The Book in Seconds
All the Worst Humans is Phil Elwood’s memoir of nearly two decades working in Washington’s public-relations industry, where he represented powerful corporations, politicians, foreign governments, and controversial international figures. With humor, unusual behind-the-scenes stories, and growing moral unease, Elwood reveals how public relations can influence what journalists report and what the public ultimately sees and believes.
The book is entertaining, fast-moving, and sometimes astonishing, but its deeper message is more serious: information rarely reaches us without passing through people, institutions, and strategies that can shape how we understand it. Elwood’s story therefore raises an important question for every modern reader: How much of what we see in the news is simply information—and how much has been carefully constructed for us?
How I Discovered This Book
As part of my morning routine, I was scanning the morning news on my computer when I stopped to read a story that caught my attention. It was an article published the previous day, September 9, 2026, in The New York Post. The story reported on a heated exchange between Joe Scarborough and Donny Deutsch during Morning Joe on MS NOW, including Scarborough’s challenge: “Do I look stupid to you?”
Like many readers, I sometimes enjoy looking through the comments that follow an interesting news story. They offer a quick glimpse into what other people are thinking and how differently the same event can be interpreted by different readers.
One comment, however, caught my attention for a completely different reason. Instead of continuing the argument about the television exchange, the commenter suggested that others read All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians by Phil Elwood [1].
That simple suggestion made me curious.
I began looking into the book and, before long, found myself becoming interested not only in the book itself but also in the author and the unusual world he described. What had started as an ordinary morning news story had unexpectedly led me to a memoir about public relations, political power, the media, and the ways information can be shaped before it reaches the public.
I eventually felt that what I was discovering was worth sharing with my readers. And that is how All the Worst Humans became the subject of this month’s Book of the Month.
1. Bibliographical Information
Title: All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians
Author: Phil Elwood
Place of Publication: New York, United States
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Date of Publication: June 25, 2024
Original Language: English
Pages: 272 pages
Type of Work: Memoir / narrative nonfiction
The book was published in the United States by Henry Holt and Company on June 25, 2024, and the publisher lists it at 272 pages. It was also published in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Books in July 2024, also at 272 pages.
At least one translation has been clearly documented: a Polish edition, Jak doradzałem dyktatorom, translated by Adam Tuz and published by Filia in Poznań in 2025. The Polish print edition has 336 pages.
Therefore, the safest bibliographical description is that the original book is in English, with a documented Polish translation. Other editions in English-speaking countries should not be counted as translations because they remain in English.
2. Introduction
Phil Elwood’s All the Worst Humans is a memoir about public relations, political power, money, and the uncomfortable relationship between truth and the media. Elwood is not an outside observer of this world. He spent nearly two decades working in Washington’s public-relations industry, representing powerful corporations, politicians, foreign governments, and controversial international figures. Born in New York City and raised in Idaho, he moved to Washington, D.C., at the age of twenty to intern for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan [2]. He later graduated from Georgetown University and completed graduate studies at the London School of Economics before beginning his career in public relations.
The book takes readers behind the scenes of an industry that can influence what the public sees, hears, and believes. Elwood describes working for questionable clients, including Muammar Gaddafi [3], Bashar al-Assad [4], and the government of Qatar [5]. He recounts such extraordinary experiences as helping Qatar with its campaign to win the World Cup bid, spending four days in Las Vegas with a dictator’s son, and helping arrange favorable media coverage for the wife of a Middle Eastern dictator during the Arab Spring [6].
However, the book is more than a collection of shocking stories. Elwood is also telling the story of his own moral journey. At first, professional success and access to powerful people seem exciting. As his career advances, however, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the work he is doing. Eventually, an encounter with the FBI becomes a turning point that forces him to reconsider his career, his clients, and his own responsibility.
The purpose of the book is therefore twofold. First, Elwood wants to expose how political and corporate public relations can manipulate news and public opinion. Second, he wants to examine his own role in that system. He describes his decision to “come clean” and to reveal what he had learned during his years in the business.
The book is aimed at a broad audience. Readers interested in politics, journalism, public relations, media, international affairs, and American government will find much to discuss. It is also accessible to general readers because Elwood writes in an informal, humorous, and fast-moving style rather than in the language of an academic study.
