How to Win an Information War

The riveting story of a World War II broadcaster’s campaign to counter Nazi propaganda, told alongside the author’s own quest to confront the disinformation fueling Russia’s war on Ukraine

“[An] addictive page-turner.” —Lawfare

A Times (UK) Best Book of the Year

In the summer of 1941, Britain and its allies were struggling to combat Hitler’s powerful propaganda machine, which boasted of his inevitable victory and smeared his enemies as liars. British claims to the contrary had little impact—except for the broadcasts of Der Chef, a German who questioned the Nazi Party. Der Chef galvanized Hitler’s opponents across the globe with damning intel on high-ranking Nazi officials and rumors of internal rebellion. Yet all the while, he was a fictional persona created by the British propagandist Sefton “Tom” Delmer.

As Peter Pomerantsev tells Delmer’s pulse-pounding story, he finds himself pulled into a wartime propaganda effort of his own. Following Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine, Pomerantsev looks to Delmer to understand how to combat disinformation, manipulate the passions of supporters and enemies alike, and turn the tide of an information war.

• 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