3.5

The research for The CIA Book Club is super solid and honestly, I was completely absorbed. I love when nonfiction teaches me about something I never knew was happening. The impact on Poland especially, how underground book reproduction eventually helped break down censorship, shows how powerful literature really is.

I found Jerzy Popiełuszko's story very moving. English doesn't just give you the facts, he makes you feel what Popiełuszko went through. That emotional, narrative approach was incredible and honestly what I was hoping for throughout the entire book.

My only thing is I wanted more of that intimate storytelling everywhere else. The historical stuff is thorough but I craved more personal stories like how English handled Popiełuszko.

Definitely worth reading if you're into Cold War history or want to understand how books can literally be tools of resistance. Pretty mind-blowing stuff.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is heartening to know, as a book person, that the CIA once thought books could be subversive enough to take down Communism. While the relative effect of the books program in Poland that is detailed in the book is unknown, there was real effort behind. Seeing as the costs were minimal, it seemed worthwhile. Moving the books and printing supplies around seemed to train the resistance and help spread information. I don't think I'll remember most of the names from the book.

This is an incredibly well-researched book that suffers from false advertising. It’s not really about the CIA or the Cold War. The title does a disservice to the story that’s told.

It’s an incredible account of the Polish underground resistance in the waning days of the communist era. As someone of Polish descent and an advocate for the freedom to read, it’s right up my alley.

It is a dense book however and not the easiest read due to the sheer number of people and parties involved.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review.

Charlie English's The CIA Book Club discusses in detail the way a banned book network helped bring about the end of the Cold War in Poland. There couldn't be a timelier moment for this book’s release as Lech Walesa, Poland’s Nobel Prize-winning former President, will soon begin his 28-city U. S. lecture tour, in part, to emphasize current threats to democracy.

Although the book’s title is somewhat misleading and its scope mostly limited to Poland rather than encompassing the entire Soviet Bloc, Charlie English has contributed an important book showing how literature can open minds and contribute to the establishment of democracy. Filled with clandestine roles the CIA and foreign editors, publishers, and smugglers played in the availability of banned books such as 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, and The Gulag Archipelago, The CIA Book Club not only brings to life a critical piece of history but also reminds Americans of the importance of literature and free expression of ideas to democracy’s survival in the 21st century.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance reader egalley of this thought-provoking new book

The only problem I have with this excellent account of the Polish underground press during the Solidarity movement of the 1980s is its title. The CIA may have provided the money, but the impetus, planning, courage, and even the tradecraft was provided by the Poles themselves. And although the title implies that the book is about winning the Cold War, the focus is almost entirely on Poland and tells little about parallel efforts in other countries.

The oppressive governments of the Eastern Bloc had many enemies both real and perceived, but it seems their biggest enemy was the truth. The effort to disseminate the truth was led by regular citizens who showed incredible imagination, courage and resourcefulness under rather dire conditions. Somehow (explaining the "somehow" is the raison d'etre of the book) they circulated newspapers with circulations of up to 100,000 (each copy was likely read by many people) and got the word out. In addition, they circulated Polish translations of western literature, with Orwell's 1984 as a perennial favorite.

The story would make a great movie, with heroes, villains, plenty of suspense, and it's not a spoiler to say that there is a happy ending. It's also nice to see the CIA be the good guys for a change; I think the key difference is that in this part of the world they actually had partners one could root for, and an unambiguously repressive regime to oppose.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for providing a pre-release egalley.

The works of Charlie English tend to have illustrative titles that serve as thesis statements and for his latest, The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature readers will learn about the repressive Soviet governments of Eastern Europe and the soft power of literature that helped bring about their end.

Repressive governments seek to control as much as possible, especially what people can read and learn. Education has historically been seen as a means of both betterment and knowledge of the world. When these two are in conflict, education typically loses out to a state mandated party line and knowledge distrusted through highly controlled channels. Undergrounds exist, but their operations can be hazardous or come under harsh penalties.

