Welcome to Litsy!

10-3 Oct 2025 (audiobook)
Alarming, fascinating and off putting memoir of someone who worked in Washington PR firms for many years. My favourite story was his babysitting Gadaffi Jr in Las Vegas.
You do wonder how some people sleep at night.

A behind the scenes perspective on the underbelly and unethical inner workings of American and foreign politics and the role PR firms play in shaping the narrative and creating their version of an agenda. A firsthand account of the mental toll this can take, also. ( audiobook listen)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A truth-is-stranger-than-fiction absolute romp through Elwood‘s years in public relations. When creating clever spins, slightly untrue, and blatantly false narratives is your job, and your clients are people like freaking Gadaffi, you have some stories. A very engaging read!

Phil Elwood is the guy you are gonna love to hate! This is an amazing ride through the legislative - lobbyist - PR flywheel in D.C. Somehow he ends up babysitting Gaddafi‘s son in Vegas, advising terrorists in Western Africa and representing the government of Qatar. His stories show how the system works to spin bad news, push agendas and normalize weirdness. It‘s a fast paced easy to read memoir ( he‘s a likable guy despite his misadventures).

I heard about this from @Megabooks review where she described this as “juicy” and it certainly is! Phil Elwood is a PR guy who has done horrible things he‘s now not proud of which he shares here. This really gives readers an idea of how the public relations machine works, in relation to journalism and (often horrible) clients. His conscience gets the better of him and he seeks treatment and begins using his tactics for “the good guys”.

This was a great darkly funny memoir from a *slightly* 😏 unscrupulous PR man. If you ever wondered what it would be like to be employed by the Gaddafi family, read this. The path that led him from a college dropout pill popper to caught up in the Mueller investigation wasn‘t for a second dull! Short and juicy 💯💯