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The Hidden Persuaders [Paperback]

Vance Packard , Mark Crispin Miller
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 1, 2007

"One of the best books around for demystifying the deliberately mysterious arts of advertising."--Salon

"Fascinating, entertaining and thought-stimulating."--The New York Times Book Review

"A brisk, authoritative and frightening report on how manufacturers, fundraisers and politicians are attempting to turn the American mind into a kind of catatonic dough that will buy, give or vote at their command--The New Yorker

Originally published in 1957 and now back in print to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, The Hidden Persuaders is Vance Packard’s pioneering and prescient work revealing how advertisers use psychological methods to tap into our unconscious desires in order to "persuade" us to buy the products they are selling.

A classic examination of how our thoughts and feelings are manipulated by business, media and politicians, The Hidden Persuaders was the first book to expose the hidden world of “motivation research,” the psychological technique that advertisers use to probe our minds in order to control our actions as consumers. Through analysis of products, political campaigns and television programs of the 1950s, Packard shows how the insidious manipulation practices that have come to dominate today’s corporate-driven world began. Featuring an introduction by Mark Crispin Miller, The Hidden Persuaders has sold over one million copies, and forever changed the way we look at the world of advertising.

Vance Packard (1914-1996) was an American journalist, social critic, and best-selling author. Among his other books were The Status Seekers, which described American social stratification and behavior, The Waste Makers, which criticizes planned obsolescence, and The Naked Society, about the threats to privacy posed by new technologies.


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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vance Packard (1914 -1996) was an American journalist, social critic, and best-selling author. Among his books were the million-selling Hidden Persuaders, The Status Seekers, which described American social stratification and behavior, The Waste Makers, which criticizes planned obsolescence, and The Naked Society, about the threats to privacy posed by new technologies. Mark Crispin Miller is the author of the best-selling books Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order, The Bush Dyslexicon, and Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too. An expert in propaganda and media, he teaches at New York University.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Ig Publishing (July 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 097884310X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0978843106
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
79 of 81 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The strip-mining of human nature December 4, 2002
Format:Paperback
Written at the cusp of the 'consumer revolution', this book is both a quaint historical piece and a prophesy of what was to come. The tangential thesis of the book is that by the mid-fifties, the standard problems in capitalism -- those of production and distribution of goods -- were solved, but that this introduced another problem: all of these goods must be consumed. So, it became necessary to step up the techniques used to market these goods.

Advertising was nothing new, but the psychological intricacy and sophistication in it was ratcheted up significantly. Using Freud, Jung, and whatever other foundation proved workable, social scientists and psychoanalysts honed their skills to develop an ever-growing repertoire of tricks that would induce us all to spend and consume at ever-higher levels.

Two things make the book relevant today: 1) nothing has changed either in the economic situation or in the techniques, except that both have become even more intense (two thirds of the 2002 U.S. GNP depends on consumer spending); and 2) no other book has yet come forward to do a better job at showing, in great anecdotal detail and for a broad audience, what depth marketing is all about.

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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep look into the mind.... December 7, 1998
Format:Paperback
The Hidden Persuaders explores the dark world of advertising and the effects it has upon our minds. Even though it was written originally in 1957, most of its material is still relevant today. At first, one may be lead to the conclusion Vance Packard has gone off the far end with his accusations of subliminal mind control, but he provides so much factual data you finally come to realize this isn't any joking matter. Everyone should read this book, at least to become familiar with its theme, and to increase personal awareness of the underlying messages our minds are exposed to every day. Packard will help you understand virtually hundreds of ways corporations get you to give away your hard earned money readily. He explains not only how companies make you tick, but why they make you tick. After reading the book, you will never watch another commercial or listen to another advertisement the same.
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Origins of Motivational Research in the U.S. July 31, 1999
Format:Paperback
THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS by Vance Packard stands as one of the more eye-opening accounts of the development of the motivational sciences in the 20th Century. What is being described by Packard is the evolution of a systematic relationship between merchandisers of America's then-booming manufacturing industries who teemed up with Madison Avenue-style advertising firms, who themselves were backed by a network of behavioral scientists. As described by Packard, this network not only developed novel and creative ways of reaching into the psyche of its intended target audiance to tap into hidden motivations; but in the process of turning us all into more compliant consumers, so shifted the values of the entire society that they changed American society for all time. Today many of us have virtually succumbed our natural "reality" to a phony existance based upon presenting an image of ourselves to our peers that is actually based upon media and market-generated values. Once we understand the process that created this vast consumer culture, with all it's attendant neuroses, we can then begin to fashion for ourselves a strategy for recovering our basic humanity. What is being described in THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS, is the origins of a system to manipulate us out of that humanity.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that hits the mark
Vance Packard exposed the hidden force behind the drive of our excessive consumerism. The Hidden Persuaders is packed with information that pertains our wallets, our weaknesses,... Read more
Published 3 days ago by chimiturre1968
4.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but interesting
Packard's book may have been ground-breaking at the time, but some of his conclusions translate well enough to the digital age.
Published 1 month ago by William C. Davidson
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book from the 60's
Everyone should read this book before they go college, it will prepare them for the unexpected that you won't learn in school.
Published 3 months ago by twosticks
1.0 out of 5 stars Great book, shabby ebook version
Such a great book and such shocking proofreading. The ebook is full of typos. Considering all the publishers have had to do is turn it into electronic text (once) then sit back and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Diogenes
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
I read this book when I was in high school, and it was an eye-opener. It created my interest in communication.
Published 13 months ago by Michael R Barnard
2.0 out of 5 stars the hidden persuaders
The intentions of the author can be judged well enough. But the bottomline is that the book no longer belongs to the present time and generation. Read more
Published 17 months ago by thinking man
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this in today's crazy world!
We have been programmed by marketing strategies, tv commercials, billboards and anything else that marketing strategists can possibly conceive of! Read more
Published on September 27, 2010 by Pamela M. Kowal
2.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Persuaders fails to deliver
I rarely put a book down, even if I find its not what I expected. I feel a book at least deserves the chance to be heard out -- but not this one. Read more
Published on July 22, 2009 by waXie
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
I really enjoyed this book. You will be left with your jaw dropped. A great read for those interested in the contraversy of Marketing.
Published on March 20, 2009 by Bonnie Fann
5.0 out of 5 stars You're right, they are controlling and manipulating you
Most of us realize that we are being influenced all the time. What most of us don't realize is just how much we are controlled and influenced. Read more
Published on April 19, 2008 by Steven Chambers
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