Never the less, the peoples in Soviet controlled Eastern Europe looked to know of the outside world. Some worked to translate and distribute copies of banned literature while others created newspapers and other methods to distribute news the party didn't want shared. A few of the key personalities featured include George Minden and Miroslaw Chojecki. Minden was Romanian born, but ran the International Literacy Center that was financed by the CIA. Minden oversaw the selection of titles, choosing ones that focused on liberalism, philosophy or challenged totalitarianism. Chojecki graduated from the University of Warsaw's department of Chemistry but was frequently arrested for his work as a democratic activist.

While English uses the experiences of these two figures to help expand the narration, there is a large number of people whose work is detailed in this multi decade, international effort. It is a well written tale of another side of the political machinations between the two post war super powers, but one much more focused on hearts and minds.

I was particularly fascinated by the the transition from ad-hoc and farcical smuggling methods to the more professionalized smuggling of printing presses and distribution systems.

Recommend to readers of World History, the power of literature or lessons of history that could be useful to contemporary society.

The CIA Book Club is a compelling and important book, especially for those interested in censorship, resistance and history of the Iron Curtain. Though the CIA is prominent in the title, there is less about the role of the CIA than I expected. However, I'm ok with that as the Iron Curtain side of things intrigues me more. After World War II to 1985, Poland was under Soviet control and censorship was insidious and covert. Authors were suppressed and lists of banned books were created behind the scenes to trick the population. George Orwell's eerily accurate Animal Farm and 1984 were amongst the most dangerous and threatening books to the Soviets. The CIA smuggled ten million books during the psychological war and people such as publisher Miroslaw Chojecki amazingly risked their lives to get banned books into readers' hands. A copy of The Archipelago Gulag was smuggled in a nappy! Chojecki was imprisoned and beaten many times but remained a huge part of the resistance. The "flying library" was crucial.

Aside from the courage, intelligence and determination of the resistance, what fascinates me most details including the painstaking method of underground printing and the tight restrictions on typewriters and reams of paper. Descriptions of meat lines during a time of food shortages are sobering. Strikes, terror and violence were rife as were subterfuge and the black market out of necessity. But the resistance persisted. Photographs are included as well, personalizing the densely informative book.

Hundreds of hours of research and interviews in several countries went into this book and it shows. I feel more knowledgeable after reading it and have been mulling it over in my mind all day. Truly a riveting topic!

Have you ever joined a decades long book club where you risked your life to spread information and books? Me either. The story of the distribution of books and information behind the iron curtain is fascinating. Made me feel privilege I could read a book about it, but also scared that we maybe an iron curtain soon.

This is pretty current history, spanning throughout The Cold War.

Well researched. almost 25% of the ebook was citations (huge fan).

A Pope took part in this.

Books are the scary to fascists and dictators.

Many risked their lives for information to be spread and books to be distributed.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House #TheCIABookClub #NetGalley

I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair review. As a kid growing up during the fifties and sixties, I often heard about The Cold War. What did that mean exactly? I wasn't sure. For Europeans who found themselves under Communist rule after fighting off the Nazis, they went from bad to worse. Pre-war freedoms continued to be denied to them. No books, no radio, no newspapers, no magazines unless they were state-approved. Enter the CIA who funded and supported resistance workers determined to have a better life. It was hard to believe that as late as the eighties, Poland was still living under government control, where books were delivered in secret and arrests were made of anyone who dared to defy Russian rules. Author Charle English allows us a fascinating look at what happened after World War II to just one country who found themselves behind the Iron Curtain. My only issue with this book were the many players. It was hard to keep track of all of them. I recommend this book to anyone who is not only interested in history, but also in what could happen to any of us in the future.

Charlie English has done the world a service documenting a program that few have heard of - an effort to make books available to readers behind the iron curtain, particularly in Poland. It argues for the value of books and the value of making them available to promote freedom when books are banned.

