Richard Kisch
MacGibbon and Kee, London, 1964
For several years I had a note floating about in my study which read ‘Get Kisch’. By the time I got round to checking the bibliographies I had forgotten from whom the reference came and why it had seemed important enough to write down. It turned out to be this, one of the most interesting books I have read for years (and available in the UK through inter-library loan). I will merely point out some of the highlights:
- Three pages on the Round Table network, in which, inter alia, he notes that ‘the group initiated some of the most significant control mechanisms of the later communications system during its evolution as the nucleus of public relations methods. One was the foundation of Chatham House, the Institute of International Affairs, the most influential public relations clearing house concerned with Commonwealth affairs. Another was the journal, Round Table, probably the most influential public relations journal in recent British history.’
- A detailed account of the formation of Aims of Industry, unlike any other account I have read, and sections on the Institute of Directors and early PR firms like Voice and Vision.
- A chapter on the PR campaigns in the British African colonies by the whites trying to resist African nationalism.
- An account, unlike anything else I have read, of the Foreign Office’s briefing system of the period. ‘The Open, the Circus and the Inner Circle press conferences were the nucleus around which orbited other variable personal contacts, private lunches, and the confidential distribution of information of significance for particular organs at special times.’
- A chapter on the PR campaign in favour of Common Market entry in the early sixties.
In short, this is a treasure trove of bits and pieces on British politics in the post-war era, decades ahead of the crap that then constituted political analysis in this country. I checked the indexes of The Times, Spectator and New Statesman for the 1964-66 period and none of them reviewed this.
Information on Mr Kisch would be welcome.