Why Armies Stopped Burning Libraries and Weaponized Them Instead

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 January 2024

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Books are often seen as “victims” of combat. When the flames of warfare turn libraries to ashes, we grieve this loss as an immense human and cultural tragedy. But that’s not the complete picture. Books were used in war across the twentieth century—both as agents for peace and as weapons. On one hand, books represent solace and solidarity for troops and prisoners of war desperate for reading materials. On the other hand, books have also been engines of warfare, mobilizing troops, spreading ideologies, and disseminating scientific innovation. With accounts that span from ancient Rome to the Cold War, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Mao’s Little Red Book, Pettegree demonstrates how books have shaped societies at war—for both good and ill.

Today’s guest is Andrew Pettegree, author of “The Book at War: How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading.” We explore the weaponization of the publishing industry, the mechanics of mass-scale censorship, and why the Soviets Hated Ian Fleming.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast. Books are often seen as
0:08.8	victims of warfare like the destruction of the Library of Alexandria or Nazi book burnings when society was falling apart.
0:15.0	When libraries turned ashes,
0:16.4	it's seen as an immense human and cultural tragedy.
0:18.5	But that's not the complete picture.
0:19.9	Books were often used in war across the 20th century,
0:22.4	both as agents for peace and as weapons.
0:25.1	On the one hand, books represented solace and solidarity for troops and prisoners of war,
0:29.7	desperate for reading materials.
0:31.2	World War II troops turned The Great Gatsby into one of the most
0:34.3	read books in history because they were issued it by the US government.
0:37.3	On the other hand books have also been engines of warfare, mobilizing troops, spreading ideologies
0:41.2	and disseminating scientific innovation, whether it's Uncle Tom's
0:44.0	Cabin or Mao's little-read book.
0:46.4	Today's guest is Andrew Pedagree, author of the book at war, how reading shaped conflict
0:50.5	and conflict-shaped reading.
0:52.0	We explore how the printing industry can be weaponized for the purposes of propaganda,
0:55.8	the mechanics of censorship, where the Soviets absolutely hated Ian Fleming,
0:59.6	and anything having to do with James Bond.
1:01.6	Hope you enjoy this discussion with Andrew Petty Group.
1:03.6	And one more thing before we get started with this episode,
1:08.4	a quick break for word from our sponsors.
	...

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