This book is a must read for political science, foreign relations, military, and communications professionals and students. It provides a framework for discussion on topics of communications technology, international relations and military-media relations as they have evolved in the post-WWII era. While this description seems to cast a wide net for readers, the book does indeed deliver. While admittedly critical of the news media, the author suceeds in providing a realistic context to promote discussion on how international relations are affected by new communications technologies and the global media network.

Divided into four chapters with well-defined sub-heads, the author begins by briefly discussing the evolution of communications technologies and their impacts in the present day "information age." In his introduction, the author offers his own analysis of Alvin Tofler's Third Wave theory and its present and future impact, as well as an analysis of modern communications and how they constitute a "fourth dimension" of international relations.

Chapter one (International communications and international politics since 1945) examines the new political orders existing in the aftermath of World War II. Included are discussions about the rival Superpowers' use of new information technologies during the Cold War, as well as the political ramifications of an ever-expanding global communications network - to include the emergence of CNN as a powerful factor in international politics.

Chapter two (Brushfires and firefighters: international affairs and the news media) examines the effects of the news media on foreign policy, diplomacy and culture. The effects of television on all of the above are major themes throughout with an in-depth discussion of the effects of electronic news gathering (ENG) and continued discussion of the "CNN effect."

Chapter three (Illusions of reality: the media and the reporting of warfare) focuses on debunking some of the current myths regarding media-military relations as well as analyzing coverage throughout history, but most notably from Vietnam and the 1991 Gulf War. The author draws a further distinction between media reporting of "our wars" and "other people's wars" before concluding the discussion.

Chapter four (Mind games: information warfare and psychological operations) is an extensive discussion of the leveraging of third wave technologies in order to gain advantage on the 21st century battlefield. The author provides analyses of psychological (PSYOP) and propaganda operations, and how they have been used to success since the 1950s to the present. Included is an in-depth look at the stunning success of PSYOP operations in the 1991 Gulf War.

Relatively short (202p.) and well-documented, this book is one of the best discussion-starters available for students of communications, the media, and its effects on global diplomacy and military affairs.