The Book at War

How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading

By: Andrew Pettegree

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

A top literary historian illuminates how books were used in war across the twentieth century—both as weapons and as agents for peace

We tend not to talk about books and war in the same breath—one ranks among humanity’s greatest inventions, the other among its most terrible. But as esteemed literary historian Andrew Pettegree demonstrates, the two are deeply intertwined. The Book at War explores the various roles that books have played in conflicts throughout the globe. Winston Churchill used a travel guide to plan the invasion of Norway, lonely families turned to libraries while their loved ones were fighting in the trenches, and during the Cold War both sides used books to spread their visions of how the world should be run. As solace or instruction manual, as critique or propaganda, books have shaped modern military history—for both good and ill.

With precise historical analysis and sparkling prose, The Book at War accounts for the power—and the ambivalence—of words at war.

©2023 Andrew Pettegree (P)2023 Basic Books

Critic reviews

"In modern warfare, books provide poignant witness statements as well as admonitory propaganda. They are weapons of war, composed by soldiers, studied by civilians, but also thrown into the fire. In his own impressive book, Andrew Pettegree shows how words could be blood-curdling and texts blood-spattered. Read on in order to turn the pages of war and peace."—Peter Fritzsche, author of Hitler’s First Hundred Days

“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, author of Till Time’s Last Sand

“Books create; wars destroy. Yet The Book at War shows how inextricably entwined the two have always been. Illuminating.”—Judith Flanders, author of A Place For Everything

Re-record this please

The book was all over the place chronologically. To be fair, the author didn't organize the book chronologically intentionally. He wrote about books in different contexts and perspectives and those chapters were generally chronological. But the entire body of work ended up feeling all over the place.
Additionally, I will avoid this narrator in the future.

Important, Moving Book and Topic; Performance, Hoarse and Haunting at Times.

Wonderful read and listen, this. Enjoyed learning about the role libraries can play before, during, and after war.

The performance has me divided, however. At times, the narrator’s hoarse, almost haunting voice lends to the topic’s gravitas; but after a while the energy level dips and this rather engaging book drags on. Much too monotone even if it works in parts.

Overall, I recommend both the book and the audio only because the topic is so incredibly important.