---
title: Propaganda
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/
description: Propaganda by Edward L. Bernays (1928), full text with provenance and rights.
section: FRAME
---

![Illustration: an interwar radio-and-newsreel intelligence collage with a 1930s map of Europe and propaganda poster proofs.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-interwar.jpg)

[Library](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/) · Book

# Propaganda

![Title page of Propaganda by Edward L. Bernays, Horace Liveright, 1928](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/thumb.jpg)

Title page of the first edition (New York: Horace Liveright, 1928), from a Boston Public Library copy digitised by the Internet Archive. Public domain in the United States (published 1928); Internet Archive; Boston Public Library. Cropped from a scan of the page. [Source](https://archive.org/details/propaganda00bern_0)

At a glance

A 1928 book by a founder of American public relations, arguing that organised persuasion is a normal part of democratic life.

- **Author:** Edward L. Bernays
- **Published:** 1928
- **Origin:** United States
- **Length:** 33,126 words, 11 chapters

Full details

- **Edition:** Propaganda. New York: Horace Liveright, 1928 (Project Gutenberg's proofread transcription)
- **Language:** English
- **Text source:** [Project Gutenberg, ebook #78634](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78634)
- **Text basis:** Proofread transcription by Project Gutenberg's Distributed Proofreaders.
- **Rights:** Published in the United States in 1928, so in the public domain in the United States. Bernays died in 1995, so the text may still be protected in countries that count the author's life plus 70 years.
- **Rights checked:** September 29, 2026

On this page

- [Read the text](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/#read)
- [Provenance and rights](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/#provenance)
- [Where it appears in the archive](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/#cited)
- [Related](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/#related)

A 1928 book by Edward Bernays, an early American public-relations counsel, setting out how business, politics, education and social causes organise public opinion, and defending the practice. Bernays wrote it as a practitioner, and the archive's doctrine page on Bernays gives the reception and criticism that followed. The hosted text is the complete 1928 edition in 11 chapters.

## Read the text

- [1. Organizing Chaos](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/01-organizing-chaos/) 2,021 words
- [2. The New Propaganda](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/02-the-new-propaganda/) 2,879 words
- [3. The New Propagandists](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/03-the-new-propagandists/) 3,283 words
- [4. The Psychology of Public Relations](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/04-the-psychology-of-public-relations/) 3,337 words
- [5. Business and the Public](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/05-business-and-the-public/) 6,811 words
- [6. Propaganda and Political Leadership](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/06-propaganda-and-political-leadership/) 5,481 words
- [7. Women’s Activities and Propaganda](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/07-women-s-activities-and-propaganda/) 1,312 words
- [8. Propaganda for Education](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/08-propaganda-for-education/) 2,983 words
- [9. Propaganda in Social Service](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/09-propaganda-in-social-service/) 1,183 words
- [10. Art and Science](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/10-art-and-science/) 1,805 words
- [11. The Mechanics of Propaganda](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/11-the-mechanics-of-propaganda/) 2,031 words

[Download as plain text](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/bernays-propaganda/bernays-propaganda.txt) 33,126 words, with the provenance header above the text

## Provenance and rights

- **Edition:** Propaganda. New York: Horace Liveright, 1928 (Project Gutenberg's proofread transcription)
- **Text source:** [Project Gutenberg, ebook #78634](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78634)
- **Text basis:** Proofread transcription by Project Gutenberg's Distributed Proofreaders.
- **Rights:** Published in the United States in 1928, so in the public domain in the United States. Bernays died in 1995, so the text may still be protected in countries that count the author's life plus 70 years. Checked September 29, 2026.
- **Changes made:** Line wraps rejoined and headings set in title case; the Project Gutenberg licence header and footer removed. Wording, spelling and punctuation are the source's own. The transcriber's notes after the last chapter were removed.
- **Source file checksum:** `285b188287e0b688…` (SHA-256 of the download this text was made from)

## Where it appears in the archive

- [Edward Bernays, Propaganda (1928)](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/bernays-propaganda/)

## Related

- [Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (1922)](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/lippmann-public-opinion/)
- [Torches of Freedom: the 1929 Easter Parade cigarette march](https://propagandaarchive.org/case-studies/torches-of-freedom-1929/)