It's a bit odd to read this today when information is overwhelmingly available but so often deliberately misleading and the US government has just dismantled the delivery of news and culture to countries where it's censored. Certainly the CIA lost interest in this program once the wall fell, but now we seem intent on banning books and building walls. This book is a timely reminder that it hasn't always been so, and that books were viewed as rare and valuable instruments of freedom. Imagine risking your freedom and your life to make sure people have books to nourish their souls.

Shelve this one with "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts" and "Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II."

What a great read. This is a true story about the power of books and the determination and resilience of a small brave cohort of citizens and how they chipped away at Communism. It's been well researched and carefully written in an accessible style. It's not James Bond but rather a covert action that worked. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

This book managed to be both an incredibly well detailed, in-depth look at Polish resistance to communist government during the Cold War, and an enjoyable, engaging read. The book is filled with rich examples of individual actions taken as part of the underground effort to spread these anti-communist texts that seem lifted directly out of a spy novel, from smugglers at border checkpoints, to underground printers desperately hopping between several different cars and dashing down alleys, to desperate late night phone calls and circumspect conversations on bugged lines. The history of the Polish resistance is filled with twists of fortune that keep readers hooked from chapter to chapter, watching as hope turns to despair and back again.

Yet through all of this, the author remains diligent about reminding us that this is no spy novel, and many of the figures in these pages are still alive today to speak on the subject. While not as flashy as many of the more well known CIA operations of the Cold War, the work done by these men and women was instrumental in ending the USSR, and this book sheds light on a criminally overlooked topic.

Fascinating look into little little-known story of the CIA's program to provide millions of books to those behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War and how it assisted in turning the tide on Soviet leadership of and pressure on Poland. Clearly well researched and in depth look at this recent history.

The title, cover, and topic are extremely interesting, eye-catching, and pertinent in an era where we are dealing with mass censorship and book bans but THE CIA BOOK CLUB was dense and the writing was not compelling by any means. Reading through this book was laborious and it took me over a month to finish. I think I would be disappointed if I impulse purchased this at a bookstore due to the content not exactly living up to the premise.

Thank you for the opportunity to review the contents idea is exactly up my alley but the delivery did not do it for me, unfortunately.

The CIA Book Club by Charlie English

The CIA Book Club is a fascinating look at how the CIA used the power of books and ideas to undermine the Eastern Bloc countries. For decades the CIA funded various front groups, magazines and book publishers to print material that was then smuggled into Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War.

Also, the CIA funded the shipment of printing presses and equipment at a time before computers, the Internet and smart phones when access to information from the West could be restricted. This book primarily focuses on Poland and Polish exiles. It is well written history of a time that is quickly fading from our collective memory. It should be a reminder to everyone the value of reading and the need for freedom to access information. This book should be available in every public library in the US and taught in high school.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley,  Charlie English, and, Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always excited to open my mind to new authors and topics, I was curious to read the latest tome by Charlie English. Its premise explores a different front during the Cold War, infiltrating the common person trapped behind the Iron Curtain. English explores how the CIA used access to books, and other publications banned by the Communists, to shed light on a freedom many forgot existed. A publication of great interest and intrigue for those with a curiosity about books and the power of the written word.

While the Cold War could be seen as a physical war and a nuclear clash, there was a more subtle battle taking place on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The West wanted to be able to infiltrate the common person living with forced Communism and sought to break the censorship and disinformation regularly fed to people. The CIA found an effective way to do this, first with airdropped pamphlets and eventually by shipping banned books across borders for people to read. The written word would be, the CIA hoped, a sharper weapon than any bayonet. Bloodless battles would turn the people away from communist propaganda.

Historian Charlie English uses a number of perspectives to explore this battle, choosing three periods during the height of the War of Words, 1979-89. English takes his characters and provides the reader with how they sought to bring information into Romania, Poland, and other countries on the cusp of the East-West divide. It was books we take for granted by Agatha Christie, John Le Carré, and even Aldous Huxley to show that there was more to the world than the dreary sentiments many lived in from dawn to dusk. There was no need for death or bloodshed, but rather a fostering of the garden of intellectual interaction that the CIA used to help open the eyes of many and bring down the Curtain, which played a great part in ending the Cold War. 

