One of those books whose mere title prompts a shudder… [Lemov] brilliantly chronicles chillingly true attempts to program other people’s minds and control their actions.—Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
Convincing and compassionate… Lemov’s arguments are shaped by her expertise.—Katie Joice, Science
Thoughtful, well supported… Offers vivid snapshots of individual cases.—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times
If the lessons of history in Lemov’s book coupled with the ongoing insights of the political neuroscientists are even half right, we should all be paying very, very close attention.—Liz Else, New Scientist
A superbly crafted analysis of a universally deplored but seemingly irresistible technique.—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Provocative and illuminating…. Lemov’s deeply researched exploration reveals how the persuasive power wielded by charismatic figures can answer, in a warped way, a person’s yearning for self-reinvention and meaning.—Publishers Weekly, starred review
A chilling and spellbinding history of mind control, from prison camps to online algorithms.—Jill Lepore, author of If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future
Tracking moments of mind control from techniques of political conversion in war camps to the suasions of religious cult groups, the airwave appeals of mass influence to the emotional experiments of recent social media and the charms of astrological cryptocurrency communities, Rebecca Lemov reveals the tantalizing historical through line of brainwashing. Its truth always just out of reach, it nonetheless asserts itself over us and implicates us in its dynamics.—Natasha Dow Schüll, author of Addiction by Design
From the Korean War to Facebook, this riveting volume tracks the history of systems built to bend our wills and rewire our minds. Timely, frightening, and impossible to put down.—Fred Turner, Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication, Stanford University
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