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magnusbe's review against another edition
4.0
A good thing about this book is that it doesn't spend much time on each of the objects lost or destroyed. Taking in the destruction of libraries and culture is soulcrushing, and when Peiss writes in more general terms it is easier to take in the issues of ownership and logistics etc.
The book is most interesting when dealing with the recovery and rescue of the stolen an lost books and libraries. The part about intelligence services buying books and other publications was maybe more new to me, but also a bit dull.
The book is most interesting when dealing with the recovery and rescue of the stolen an lost books and libraries. The part about intelligence services buying books and other publications was maybe more new to me, but also a bit dull.
reviewsmayvary's review against another edition
3.0
Information Hunters is a non-fiction account of how spies, librarians, and soldiers contributed to the victory in World War II Europe through the finding, use, and sometimes destruction of written materials. This was the first time that there was an intentional effort to use information as part of the war effort in this way. It really highlights how war is fought through the cultural overtaking of other people. I enjoyed being introduced to real people in history whose contribution to the war efforts were bookish! Reading this via audiobook really helped bring the content to life; for me, it would have felt dry otherwise. I think this would be a great book for anyone who is interested in World War II or in information sciences.
michaelnlibrarian's review
5.0
With my interests, this was a remarkable book. I am moderately interested in history of World War II and separately from that librarianship, so this book which features discussion of librarians (and others) during and shortly after WWII was remarkable.
The author is not a librarian - one of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the author's clear grasp and discussion of library related issues.
https://lccn.loc.gov/2019015762 - has publisher's summary of the book.
Table of contents
The country of the mind must also attack
Librarians and collectors go to war
The wild scramble for documents
Acquisitions on a Grand Scale
Fugitive Records of War
Book Burning-American Style
Not a Library, but a Large Depot of Loot.
The book moves from discussion of librarians and others assisting to gather open source materials to support intelligence activities against Nazi Germany to librarians (and again others) working to assure repatriation of Nazi-seized collections from Jews and others to their rightful owners with other subjects mixed in.
https://www.loc.gov/item/mff000208/ photograph of the Library of Congress Mission (LCM) who traveled to Europe after the end of WWII. "Photograph of [Librarian of Congress] Luther Harris Evans and Members of the European Mission, January 1946".
The author is not a librarian - one of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the author's clear grasp and discussion of library related issues.
https://lccn.loc.gov/2019015762 - has publisher's summary of the book.
Table of contents
The country of the mind must also attack
Librarians and collectors go to war
The wild scramble for documents
Acquisitions on a Grand Scale
Fugitive Records of War
Book Burning-American Style
Not a Library, but a Large Depot of Loot.
The book moves from discussion of librarians and others assisting to gather open source materials to support intelligence activities against Nazi Germany to librarians (and again others) working to assure repatriation of Nazi-seized collections from Jews and others to their rightful owners with other subjects mixed in.
https://www.loc.gov/item/mff000208/ photograph of the Library of Congress Mission (LCM) who traveled to Europe after the end of WWII. "Photograph of [Librarian of Congress] Luther Harris Evans and Members of the European Mission, January 1946".
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