Warriors of Disinformation

Truth, so the saying goes, is war's first casualty. It follows that propaganda would be its first offspring. Founded during the early years of the cold war, the United States Information Agency is America's purveyor of propaganda and "disinformation" - a euphemism favored by the government during the 1980s. Using its broadcast vehicles (such as the Voice of America), the USIA tells the world what the American government wants the world to know. Warriors of Disinformation is a scrupulous, honest, and fascinating account of what we have been missing all these years. Snyder reveals both the high-minded principles and the lowbrow comedy and establishes the credit that disinformation's warriors deserve for helping to bring an end to the cold war.

Alvin A. Snyder was a senior executive with CBS and NBC, special assistant to President Nixon, and a high-ranking communications official in the Ford and Reagan administrations. Snyder's work has won him eleven Emmys, five AP awards, two International Film Festival awards, and a Grammy. He operates his own media consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and he and his wife Anne live in McLean, Virginia.