The response to the book has generally been positive. It became a New York Times Notable Book [7] and an Editors’ Choice [8], while The New York Post named it one of the best books of the year. Reviews have praised its humor, unusual subject matter, and fast pace. At the same time, reviewers have pointed out that Elwood is not always an easy narrator to trust: he admits to being ambitious and morally compromised, and some readers may question how completely he has examined his own responsibility.
3. Background and Context
Although All the Worst Humans contains dramatic episodes that sometimes read like a thriller, it is not a novel. It is a memoir and work of narrative nonfiction. The events are presented from Elwood’s own perspective and are based on his experiences in the public-relations industry. The book combines personal memories with observations about politics, journalism, international affairs, and the business of shaping public opinion.
The setting is mainly Washington, D.C., the center of American political power. But the story also moves beyond Washington to international locations and political environments. Elwood describes traveling in armored vehicles in Abuja [9], working around powerful foreign clients, and participating in events connected with the Middle East, Africa, and international business. The result is a book whose setting extends from the halls of the U.S. Capitol to luxury hotels, political offices, foreign capitals, and private meetings where public images are carefully constructed.
The main period covered by the memoir is roughly the first two decades of Elwood’s professional career, beginning around 2000 and continuing into the years immediately before the book’s publication. The opening chapter, for example, takes readers back to July 2000, when Elwood was a young man working in Washington.
This historical period is important because it covers major changes in the media environment. Traditional newspapers and television news remained extremely influential, while the internet and social media gradually transformed how information was produced and distributed. Elwood’s experiences therefore provide a useful window into a period when public relations professionals could still exert enormous influence by manipulating journalists, creating competing stories, and controlling the flow of information.
The book should be judged not only by whether its stories are entertaining but also by how effectively it explains the relationship between public relations, journalism, politics, and ethical responsibility. A good question for the reader is not simply, “Are these stories shocking?” but rather, “What do these stories teach us about how information reaches the public?”
Notes
1. Phil Elwood: was an American public-relations executive and political figure who worked in Washington, D.C., and became known for his connections to politicians, journalists, and government officials. He was also associated with lobbying and public-relations activities involving controversial international clients.
2. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003): was an American sociologist, diplomat, and politician who served as a U.S. senator from New York from 1977 to 2001. He was known for his work on social policy and for serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and to India.
3. Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011): was the Libyan revolutionary leader who ruled Libya for more than four decades, from 1969 until his overthrow in 2011. His government was highly authoritarian and became internationally controversial because of its domestic policies and its relations with other countries.
4. Bashar al-Assad: is a Syrian politician who served as president of Syria from 2000 until December 2024, succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad. His presidency was dominated by the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 and involved the Syrian government, opposition groups, extremist organizations, and foreign powers.
5. Qatar: is a small, wealthy Arab country on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf, with Doha as its capital. Its economy has been heavily supported by enormous natural-gas reserves, and the country has also become an influential regional diplomatic, media, and political actor.
6. The Arab Spring: refers to a wave of protests, uprisings, and political movements that began in late 2010 and spread across several Arab countries during 2011. The movements challenged authoritarian governments and called for political reform, greater freedom, economic opportunity, and an end to corruption; their outcomes differed greatly from one country to another.
7. New York Times Notable Book: is a book that The New York Times selects as one of the notable works of the year, recognizing books considered significant or noteworthy in their respective categories. It is a distinction given by the newspaper’s book editors and should not be confused with the New York Times Best Seller list.
8. Editors’ Choice: generally, means that a publication’s editors have personally selected a book, article, product, or other work as particularly noteworthy or recommended. The exact meaning depends on the publication; it is an editorial designation rather than necessarily an award or measure of sales.
9. Abuja: is the capital city of Nigeria, located in the country’s central region. It became Nigeria’s official capital in 1991, replacing Lagos, and was planned as a centrally located administrative capital for the country.
References
1. Elwood, Phil. “All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians.” Thrift books, June 2024.
2. AI Review. “Critical Reviews for Phil Edwood’s ‘All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians’.” Google AI Review, September 19, 2026.
3. Anthony, Andrew. “All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons and Politicians by Phil Elwood review – a spin doctor for despots.” The Guardian, July 24, 2024.