Mr. Pomerantsev relies heavily on the work of historians and biographers, as well as on Delmer’s own memoirs. But the book possesses virtues that make it more than a simple retelling. First, Mr. Pomerantsev writes in a lucid, ironical style that is a pleasure to read ... The reader who expects a tidy set of instructions about "how to fight an information war" in 2024 will be disappointed. This is not that kind of book. Instead, it paints a memorable portrait of a communicator whose genius was not tied to a particular medium of communication.
Pomerantsev offers a sometimes colorful story of Delmer’s exploits, but ... the lessons of How to Win an Information War are mostly relegated to familiar bromides ... Things become even more dubious when Pomerantsev explores the theories of psychoanalysis, then in vogue, that animated British counter-propaganda efforts.
How to Win an Information War succeeds brilliantly in shedding light on the first question that Pomerantsev sought to answer: namely, what makes people susceptible to the blindness that propaganda can create? But the book’s real importance lies in the fact that it ultimately fails to provide the answer to his second question: how might people be induced to break out of it? Pomerantsev does not find a silver bullet.
Pomerantsev’s lively and elegant retelling has a contemporary purpose ... There are, of course, limits to how much the talent of Delmer can be applied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the book raises good questions.
Pomerantsev asserts that we should not trust in a "marketplace of ideas" where the "best" information will somehow win out if we just publish it. Success means engaging people who are resistant to what we want to say.
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.
Evocative if less-than-persuasive ... Pomerantsev concludes by advocating for modern anti-Russia propagandists... a clearly dicey proposition. Still, his prose sparkles and his delineation of Delmer’s theories of propaganda fascinates.
