On Sale: Mar 5, 2024
Page Count: 304 pages
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN-13: 9781541774728

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$39.00 CAD

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From one of our leading experts on disinformation, this inventive biography of the rogue WWII propagandist Sefton Delmer confronts hard questions about the nature of information war: what if you can’t fight lies with truth? Can a propaganda war ever be won?

In the summer of 1941, Hitler ruled Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Britain was struggling to combat his powerful propaganda machine, crowing victory and smearing his enemies as liars and manipulators over his frequent radio speeches, blasted out on loudspeakers and into homes. British claims that Hitler was dangerous had little impact against this wave of disinformation.

Except for the broadcasts of someone called Der Chef, a German who questioned Nazi doctrine. He had access to high-ranking German military secrets and spoke of internal rebellion. His listeners included German soldiers and citizens, as well as politicians in Washington DC who were debating getting into the war. And–most importantly–Der Chef was a fiction. He was a character created by the British propagandist Thomas Sefton Delmer, a unique weapon in the war.

Then, as author Peter Pomerantsev seeks to tell Delmer’s story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the US response to the invasion of Ukraine. In flashes forward to the present day, Pomerantsev weaves in what he’s learning from Delmer as he seeks to fight against Vladimir Putin’s tyranny and lies. This book is the story of Delmer and his modern investigator, as they each embark on their own quest to manipulate the passions of supporters and enemies, and to turn the tide of an information war, an extraordinary history that is informing the present before our eyes.

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A Times Best Book of the Year
“Pomerantsev writes in a lucid, ironical style that is a pleasure to read. . . . [How to Win an Information War] paints a memorable portrait of a communicator whose genius was not tied to a particular medium of communication. And the insights it contains have less to do with new-fangled technology than with old-fashioned human nature.”
The Wall Street Journal
“Beautifully crafted . . . A terrific tale that couldn’t be more timely.”
Patrick Maguire, The Times (UK)
“A riveting, often lyrical account . . . As we survey the past for key lessons and try to learn from our contemporary journalists, historians, and social scientists, Pomerantsev’s will always be a voice worth listening to.”
Los Angeles Review of Books
“Both history and rallying cry, Peter Pomerantsev’s book is a remarkable and illuminating guide to the nature and possibilities of propaganda. Written with palpable urgency, it cements the author’s reputation as one of the leading experts in information warfare; more than that, amid much despair, it even manages to strike a tentative note of optimism.”
The Times Literary Supplement
“Pomerantsev is an expert on autocracy and democratic backsliding, and his insights about Delmer’s work 80 years ago still feels fresh and useful today.”
NPR
“[A] compelling new study.”

The Guardian
“Lively and elegant.”
Roger Boyes, The Times (UK)
“With his understanding of propaganda and sharp eye for the unnervingly offbeat, Pomerantsev has unearthed an ideal subject in Delmer.”
National Review
“A must-read . . . With this addictive page-turner, Pomerantsev’s incisiveness once again sets his work above and apart from the often-crowded disinfo-hype genre.”
Lawfare
“How to Win an Information War bends genre boundaries, part history, part biography, and part how-to guide for deploying or countering propaganda. Pomerantsev, from Ukraine, has a particular interest in fighting back against Vladimir Putin’s lies about the country he invaded.”

Splice Today
“An excellent work of history carefully researched and beautifully written, and at once a profound study of a central problem of our time. To be read by everyone seeking perspective on all the lies of war and all the wars of lies.”

Timothy Snyder, #1 New York Times bestselling author of On Tyranny
“This is an original work of historical research and critical analysis, written with a literary flourish. Peter Pomerantsev digs deep into the history of information warfare to help us understand how to fight charlatans and fear mongers in the present.”
Anne Applebaum, Pultizer Prize–winning author of Gulag
“This book, brilliantly written by one of our finest writers at the top of his game, is one you will race through and then want to start all over again. Not only will it excite you and entertain you, it will profoundly unnerve you. Never again will you think about war, truth, and disinformation the same. This is history at its most urgent.”

Ben Judah, author of This is Europe
“A fascinating wartime biography that is also an inquiry into one of the most urgent issues in modern politics. Highly recommended.”
Gideon Rachman, author of Easternization
“A brilliantly inspired study of the power of propaganda to influence geopolitical narratives.”
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“[Pomerantsev’s] prose sparkles and his delineation of Delmer’s theories of propaganda fascinates . . . A fleet-footed history of propaganda.”
Publishers Weekly
“This profile of the ‘nearly forgotten genius of propaganda’ deepens our perception of disinformation as a vile and dangerous weapon.”
Booklist

Peter Pomerantsev

About the Author

Peter Pomerantsev is a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of This Is Not Propaganda and How to Win an Information War. He writes for publications including Granta, The Atlantic, Financial Times, London Review of Books, and Politico, among others.

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