{"product_id":"2940169169386","title":"The Infernal Library: On Dictators, the Books They Wrote, and Other Catastrophes of Literacy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Infernal Library\u003c\/i\u003e is a harrowing audiobook tour of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003edictator literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ein the twentieth-century, featuring the soul-killing prose and poetry of Hitler, Mao, and many more, which shows how books have sometimes shaped the world for the worse.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the days of the Roman Empire dictators have written books. But in the twentieth-century despots enjoyed unprecedented print runs to (literally) captive audiences. The titans of the genreamp;mdash;Stalin, Mussolini, and Khomeini among themamp;mdash;produced theoretical works, spiritual manifestos, poetry, memoirs, and even the occasional romance novel and established a literary tradition of boundless tedium that continues to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow did the production of literature become central to the running of regimes? What do these books reveal about the dictatorial soul? And how can books and literacy, most often viewed as inherently positive, cause immense and lasting harm? Putting daunting research to revelatory use, journalist Daniel Kalder asks and brilliantly answers these questions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarshalled upon the beleaguered shelves of \u003ci\u003eThe Infernal Library\u003c\/i\u003e are the books and commissioned works of the century's most notorious figures. Their words led to the deaths of millions. Their conviction in the significance of their own thoughts brooked no argument. It is perhaps no wonder then, as Kalder argues, that many dictators began their careers as writers. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePop in your earbuds and step into \u003ci\u003eThe Infernal Library. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47104324927728,"sku":"2940169169386","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169169386_p0.jpg?v=1763674428","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169169386","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}