All the Worst Humans; How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians

All the Worst Humans is a sharp, unfiltered memoir from a top Washington PR insider who reveals the secrets of a $129-billion industry that shapes the news, spins the truth, and manipulates public perception.

A New York Times Notable Book and Editors' Choice, this explosive tell-all from Elwood pulls back the curtain on two decades of crafting narratives for some of the world’s most controversial figures—including dictators, spies, and politicians. With dark humor and brutal honesty, he shares outrageous stories from the corridors of power, from luxury-filled escapades with tyrants’ families to engineering media narratives that distorted reality on a global scale.

Elwood details his high-stakes career: brokering deals in Washington, plotting PR strategies against terrorist groups, and even securing a glowing Vogue profile for a dictator’s wife—right as the Arab Spring erupted. But the deeper he went, the more he saw the cost of his work, until a shocking wake-up call from the FBI forced him to rethink everything.

Riotous, eye-opening, and deeply revealing, All the Worst Humans is both an insider exposé and a cautionary tale about the immense power—and moral hazards—of political spin.