In the latest issue of Harper’s, there is an eloquent, playful piece by “Easy Chair” columnist Thomas Frank on a curious thriller Glenn Beck published mid-last year.  Characters and issues in the thriller are familiar to those of you who may know the Beck worldview, but interestingly, the PR industry – oft maligned by the left – is the enemy here, corrupting the world and crushing democracy.

Frank digs deep on this incongruity and ultimately concludes that this is Beck’s confessional work, a “demented reflection.”

All that aside, Frank gives some good history on PR and the mavens of the past century – Ivy Lee, George Creel and Edward Bernays – and also asks us to reflect on the influence Mr. Beck wields as one of the most listened to modern day sophists out there.

A good piece for 'communications professionals' – political arguments aside.