Why read Information Hunters?

Book cover of Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe

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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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Information Hunters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Brooke L. Blower

Author

I just love it when a topic that sounds dull—in this case librarians and archivists during World War II—turns out to be unexpectedly rich and interesting.

Peiss recounts in riveting detail the highly successful wartime mission that sent teams of scholars and other bookish types to scour Europe’s bookstores and basements for rare and otherwise valuable publications. Amassing truckloads of printed material not only aided the Allies’ intelligence operations but also restored looted property, demobilized Nazi propaganda, and, ultimately, transformed the holdings of American research libraries.

From Brooke's list on The most surprising histories about Americans abroad during World War II (who were not combat GIs).