Awards
- Winner of Winner, 2011 George A. and Jean S. DeLong Book His.
Overview
Only weeks after the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, a surprising cargo-crates of books-joined the flood of troop reinforcements, weapons and ammunition, food, and medicine onto Normandy beaches. The books were destined for French bookshops, to be followed by millions more American books (in translation but also in English) ultimately distributed throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The British were doing similar work, which was uneasily coordinated with that of the Americans within the Psychological Warfare Division of General Eisenhower's Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, under General Eisenhower's command. Books As Weapons tells the little-known story of the vital partnership between American book publishers and the U.S. government to put carefully selected recent books highlighting American history and values into the hands of civilians liberated from Axis forces. The government desired to use books to help ""disintoxicate"" the minds of these people from the Nazi and Japanese propaganda and censorship machines and to win their friendship. This objective dovetailed perfectly with U.S. publishers' ambitions to find new profits in international markets, which had been dominated by Britain, France, and Germany before their book trades were devastated by the war. Key figures on both the trade and government sides of the program considered books ""the most enduring propaganda of all"" and thus effective ""weapons in the war of ideas,"" both during the war and afterward, when the Soviet Union flexed its military might and demonstrated its propaganda savvy. Seldom have books been charged with greater responsibility or imbued with more significance. John B. Hench leavens this fully international account of the programs with fascinating vignettes set in the war rooms of Washington and London, publishers' offices throughout the world, and the jeeps in which information officers drove over bomb-rutted roads to bring the books to people who were hungering for them. Books as Weapons provides context for continuing debates about the relationship between government and private enterprise and the image of the United States abroad.
Full Product Details
Author: John B. Hench
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.50cm
, Height: 2.70cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.907kg
ISBN: 9780801448911
ISBN 10: 0801448913
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 29 April 2010
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
<p> John B. Hench analyzes how publishers and the American government tried to advance their compatible, but sometimes conflicting, interests during and immediately after the war. After the intellectual blackout that had descended on Axis countries and their conquests, OWI officials sensed a golden opportunity to promote positive views of U.S. government and society. . . . Hench ably untangles the sometimes mind-numbing negotiations required to fuse public policy and private interests. His book is thoroughly researched, well written, and clearly argued. . . . Hench laments the declining use of books in advancing 'soft power.' In an age of blogs and videos gone viral, his work, perhaps unintentionally, inspires nostalgia for a time when books seemed to be a winning cultural weapon. -Clayton Koppes, American Historical Review
In Books As Weapons, John B. Hench tells of the U.S. effort during World War II to deploy books against an enemy known for burning them. Hench explores the public-private collaboration between officials and publishers who sought to 'disintoxicate' occupied Europe by replacing Axis ideology with American values while at the same time paving the way for postwar markets overseas. It contributes to our understanding of the political, diplomatic, legal, and logistical challenges involved when using 'soft power' for purposes of pacification and reeducation. To counter the Nazi portrayal of Americans as crude and cocky gangsters determined to rule the world, these 'books as weapons' aimed to free minds, win friends, and show the United States in 'the best possible light' even if it did intend to rule the world. Susan A. Brewer, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
<p> Books As Weapons offers more than is promised by the title: its coverage extends well beyond the era of World War II and shows how solutions designed for short-term problems have had unforeseen consequences in a world of shifting political allegiance. -Valerie Holman, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America
Author Information
John B. Hench has retired from the post of Vice President for Collections and Programs at the American Antiquarian Society. He is coeditor of The Press and the American Revolution and Printing and Society in Early America.
