The authors aim to assist the U.S. Army in understanding influence operations, capabilities that may allow the United States to effectively influence the attitudes and behavior of particular foreign audiences while minimizing or avoiding combat. The book identifies approaches, methodologies, and tools that may be useful in planning, executing, and assessing influence operations.
This was a fascinating book that feels especially relevant this week (of impeachment hearings) for contextualizing the way in which members of various parties and different media organizations characterize the hearings.
Though it's a decade old and focused on the US occupation of Iraq, as a practical example, the patterns and conclusions are fascinating. They are intuitive, but explored thoroughly in interesting statistical ways.
I would recommend it to students of persuasion and propaganda in various contexts.