While I am a lover of history, I enjoy new avenues that help me see something from a new perspective. Charlie English does this well by delivering a clear narrative about a CIA battle to pull down the hurdles to clear thought. As the chapters connect, they tell of a battle that never seemed to end until the work was done. While not violent, there were casualties, but the winner was the oppressed citizen who could see truths from a new perspective. English delivers his accounts well, even if they seemed a tad repetitive at times. I enjoyed all I learned from this book and would encourage others to give it a try to see what they can take from this book. Call it the reader’s own enlightenment from the written word.

Kudos, Mr. English, for a glimpse into a great piece of modern history!

We should build a monument to books…I am convinced it was books that were victorious in the fight. Adam Michnik quoted in The CIA Book Club

What reader could resist a book on books changing the course of history?

For decades the CIA was behind the distribution of banned books and underground newspapers behind the Iron Curtain. Books like Animal Farm by George Orwell, poetry by Czeslaw Milosz, and even Three Hundred Years of American Painting were secreted into Poland. The books were sent directly to citizens as well as in bulk shipments. The future Pope John Paul II was one of the recipients of the program’s books.

The CIA also funded the smuggling of printing presses into Poland so dissidents could print illegal newspapers like Moovia Weekly. Through the Polonia Book Fund they ensured that Solidarity publishers were represented in the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair.

At a time when fake news threatens democracy and book banning controls information, reading about life under an authoritarian dictatorship in Poland sent chills up my spine.

I remember Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement in Poland. It was a virtual police state with all citizen’s rights erased. Dissidents were regularly imprisoned—or disappeared.

George Minden of the CIA believed that “truth is contagious” and that literature could counteract the Soviet’s repression.

The book goes into detail about the people involved in underground publishing, risking their lives, and how the equipment was sourced and how the printing and distribution happened. It was an amazingly complex operation!

Satellite TV was a game changer. Thousands illegally connected to uncensored news and shows.

Finally, after years of brutal repression, Solidarity gained the right to a fair election and won a majority of Senate and Sejm seats. A poster based on the movie High Noon had promoted the election. Censorship loosened up.

Oral histories collected by the author inform the book.

An inspiring, terrifying, and timely read.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

This is an area of the cold war I have not learned about before. In that way, it's interesting. Charlie English clearly has done a LOT of research - from secret operatives' biographies to the line items in various budgets. I was fascinated reading about Chojecki's arrest, the formation of Solidarity, and the political maneuvers following the murder of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko.
However, so many names and organizations are worked into the narrative, that the momentum of the story gets lost. I suspect a lot of people will abandon the book as a result.

The CIA Book Club explores a little-known chapter of the Cold War. Through a combination of several programs and individual conspirators, the CIA smuggled millions of books into the Eastern Bloc to fight censorship, promote free thought, and support political dissidents. Charlie English explores the conflicts, disparate dissident groups, movements, and events on both sides of the Iron Curtain throughout the 1980s.

Well-researched and often gripping, the book highlights how literature and journalism became a quiet but powerful weapon. Some scenes felt like they could have used a little more focus while others I wished had been expanded a little more, but overall it’s a compelling and original read about the power of the written word to inspire change.

*I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie English is a trained journalist which is evidenced in the detailed writing of this account of cold war spycraft. I had never heard of the CIA's program to undermine communism in Poland during the 1970s and 1980s through written material. The network and brave souls that delivered the materials were extensive. The written word was able to keep hope alive for the Polish people during the dark days of repression and communist rule. The book is a suspenseful read as the people involved in the underground book printing and delivery network were at risk of torture and imprisonment if caught. It is fast paced and thrilling as English unveils a little known story that occurred during the Cold War.