The Story of Propaganda in 50 Images

by David Welch

From ancient Greek coinage to the sound bites of modern-day political spin doctors, propaganda has existed for thousands of years. But it was in the twentieth century that the art of persuasively communicating ideas truly came of age―when mass media meant that leaders could reach right into our living rooms to deliver their messages. Today, we live in a globalized "post-truth" era of social media and "fake news," in which lies and conspiracies can thrive―and many of us carry this information technology around with us daily on our person.
The Story of Propaganda in 50 Images is a chronological and international look at how important messages have been conveyed across centuries and cultures, through coins and monuments to paintings, posters, and films. The selection has been carefully curated to reveal, and to place in meaningful context, both negative and positive propaganda, from provoking hate to promoting public health, and provides a fascinating insight into how humankind can be seduced through slogans.

Exhibition British Library, London, April 22–August 21, 2022

Genres: History

144 pages, Hardcover

Published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the author, David Welch, is a recognized authority on propaganda and 20th century history this work seemed more like a quick one-off. Perhaps to take advantage of the current trend of the "100 best [or fifty images]..." coffee-table history books. The Smithsonian has done a number of these as have other publishers. IMO, this book was less satisfying than those both due to the poor reproduction of the images, which, for a collection of images was especially galling, and the obvious rush to stake out the academic high-ground in assessing COVID-19 and the leadership era of President Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Although, just okay, there are better collections of images and better evaluations of the role of language in shaping opinion out there.