Tracing the origin, ethos and workings of modern propaganda, this book contains essays, by scholars such as Hans Speier, C. Wright Mills and Walter Lippmann, exploring the social and institutional groundwork of modern propaganda. It then examines the axial age of propaganda, from World War I through the Cold War, focusing on key propaganda organizations, such as the Committee on Public Information, the Nazi propaganda machine and the group of Hollywood directors that produced propaganda films for the armed services during World War II. This section also details the wizardry of the master propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. Finally the volume examines the ubiquity of propaganda in contemporary society, with essays on bureaucratic propaganda, advertising, public relations and politics and language.