Public Relations, Edward L. Bernays and the American Scene

Annotated bilbiogrpahy of, and reference guide to writings by and about Edward L. Bernays from 1917 to 1951.

An excerpt from the book's Preface:
By any test, public relations is today a recognized profession;
it has its responsible practitioners; it has a growing number of
university courses; it has a growing sense of social responsi-
bility. It has its own training courses and it can point to a
steady growth of conscious public relations activity by profit
and non-profit institutions and by government agencies with
professional public relations counsel in charge.

Most important for our purposes, public relations has it own
field of literature and this book will deal with a vital segment
of that field.

Literature on public relations is extensive, but a check of
public libraries reveals that much of this literature is scattered
in books on related subjects, and in magazines. Bibliography
of the field is extremely limited. Yet bibliography is recognized
as a vital tool in providing an organized approach to basic
knowledge and points of view in any subject. To individuals
working in any field of research or study, bibliography in in-
despensable. Unfortunately, there has been little biblio-
graphy in public relations, principally because it is a new sub-
ject. There are, to be sure, journals which cover the literature
in related fields, such as The Public Opinion Quarterly, but
these concern themselves chiefly with books, and do not as
a rule cover even important material appearing in magazines
and other publications.

This work, then, is concerned with published material by and about Edward L. Bernays, public relations counsel. This choice
appeared to be ideal for a bibliography because of Mr. Bernays
outstanding position as a founding-father, practitioner and
theoretician.

The bibliography covers the period from 1917 to 1951, and is divided into three parts, consisting of five sections plus an
addenda. The first section covers writings by Mr. Bernays
appearing in books; the second, writings by Mr. Bernays in
periodicals; the third, published talks by Mr. Bernays; the
fourth, books mentioning Mr. Bernays; and the fifth, profiles of Mr. Bernays.
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From wikipedia:
Edward Louis Bernays (1891 – 1995, was an American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda along with Ivy Lee, referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations". Combining the ideas of Gustave Le Bon and Wilfred Trotter on crowd psychology with the psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle, Dr. Sigmund Freud, Bernays was one of the first to attempt to manipulate public opinion using the subconscious.

He felt this manipulation was necessary in society, which he regarded as irrational and dangerous as a result of the 'herd instinct' that Trotter had described. Adam Curtis's award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC, The Century of the Self, pinpoints Bernays as the originator of modern public relations, and Bernays was named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine.

Bernays began his career as Press Agent in 1913, counseling to theaters, concerts and the ballet. In 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson engaged George Creel and realizing one of his ideas, he founded the Committee on Public Information. Bernays, Carl Byoir and John Price Jones worked together to influence public opinion towards supporting American participation in World War I.
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If you are interested in the Wilson years, some George Creel
books are:
- How We Advertised America
- The War, the World and Wilson
- National Service Handbook
- Wilson and the Issues

Another book in regard to the Woodrow Wilson presidency is
Words That Won the War; the story of the Committee on
Public Information 1917-1919