"Taking Books to the World tells the largely untold story of Franklin, based on careful combing through of archival materials that have not been much used by scholars before. It is a very careful, clearly written book."--Sarah Brouillette, author of Literature and the Creative Economy "This is a welcome addition to the growing interdisciplinary scholarship on U.S. cultural policy during the Cold War. Taking Books to the World is based on extensive archival work, and provides fascinating examples of Franklin's strategy to promote an American worldview in developing countries from the 1950s to the 1970s."--Lise Jaillant, author of Cheap Modernism: Expanding Markets, Publishers' Series, and the Avant-Garde "Highly readable and well-researched . a work in which [Laugesen] explores the delicate balancing acts and sometimes not so subtle sleights of hand that communists and capitalists played in their efforts to influence and mold peoples in nonindustrialized areas in their own image, starting with books.

"--Publishing Research Quarterly "[A] valuable complement to more broadly focused scholarship . Highly recommended."--CHOICE "Taking Books to the World provides a thorough, nuanced account . [A] welcome study of the 'book diplomacy' front in America's cultural Cold War."--Journal of American History.