The CIA Book Club The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature

Charlie English, Michael David Axtell

eAudio - 2025

“A story as fascinating as it is undersung . . . a riveting account” (The New York Times Book Review, Best Books of 2025 So Far) of the CIA’s secret program to smuggle millions of books through the Iron Curtain during the Cold War“Brimming with poetic detail, spring-loaded with tradecraft, English’s account feels like it’s torn from the pages of Ian Fleming. . . . An indelible reminder that words matter, and that perhaps the most patriotic thing one can do is read.”—The Washington PostA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, THE ECONOMIST, KIRKUS REVIEWSFor 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 al...ong this frontier: the risk of nuclear annihilation was too high for that. Instead, the war was fought psychologically. It was a battle for hearts,... more