This history of public relations shows how the art of PR has moulded the public mind and warped the contours of American democracy. The story began during World War I when Ivy Lee, one of America's first corporate men, sounded the dawn of an era in which public relations and corporate image management would become paramount features of society. The study chronicles the birth pangs and coming of age of a PR culture that is now taken for granted. It explores the ideas that inspired the stategies of public relations specialists, the ubiquitous use of images as tools of persuasion, the promiscuous advent of image consultants, pollsters, astro-turf organizers and other PR experts.