The Book at War

The Book at War: Libraries and Readers in an Age of Conflict
by Andrew Pettegree

'Rich, authoritative and highly readable, Andrew Pettegree's tour de force will appeal to anyone for whom, whatever the circumstances, books are an abiding, indispensable part of life.' David Kynaston

Chairman Mao was a librarian. Stalin was a published poet. Evelyn Waugh served as a commando - before leaving to write Brideshead Revisited . Since the advent of modern warfare, books have all too often found themselves on the frontline.

In The Book at War , acclaimed historian Andrew Pettegree traces the surprising ways in which written culture - from travel guides and scientific papers to Biggles and Anne Frank - has shaped, and been shaped, by the conflicts of the modern age.

From the American Civil War to the invasion of Ukraine, books, authors and readers have gone to war - and in the process become both deadly weapons and our most persuasive arguments for peace.

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'Rich, authoritative and highly readable, Andrew Pettegree's tour de force will appeal to anyone for whom, whatever the circumstances, books are an abiding, indispensable part of life.' --David Kynaston

'Books create; wars destroy. Yet The Book at War shows how inextricably entwined the two have always been. Illuminating' --Judith Flanders