Books as Weapons – John Hench

Can’t get it to play… all I get is this:

I’m sorry, but there is nothing at this URL.

Interesting interview.

I’m kinda ambivalent about it because, while the program Hench describes ended pretty soon after the end of WWII, the OSS/CIA took over propaganda around the world soon after. It promulgated, not the idea of freedom and democracy, but the idea that capitalism was equivalent to freedom and democracy, thus pushing law of the jungle capitalism globally. This resulted in further enrichment of the American plutocracy.

It is now known that the CIA commissioned books and articles around the world (and probably still does). It also undertook censorship in the US after the Republican Eisenhower took office. Through the use of the blacklist and all, the capitalist plutocracy was able to punish those who had anti-capitalist or leftist ideas. People who had those ideas were fired from their jobs, even government jobs, and screw freedom of speech. Someone with communist or socialist beliefs could not keep a job and books that advocated those systems, or whose authors did, were blocked from being published or removed from libraries. Some of these books were quite mild, like Howard Fast’s Spartacus. They didn’t burn the books in front of cameras the way the Nazis did but the effect was the same, or worse. Through the use of propaganda communism and socialism came to be viewed as “terrorism” is today, at least in the US.

But anyway, thanks for the link. I can’t decide if I should get the book or not. It does reinforce my belief in the importance of books.

I really miss BookTV. Cursed comcast took it off basic cable.

Allie, do you really think this forum is the place for partisan assertions? You’re command of the facts is highly selective and that’s harshing our mellow.

BTW, I figured out what to do when a YouTube link won’t play. Cursor over the picture and click with the alternate mouse button – select “Play on YouTube” and voila…it plays. There must be some problem with scripting between SSS and YouTube.

The government subsidy does explain why Hemingway is such a big deal for English teachers and commentators. Does anyone really like his stories?

alllie said:
Maybe you’re right. Though I hope not. I consider science fiction, not some trivial diversion, but as something very important and which, for me, is related to politics, as almost everything is. Or so I think. I think when literature, when art, becomes divorced from politics and/or religion, it becomes trivial and unimportant entertainment.

I agree with you there. What I’m saying is, argumentative politics are not really in the mission statement of the SSS forum. I guess my problem, Allie, is that your comments tend to be high-level summaries or idiosyncratic anecdotes, and loaded with provocative labels. It irritates me because I have to decide whether to let is slide, and let you control what the political assumptions are, or get into a anecdote-counter anecdote battle that is typically off-topic and not very interesting for those seeking out discussions of sci-fi. In other words, it looks like you’re being provocative (although maybe you don’t intend to).

In the above, you lose me at “capitalist plutocracy”. In fact, re-reading the above right now, it’s mostly factual. It’s sprinkled with loaded phrases, but without them, I would find it interesting. You’ve got a lot of knowledge of history; keep it coming.

Judy__ said:
The government subsidy does explain why Hemingway is such a big deal for English teachers and commentators. Does anyone really like his stories?

Yes. Very much.

Judy__ said:
The government subsidy does explain why Hemingway is such a big deal for English teachers and commentators. Does anyone really like his stories?

I know when I was a teen Hemingway was frequently promoted in magazines and newspapers. Later I came to think that was because he had a sexy persona and because his style was just a modification of the journalistic style, no adjectives, no judgments. Hemingway was what every journalist of that age wanted to be. Since I didn’t come from a family that read novels I was very influenced by these journalistic recommendations and read a lot, maybe all, of his books. While I admire the politics shown in most of them, even though the politics were very obscure, as decades past I never thought about them or reread them again. But I have reread a lot of scifi books and short stories. That may say more about me than Hemingway.

I guess a hundred years will have to pass and then readers will make their final judgment by continuing to read his books or not. Like Jane Austin and the Brontes fell out of favor, were rarely read, then rediscovered and became part of the classic canon. I wonder if that will happen with Hemingway.