Really great read. Reason for 4stars is that the book is about 200-300 pages too short.

The premise is based on fact: that America is being run by ad agencies that sell their ability to create false realities in the minds of hundreds of millions of people--even billions--and then twist public thinking into a knot that politicians, huge corporations, government agencies, and the like all use to gain more power.

The idea of moving what the public is willing to believe into areas of complete madness and then taking power was an idea first made popular by Edward Bernays. Why we have never heard of him alone is curious. The man that inspired Goebbels clear down to Zinn and Chomsky. This is where Beck shines. He is able to tie together these elements, including a fantastic poem by Kipling, "Gods of the Copy Books", and create a narrative that is now becoming popularized as FACTION.

Where I have a problem with this new type of literature is that the characters aren't fully explored and the plot is rushed. Our hero, Noah Gardner is moved along quickly from heir apparent to the largest influence peddling agency to a patriot with moral beliefs.

The book starts out great and lays a good foundation, but hastens along to the transition.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the book a lot. It just needs to be more detailed.