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. Frontmatter Introduction by Mark Kramer (page ix) Acknowledgements (page 1) Foreword (page 3) Chapter 1. Origins, Objectives, and Launching of the Book Project Under Sam Walker (page 7) Chapter 2. Titles, Contents, Numbers, Targets, and Aims of the Mailings (page 23) Chapter 3. The Man in the Grey Suit. George C. Minden and his Concept of Cultural and Ideological Competition (page 39) Chapter 4. The New York Book Center. Books, Books, and More Books... (page 55) Chapter 5. The Book Project Reaches New Heights. The Golden Age of the 1960s (page 73) Chapter 6. Western and Émigré Books and Periodicals Published with Covert Support (page 87) Chapter 7. New Opportunities Through East-West Contacts (page 103) Chapter 8. The Early 1970s. The International Advisory Council (page 113) Chapter 9. A Lasting Enemy (page 125) Part I: The Censors 1956 to 1968 Part II: The Censors 1969 to 1973 (page 179) Chapter 10. The Communist Regimes on the Defensive: Criticisms, Warnings, and Attacks (page 207) Chapter 11. The Person-to-Person Distribution Program: A Direct Way to Reach East Europeans. The Early Polish Program 1958-1959 (page 233) Chapter 12. Another Vehicle for Reaching the People of Eastern Europe: the Person-to-Person Distribution Program and Personalized Mailings (page 255) Chapter 13. The Most Important Book Distribution Point: Vienna (page 295) Chapter 14. Letters from Poland, the Crucial Country (page 309) Chapter 15. Letters from Czechoslovakia Before and After 1968 (page 347) Chapter 16. Letters from Hungary Under Goulash Communism (page 399) Chapter 17. Letters from Romania Under the Ceauşescu Regime (page 439) Chapter 18. Letters from Bulgaria Despite Very Strict Censorship (page 481) Chapter 19. The Last Seventeen Years: International Literary Centre, Ltd., East Europe, and the USSR (page 505) Conclusion. The Impact of the Book Distribution Project and its Contribution to the Ideological Victory of the West (page 521) Bibliography (page 527) Subject Index (page 537) Index of Names (page 544) Origins, objectives, and launching of the book project under Sam Walker Titles, contents, numbers, targets, and aims of the mailings The man in the grey suit : George C. Minden and his concept of cultural and ideological competition The New York Book Center : books, books, and more books The book project reaches new heights : the golden age of the 1960s Western and émigré books and periodicals published with covert support New opportunities through East-West contacts The early 1970s : the international advisory council A lasting enemy The communist regimes on the defensive : criticisms, warnings, and attacks The person-to-person distribution program : a direct way to reach East Europeans, the early Polish program 1958-1959 Another vehicle for reaching the people of eastern Europe : the person-to-person distribution program and personalized mailings The most important book distribution point : Vienna Letters from Poland, the crucial country Letters from Czechoslovakia before and after 1968 Letters from Hungary under goulash communism Letters from Romania under the Ceausescu regime Letters from Bulgaria despite very strict censorship The last seventeen years : International Literary Centre, Ltd., East Europe, and the USSR.

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