“An intriguing and little-known Cold War moment” (The Observer): the astonishing true story of the CIA’s secret program to smuggle millions of books through the Iron Curtain
“A fascinating account of a world-changing covert operation and a first-rate contribution to the history of the CIA.”—Tim Weiner, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Legacy of Ashes
For nearly five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, forming the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. No physical combat would take place along this frontier: the risk of nuclear annihilation was too high for that. Instead, the war was fought psychologically. It was a battle for hearts, minds, and intellects. Few understood this more clearly than George Minden, head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA book program,” which aimed to undermine Soviet censorship and inspire revolt by offering different visions of thought and culture.
From its Manhattan headquarters, Minden’s “book club” secretly sent ten million banned titles into the East. Volumes were smuggled aboard trucks and yachts, dropped from balloons, hidden aboard trains, and stowed in travelers’ luggage. Nowhere were the books welcomed more warmly than in Poland, where the texts would circulate covertly among circles of like-minded readers, quietly making the case against Soviet communism. Such was the demand for Minden’s books that dissidents began to reproduce these works in the underground. By the late 1980s, illicit literature was so pervasive in Poland that censorship broke down: the Iron Curtain soon followed.
Charlie English narrates this tale of Cold War spycraft, smuggling, and secret printing operations for the first time, highlighting the work of a handful of extraordinary people who fought for intellectual freedom—people like Mirosław Chojecki, who suffered beatings, imprisonment, and exile in pursuit of his clandestine mission. The CIA Book Club is a story about the power of the printed word as a means of resistance and liberation. Books, it shows, can set you free.
“Entertaining and vivid . . . [Charlie] English writes thrillingly about the activists inside Poland. . . . This is a gripping account of an intriguing and little-known cold war moment.”—The Observer
“A fascinating account of a world-changing covert operation and a first-rate contribution to the history of the CIA.”—Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes
“Charlie English tells the tale of a 1980s secret operation in communist-controlled Poland. . . . A vivid and moving story. [English] is terrific at evoking the atmosphere of Poland in the 1970s and 1980s—not just the regime’s narrowed horizons and suffocating repression, but the excitement of the Solidarity trade union movement and the idealism of the young dissidents.”—Dominic Sandbrook, co-host of The Rest Is History podcast, in The Times
“Vibrant, beautifully researched and exciting . . . a real pleasure to read—a finely written page-turner full of well-researched stories of smuggling, intrigue and survival.”—The Guardian (Book of the Day)
“This covert CIA programme to undermine censorship in the Soviet bloc is the subject of Charlie English’s impressively detailed account. . . . English does a first-rate job in piecing together this patchily known story in efficient, pacy prose.”—Nicholas Shakespeare in The Spectator
“A timely look at how CIA money helped Poland’s underground print banned books . . . [English] has a knack for suspense. . . . This book reads like a spy novel.”—Financial Times
Charlie English is a former journalist for The Guardian, where he held several positions including arts editor and head of international news. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the author of two previous books, The Storied City and The Snow Tourist, he has traveled and reported widely around the globe. He lives in London with his family.
View titles by Charlie English
“An intriguing and little-known Cold War moment” (The Observer): the astonishing true story of the CIA’s secret program to smuggle millions of books through the Iron Curtain
“A fascinating account of a world-changing covert operation and a first-rate contribution to the history of the CIA.”—Tim Weiner, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Legacy of Ashes
For nearly five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, forming the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. No physical combat would take place along this frontier: the risk of nuclear annihilation was too high for that. Instead, the war was fought psychologically. It was a battle for hearts, minds, and intellects. Few understood this more clearly than George Minden, head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA book program,” which aimed to undermine Soviet censorship and inspire revolt by offering different visions of thought and culture.
From its Manhattan headquarters, Minden’s “book club” secretly sent ten million banned titles into the East. Volumes were smuggled aboard trucks and yachts, dropped from balloons, hidden aboard trains, and stowed in travelers’ luggage. Nowhere were the books welcomed more warmly than in Poland, where the texts would circulate covertly among circles of like-minded readers, quietly making the case against Soviet communism. Such was the demand for Minden’s books that dissidents began to reproduce these works in the underground. By the late 1980s, illicit literature was so pervasive in Poland that censorship broke down: the Iron Curtain soon followed.
Charlie English narrates this tale of Cold War spycraft, smuggling, and secret printing operations for the first time, highlighting the work of a handful of extraordinary people who fought for intellectual freedom—people like Mirosław Chojecki, who suffered beatings, imprisonment, and exile in pursuit of his clandestine mission. The CIA Book Club is a story about the power of the printed word as a means of resistance and liberation. Books, it shows, can set you free.
Reviews
“Entertaining and vivid . . . [Charlie] English writes thrillingly about the activists inside Poland. . . . This is a gripping account of an intriguing and little-known cold war moment.”—The Observer
“A fascinating account of a world-changing covert operation and a first-rate contribution to the history of the CIA.”—Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes
“Charlie English tells the tale of a 1980s secret operation in communist-controlled Poland. . . . A vivid and moving story. [English] is terrific at evoking the atmosphere of Poland in the 1970s and 1980s—not just the regime’s narrowed horizons and suffocating repression, but the excitement of the Solidarity trade union movement and the idealism of the young dissidents.”—Dominic Sandbrook, co-host of The Rest Is History podcast, in The Times
“Vibrant, beautifully researched and exciting . . . a real pleasure to read—a finely written page-turner full of well-researched stories of smuggling, intrigue and survival.”—The Guardian (Book of the Day)
“This covert CIA programme to undermine censorship in the Soviet bloc is the subject of Charlie English’s impressively detailed account. . . . English does a first-rate job in piecing together this patchily known story in efficient, pacy prose.”—Nicholas Shakespeare in The Spectator
“A timely look at how CIA money helped Poland’s underground print banned books . . . [English] has a knack for suspense. . . . This book reads like a spy novel.”—Financial Times
Charlie English is a former journalist for The Guardian, where he held several positions including arts editor and head of international news. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the author of two previous books, The Storied City and The Snow Tourist, he has traveled and reported widely around the globe. He lives in London with his family.
View titles by Charlie English
