Those who successfully apply the power of persuasion eventually gain something very valuable in return. Control. And while that may not surprise most, the ways in which people are deceived today will startle even those astute observers. For money, fame, entertainment, and power, forces in our media will employ tactics at any cost to keep the public enchanted and thus misdirected from any number of ulterior motives and important issues facing the world. The following books are written to inform readers of today’s biggest media machinations at play that are designed to influence a person’s everyday behaviors. Explore each book to get the upper hand in this complex game of mass media poker.

Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion by Kendall Coffey

High-profile courtroom dramas fascinate our nation, especially when they concern the rich and famous. And while the American public has come to realize that the spin factor is a prime ingredient in political tactics and marketing campaigns, many are unaware of the strategies for shaping public opinion when it comes to major courtroom battles.

This behind-the-scenes analysis of media strategies presents intriguing and often entertaining insights into what they do not teach in law schools or journalism classes. As the lead counsel in some of the country’s most notable cases and a savvy legal commentator with hundreds of television appearances, author Kendall Coffey brings a distinctive combination of depth as a legal practitioner and experience as a media analyst to this illuminating, provocative, and practical book.

He begins with a historic election fraud trial, relying on his personal experience with the basics of law spin. He then masterfully guides the reader through an abbreviated, engrossing tour of spinning cases through the ages — including the trials of Socrates and Joan of Arc, as well as the Charles Lindbergh kidnapping case. Modern cases include the author’s firsthand experiences in the international Elian Gonzalez controversy — and his thoughts on the possible overwhelming effect that that controversy had on Florida in the 2000 presidential election between Gore and Bush.

Coffey also examines the most famous cases of recent times — those of Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Martha Stewart, Scott Peterson, and former governor “Rod” Blagojevich.

Along the way, Coffey exposes many of the myths associated with the law, debunking assumptions about legal concepts ranging from circumstantial evidence and cooperating witnesses to so-called prosecutors’ vendettas.

Coffey’s many entertaining examples and engaging explanations make this book ideal reading for everyone fascinated by celebrity legal problems: all of us who make up the court of public opinion.

Spinning the Law from Prometheus Books is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World by Lisa Bloom

Girlfriends, what is happening to us? Lisa Bloom asks.

In Think, Bloom reveals the stark paradoxes that American girls and women are living today, including:

• We are excelling in education at every level but are likewise obsessing over celebrity lifestyles and tabloid media, leaving many of us unable to name a single branch of government — but nearly all of us can name at least one Kardashian.
• We are outperforming our male counterparts in employment in urban areas for the first time in history, yet spending more time and money on our appearances, including electing life-endangering plastic surgery in record-breaking numbers.

In a culture that continually rewards beauty over brains, it’s no wonder that straight-A high school girls believe “it’s more important to be hot than smart” as they giggle into television cameras that they don’t know how many sides a triangle has, nor in which country Mexico City is located.

All of these factors have left Bloom wondering: How did we get from the Equal Pay Act and Title IX to celebutainment and Botox, and — more importantly – what can we do about it?

Bloom offers the solution, and it involves one simple word: THINK.

In this provocative, entertaining, and thoroughly researched book, Bloom illuminates specific steps to reclaiming our brains, regaining focus, and taking charge of our lives. As a working mom who appreciates the value of time, Bloom first revels how rethinking some common but outdated practices can give us more time to breathe and engage our minds. Next, Bloom details how to use these newfound hours more meaningfully by turning away from reality shows and toward compelling and substantive news sites, magazines and books (reading list included), reconnecting with our communities, and becoming more thoughtful and proactive contributors to local, national, and global causes.

Packed with thought-provoking, revelatory points that will get your gray matter growing again, Think is delivered in a no-nonsense, straight-talk manner that will make you laugh, squirm, and question yourself — and most importantly — make you start thinking again.

Think from Vanguard Press is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.