Charlie English

In 2013, the forces of AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb) take Timbuktu and immediately begin to impose their Salafist vision of Islam - one that is at odds with the spiritual, Sufi version that has been the norm in West Africa. The scholars of Timbuktu immediately worry for their vast and unique collection of Islamic and historic manuscripts from Medieval times, one of the few primary sources of West African history. Those worries increase as the jihardists start to smash the mausoleums show more of Sufi saints

And so begins a remarkable story as brave officials, families and holders of private collections of manuscripts start the dangerous (both to the smugglers and the manuscripts) and time consuming business of hiding some manuscripts and moving others to the relative safety of Bamako, many hundreds of miles away

Interspersed with this Charlie English presents a very knowledgeable but readable history of the exploration of West Africa, with a particular focus on the histiography of the region (ie the history of its history). This is fascinating enough on its own, particularly the chapters on the undoubtedly brave, but equally undoubtedly somewhat foolish, early British explorers, many of whom came to a premature end

So a very entertaining and informative read, which ends on a slightly sour note, as the author starts to doubt his own story and his own conclusions and has the intellectual honesty to present those doubts. Doubts that are very much in line with the vague, swirling, illusory history of Timbuktu itself show less

So, this turns out to be a rather complicated work, though the guts of it deals with the elevation of what is now called "outsider art," as practiced by the resident patients of the German mental health institutions, and as publicized by one Hans Prinzhorn, a somewhat sketchy psychiatrist who used this art to try and elevate the humanity of its producers. This became something of a faddish enthusiasm for numerous avant-garde artists; particularly of surrealist persuasion. The foil to this show more were disdainful cultural conservatives, who with scorn referred to the artists and their works as "degenerate;" including Adolph Hitler, the greatest enemy of degeneracy in Germany.

Where this all comes together is in the Nazi cultural "action" simply referred to as "Degenerate Art," where elite modern art was contrasted with the work of the mental patients, in the hopes of discrediting the whole enterprise. This is before "Aktion T4," the Nazi's first exercise in industrial murder, which did away with ten of thousands of German mental patients; including most of the artists Prinzhorn touted. English delves into this "event" in rather greater detail than I have previously seen, and it makes for real jaw-clinching reading.

As for Prinzhorn himself, he was fortunate to pass away before he lived to see his greatest achievement dragged through the gutter; though he was drifting into the Nazi orbit, having long lost his charismatic self-belief. show less

We should build a monument to books…I am convinced it was books that were victorious in the fight. Adam Michnik quoted in The CIA Book Club

What reader could resist a book on books changing the course of history?

For decades the CIA was behind the distribution of banned books and underground newspapers behind the Iron Curtain. Books like Animal Farm by George Orwell, poetry by Czeslaw Milosz, and even Three Hundred Years of American Painting were secreted into Poland. The books were sent show more directly to citizens as well as in bulk shipments. The future Pope John Paul II was one of the recipients of the program’s books.

The CIA also funded the smuggling of printing presses into Poland so dissidents could print illegal newspapers like Moovia Weekly. Through the Polonia Book Fund they ensured that Solidarity publishers were represented in the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair.

At a time when fake news threatens democracy and book banning controls information, reading about life under an authoritarian dictatorship in Poland sent chills up my spine.

I remember Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement in Poland. It was a virtual police state with all citizen’s rights erased. Dissidents were regularly imprisoned—or disappeared.

George Minden of the CIA believed that “truth is contagious” and that literature could counteract the Soviet’s repression.

The book goes into detail about the people involved in underground publishing, risking their lives, and how the equipment was sourced and how the printing and distribution happened. It was an amazingly complex operation!

Satellite TV was a game changer. Thousands illegally connected to uncensored news and shows.

Finally, after years of brutal repression, Solidarity gained the right to a fair election and won a majority of Senate and Sejm seats. A poster based on the movie High Noon had promoted the election. Censorship loosened up.

Oral histories collected by the author inform the book.

An inspiring, terrifying, and timely read.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley. show less

I really liked how the author kept his personal story integrated with the informative aspects of the book. Too much factual data and it becomes textbook-like and boring, too much personal introspection and it becomes self-indulgent; the author kept the perfect balance. I also liked the final chapter, "A Snow Handbook", which is simply a collection of interesting bits and pieces about snow that didn't fit anywhere. For example, there are lists of books and movies that are snow-related, quotes show more from poetry, random factoids about snow, and illustrated instructions on how to build an igloo. I highly recommend this book. show less