{"product_id":"information-hunters-kathy-peiss-9780190944612","title":"Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe","description":"While armies have seized enemy records and rare texts as booty throughout history, it was only during World War II that an unlikely band of librarians, archivists, and scholars traveled abroad to collect books and documents to aid the military cause. Galvanized by the events of war into acquiring and preserving the written word, as well as providing critical information for intelligence purposes, these American civilians set off on missions to gather foreign publications and information across Europe. They journeyed to neutral cities in search of enemy texts, followed a step behind advancing armies to capture records, and seized Nazi works from bookstores and schools. When the war ended, they found looted collections hidden in cellars and caves. Their mission was to document, exploit, preserve, and restitute these works, and even, in the case of Nazi literature, to destroy them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this fascinating account, cultural historian Kathy Peiss reveals how book and document collecting became part of the new apparatus of intelligence and national security, military planning, and postwar reconstruction. Focusing on the ordinary Americans who carried out these missions, she shows how they made decisions on the ground to acquire sources that would be useful in the war zone as well as on the home front. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese collecting missions also boosted the postwar ambitions of American research libraries, offering a chance for them to become great international repositories of scientific reports, literature, and historical sources. Not only did their wartime work have lasting implications for academic institutions, foreign-policy making, and national security, it also led to the development of today's essential information science tools. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIlluminating the growing global power of the United States in the realms of intelligence and cultural heritage, Peiss tells the story of the men and women who went to Europe to collect and protect books and information and in doing so enriches the debates over the use of data in times of both war and peace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kathy Peiss\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0190944617\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190944612\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/03\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.40w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2019 pg. 14\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2020 pg. 85\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2021","brand":"Kathy Peiss","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44044848857343,"sku":"9780190944612","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_09c9095b-d5ab-4932-93c7-5389fa9067fc.jpg?v=1684975258","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/information-hunters-kathy-peiss-9780190944612","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}