A seminal work on how public opinion is created and shaped, Edward Bernays's 1923 classic Crystallizing Public Opinion set down the principles that corporations and government have used to influence public attitudes over the past century.
A primer on the then new profession of "public relations counsel," Crystallizing elucidates the "instruments and techniques" that PR professionals use to mold public opinion on behalf of their client's interests. By adapting the ideas that Bernays put forth in this book, governments and advertisers have been able to "regiment the mind like the military regiments the body."