Psychology - Theory, History & Research, Public Opinion, U.S. Politics - General & Miscellaneous

Public Opinion

Name: Public Opinion
Author: Walter Lippmann
ISBN: 9781603865456

by Walter Lippmann

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Overview

In what is widely considered the most influential book ever written by Walter Lippmann, the late journalist and social critic provides a fundamental treatise on the nature of human information and communication. As Michael Curtis indicates in his introduction to this edition. Public Opinion qualifies as a classic by virtue of its systematic brilliance and literary grace. The work is divided into eight parts, covering such varied issues as stereotypes, image making, and organized intelligence. The study begins with an analysis of "the world outside and the pictures in our heads," a leitmotif that starts with issues of censorship and privacy, speed, words, and clarity, and ends with a careful survey of the modern newspaper. The work is a showcase for Lippmann's vast erudition. He easily integrated the historical, psychological, and philosophical literature of his day, and in every instance showed how relevant intellectual formations were to the ordinary operations of everyday life. Public Opinion is of enduring significance for communications scholars, historians, sociologists, and political scientists.

About the Author, Walter Lippmann

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) was the author of many books on political thought and was widely considered America’s most distinguished syndicated columnist. In addition to being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he won two Pulitzer Prizes for his newspaper column “Today and Tomorrow,” which appeared in the New YorkHerald Tribune. Michael Curtis is distinguished professor emeritus of political science at Rutgers University. He is the author of numerous books in the areas of political theory, comparative government, European politics, and the Middle East, including Marxism: The Inner Dialogues, Israel in the Third World, and Anti-Semitism in the Contemporary World.