Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to Social Media

"Riveting. . . .shows how the art of dark persuasion a generation ago led . . .to today's misinformation, cyberbullying and cultlike behavior on the Internet." —Dina Temple-Raston, Washington Post

This gripping book traces the evolution of brainwashing from its beginnings in torture and religious conversion into the age of neuroscience and social media. When Pavlov introduced scientific approaches, his research was enthusiastically supported by Lenin and Stalin, setting the stage for major b...