Hot Books in the Cold War : The CIA-Funded Secret Western Book Distribution Program Behind the Iron Curtain

This study reveals the hidden story of the secret book distribution program to Eastern Europe financed by the CIA during the Cold War. At its height between 1957 and 1970, the book program was one of the least known but most effective methods of penetrating the Iron Curtain, reaching thousands of intellectuals and professionals in the Soviet Bloc. Reisch conducted thorough research on the key personalities involved in the book program, especially the two key figures: S. S. Walker, who initiated the idea of a “mailing project,” and G. C. Minden, who developed it into one of the most effective political and psychological tools of the Cold War. The book includes excellent chapters on the vagaries of censorship and interception of books by communist authorities based on personal letters and accounts from recipients of Western material. It will stand as a testimony in honor of the handful of imaginative, determined, and hard-working individuals who helped to free half of Europe from mental bondage and planted many of the seeds that germinated when communism collapsed and the Soviet bloc disintegrated. Table of Contents Introduction Acknowledgements Foreword Chapter 1 Origins, Objectives, and Launching of the Book Project Under Sam Walker Chapter 2 Titles, Contents, Numbers, Targets, and Aims of the Mailings Chapter 3 The Man in the Grey Suit. George C. Minden and his Concept of Cultural and Ideological Competition Chapter 4 The New York Book Center. Books, Books, and More Books Chapter 5 The Book Project Reaches New Heights. The Golden Age of the 1960s Chapter 6 Western and Émigré Books and Periodicals Published with Covert Support Chapter 7 New Opportunities Through East-West Contacts Chapter 8 The Early 1970s. The International Advisory Council Chapter 9 A Lasting Enemy Chapter 10 The Communist Regimes on the Defensive: Criticisms, Warnings, and Attacks Chapter 11 The Person-to-Person Distribution Program: A Direct Way to Reach East Europeans. The Early Polish Program 1958–1959 Chapter 12 Another Vehicle for Reaching the People of Eastern Europe: the Personto- Person Distribution Program and Personalized Mailings Chapter 13 The Most Important Book Distribution Point: Vienna Chapter 14 Letters from Poland, the Crucial Country Chapter 15 Letters from Czechoslovakia Before and After 1968 Chapter 16 Letters from Hungary Under Goulash Communism Chapter 17 Letters from Romania Under the Ceauşescu Regime Chapter 18 Letters from Bulgaria Despite Very Strict Censorship Chapter 19 The Last Seventeen Years: International Literary Centre, Ltd., East Europe, and the USSR Conclusion The Impact of the Book Distribution Project and its Contribution to the Ideological Victory of the West Bibliography Subject Index Index of Names

This study reveals the hidden story of the secret book distribution program to Eastern Europe financed by the CIA during the Cold War. At its height between 1957 and 1970, the book program was one of the least known but most effective methods of penetrating the Iron Curtain, reaching thousands of intellectuals and professionals in the Soviet Bloc. Reisch conducted thorough research on the key personalities involved in the book program, especially the two key figures: S. S. Walker, who initiated the idea of a "mailing project, " and G. C. Minden, who developed it into one of the most effective political and psychological tools of the Cold War.The book includes excellent chapters on the vagaries of censorship and interception of books by communist authorities based on personal letters and accounts from recipients of Western material. It will stand as a testimony in honor of the handful of imaginative, determined, and hard-working individuals who helped to free half of Europe from mental bondage and planted many of the seeds that germinated when communism collapsed and the Soviet bloc disintegrated.

This book tells the story of the secret book distribution program financed by the CIA to Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The book program, at its height between 1957 and 1970, was one of the least known but most effective methods of penetrating the Iron Curtain, and reached thousands of intellectuals and professionals in the Soviet Bloc. The author conducted thorough research on the key personalities involved in the book program, especially the two key figures: S.S. Walker, who initiated the idea of a "mailing project," and G.C. Minden, who developed the program into one of the most effective political and psychological tools of the Cold War. The book includes chapters on the vagaries of censorship and on the interception of books by communist authorities based on personal letters and accounts from recipients of Western material