This true story of spying and smuggling takes place in the 1980s, when Poland, as a part of the Soviet-dominated East Bloc, suffered brutal repression. Its citizens had very little personal freedom; most books from the outside were banned, and the only media people had access to were government-sponsored publications and radio spewing out crass propaganda. Realizing that the battle for freedom must first be fought in the minds of their countrymen, to counter the all-pervasive despair brought on by this subjugation, teams of rebels printed underground journals and distributed them along with provocative books smuggled in from the West. In 1980, the Polish trade union Solidarity made its first appearance during a strike at a major shipyard; for a time it appeared as if it would herald greater freedom in the country. However, in late 1981, a military coup led by General Jaruzelski imposed martial law and began arresting union leaders and other dissidents. It became more difficult than ever to smuggle in vitally-needed literature as well as the presses and other equipment that kept the underground journals in print.

The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer. The CIA’s only role in the operation was assisting with financing. This was crucial, of course, but the organizational work, as well as the on-the-ground smuggling itself, was carried out by Polish people within the country who were in constant danger of arrest and imprisonment; Poles in exile in France, England, Belgium, and Sweden; and other sympathetic Europeans. These are the true heroes of this story.

What I find fascinating about this account is the emphasis on the value of works of literature as weapons to sway the hearts and minds of people attempting to survive under a traumatic political situation. Those who produced and distributed these works were aware that they were in great danger and might be arrested and imprisoned at any moment, and yet they nevertheless continued their vital work. They knew that if they didn’t, people would despair, and the flame of insurrection might die. So they persevered, and some of them were caught, and beaten, and tortured.

The book starts off in the first chapter with a harrowing account of a prison experience of a man, Miroslaw Chojecki, who becomes one of the most important expatriate smugglers. The account is so excruciating, in fact, that I almost stopped reading. Hang in there, though; the author launches into an explanation of the book program in the second chapter, and the tale of subterfuge and chicanery begins. It’s an exciting story, full of triumphs and setbacks and regroupings and heroism. It ends, of course, with the fall of the East Bloc and victory for the Polish people. The main revelation, though, in the retelling of this history is in the power of printed words to shape minds. During the decades of communist oppression, literature was much more important than weapons to the underground. And it was the ideas expressed in literature that ultimately won the war.