Charlie English
@charlieenglish1.bsky.social
Writer of narrative non-fiction. Formerly Guardian foreign editor. Out now in the UK: The CIA Book Club. Coming to the US July 1.
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
La lecture est une arme de combat : l’histoire du « book club » qui a défié le pouvoir soviétique
Pendant la guerre froide, les opposants au régime de Moscou s’organisent, avec le soutien de la CIA, pour faire passer des livres interdits à l’Est, afin d’entretenir l’espoir contre le totalitarisme....
lemonde.fr
Great Yarmouth is set to host the biggest neo-nazi music festival in over a decade. The Home Office has the power to block entry of overseas bands, which will scupper the promoters plans. But they won’t act unless we demand it. Email the Home Office now: hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/28/g...
Great Yarmouth to Host Britain’s Biggest White Power Concert in Years – HOPE not hate
Great Yarmouth is set to host the largest white power music gig held in the UK for at least 10 years, HOPE not hate can...
hopenothate.org.uk
"In addition to destabilizing democracies and championing imperialists, the CIA has always had great taste in art"—including a books program that fueled the Polish underground. A real pleasure to edit this review of @charlieenglish1.bsky.social's latest book in FP: foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/01/c...
The Most Successful CIA Operation You’ve Never Heard of
How the agency’s program to circulate banned books helped take down the Iron Curtain.
foreignpolicy.com
Congress eliminated public media funding, and the president signed it into law. At a time of deep division, public media brings us together. Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
Me for NYT on book bans and the CIA: ‘1984’ Hasn’t Changed, but America Has www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
Opinion | ‘1984’ Hasn’t Changed, but America Has
nytimes.com
'CIA Book Club' illuminates Cold War skullduggery and reminds how revolutionary reading can be
Review: ‘CIA Book Club’ illuminates Cold War skullduggery and reminds how revolutionary reading can be
Charlie English delves into the CIA's attempts to combat communism via literature including '1984' in a book that reminds, in an age of book bans, how powerful stories — and reading — can be.
latimes.com
Thank you, Guardian books, for choosing The CIA Book Club as one of the “50 hottest books to read right now”. #theciabookclub www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
Summer reading: the 50 hottest books to read now
From dazzling debuts to unmissable memoirs, prize-winning novels to page-turning histories … Plus our pick of paperbacks and children’s fiction
theguardian.com
Those lovely people at @WmCollinsBooks are marking Father’s day with a 99p Kindle Daily Deal for The CIA Book Club. Download it here: www.amazon.co.uk/CIA-Book-Clu... #theciabookclub
This Darren Beattie story is breathtaking even by the Orwellian standards of the Trump era… 1/5 www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
Trump official who shut down counter-Russia agency has links to Kremlin
Darren Beattie, who alarmed the State Department with his pro-Moscow views, is married to a woman whose uncle has ties to Vladimir Putin
telegraph.co.uk
I’ll be talking from 6.30pm tonight at Daunt Books Hampstead about The CIA Book Club. A few places available, do drop in if you can. dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events/... #coldwar #theciabookclub #BookTour
I heard @charlieenglish1.bsky.social talk about his book, The CIA Book Club, at Derby Book Festival yesterday - an amazing (true) story. I'm looking forward to reading it but here's a glimpse... www.theguardian.com/books/2025/f...
‘It allowed us to survive, to not go mad’: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism
From George Orwell to Hannah Arendt and John le Carré, thousands of blacklisted books flooded into Poland during the cold war, as publishers and printers risked their lives for literature
theguardian.com
Delighted that The CIA Book Club has been chosen as an NPR pick of the summer. "The book's allure is intrigue, danger, and suspense in the service of meaning. I'm in." Thanks @npr.org. #theciabookclub www.npr.org/2025/05/21/n...
17 new books our critics can't wait to read this summer
We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.
npr.org
The CIA Book Club is the story of the US organisation's programme of sending free-thinking, uncensored literature into the East.
How the CIA book club became one of the Cold War's most important weapons
bigissue.com
Always thought Jon Voight was a bit of an idiot. www.screendaily.com/news/hollywo...
Hollywood none the wiser after “Hollywood ambassador” Jon Voight outlines US production plan
Oscar winner proposing federal tax incentives, tax code changes, international co-production treaties, infrastructure subsidies, limited tariffs.
screendaily.com
Had a wonderful chat with the v. intelligent folks at @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social. The result is this podcast about The CIA Book Club. Thanks to Dr. Miranda Melcher for hosting. newbooksnetwork.com/the-cia-book...
Charlie English, "The CIA Book Club: The Best-Kept Secret of the Cold War" (Random House, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/f... A thrilling extract from a new book by @charlieenglish1.bsky.social The CIA Book Club: The Best-Kept Secret of the Cold War. What a story!
‘It allowed us to survive, to not go mad’: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism
From George Orwell to Hannah Arendt and John le Carré, thousands of blacklisted books flooded into Poland during the cold war, as publishers and printers risked their lives for literature
theguardian.com
