Dark Persuasion

This book by Dimsdale explores the evolution of brainwashing, from torture and religious conversion to neuroscience and social media. It highlights how Pavlov’s research was supported by Lenin and Stalin, leading to significant breakthroughs in social, political, and religious control. The book traces these developments through major conflagrations, such as World War II, the Cold War, North Korea, and China, and the Manhattan Project of the Mind, which studied memory obliteration, indoctrination during sleep, and hallucinogens. The book features Nobel laureates, university academics, intelligence operatives, criminals, and clerics in the dark story.