished when I told her the percentage of column inches in the most well-read newspapers in the US have been composed by PR "professionals.")

As the structure of a text means a lot to me, this is one I endorse on that ground too. It starts with a history of the public relations industry. Of course, Edward Bernays--an old New Deal liberal, incidentally--was PR's patron saint.

The authors dissect the PR process brilliantly. For instance, PR professionals have their consultants to call upon. I was amazed and amused by the process our favorite software manufacturer used to minimize the allegations of monopoly. One of the "consultants" called upon was a former Supreme Court nominee who has vigorously argued against antitrust laws. Once hired by the corporation, though, he issued a 7,000 word tirade against federal prosecutors in favor of the company. Various other politicians, also getting paid by the company, were also enlisted as spokespeople for the company. Shocked, huh?

There's a valuable analysis of how industry has taken the route of "risk analysis" rather than a principle of precaution, i.e., go for it because the consequences are likely minimal vs. let's wait until we find the product is safe before we release it. Industry pushes the former, though you think they--and we--would learn what with the number and amount of settlements in law suits against drug manufacturers, for example.

In addition to that level of commentary, the text reminds the reader of the perils of things like global warming. These are items industry goes out of its way to deny. After all, were we to face the consequences of our excess consumption, we might buy less! Oh, and there?s lots in the text to be learned about bovine growth hormone and its manufacturer/promoter. You'll learn a lot about things we've been prodded to take for granted.

A further complication of our perception is that there is a genre of commentator that a fellow skeptic refers to as "crank skeptic," i.e., an author or commentator who claims to challenge norms or speak for reality but who actually has an ideological motive. This text mentions a few of them whose names I'll let you get from the text.

The only thing I wish the book had covered more of is how the PR industry has infected the electoral process in the United States. In contemporary elections, ISSUES are meticulously avoided so that we can discuss the essentially meaningless (e.g., "character," whatever that is.) But I must admit that's probably the subject of a dozen books, and a slightly different focus than that of this book.

Were I taking notes while reading the book, there is far more I could have written. But I'd rather you take the time to read the book than my comments thereon.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. We MUST know how the PR process works, how we are influenced by it, and who controls the media by which we are ostensibly "informed."

These guys are far better than Michael Moore(Rating: 5)
It is a bit sad that in our society the loudest mouth gets the most publicity. This is where Michael Moore comes in. If you want to get the real scoop from two fellows that are pretty apolitical and tell it to you how it is, get this book.

You won't trust any thing you read anymore the way you use to. Whenever you read about a new medical study, you will seek who funded it. You will make direct links between the source of funding and the conclusion of the given scientificy study. You may loose a bit of sleep, but this type of collective critical thinking is one of the most powerful tool of a well developed democracy. On this count, one could easily argue that ours is not a well developed one, as overall our critical thinking skills are not what they should be on a communal level. This book will help.

just say know(Rating: 4)
another mind cracking tome that feeds your starving neurons some nutrition, for once.

Though many of these ideas will make you mad, you'll be glad you gained the wisdom after trading in the ignorance-is-bliss mentality of the typical drone.

It's nice to know what's really going on in this country.

Modern Marketing(Rating: 4)
Turn on the tv or radio, open a magazine, or download a computer, and chances are first thing you'll encounter is an advertisement. Ever wonder what goes on in the boardrooms behind all that public relations spin. The Stauber-Rampton book is a good place to start. The authors trace the growth of modern perception management, pinpoint some favorite mind bending tactics, and offer up a few suggestions on how to defend yourself in the clinches.You'll learn that experts aren't always experts, disinterested third parties aren't always disinterested, and for many of these outfits, money not only has no conscience, but wouldn't recognize the truth if God proclaimed it. In short, they detail lessons you probably already knew, but ones laid out here as revealing case studies. Though always readable, the text does at times get tedious, (and the culprit responsible for that front cover cartoon deserves at least 5 days of Bob Dole-Viagra commercials). Nonetheless, readers will come away with a much better idea of how the industry works, who benefits, and who too often loses. And though the book will not make the Advertising Council's top ten of 'must reads', it should make the consumer's.