Books interview: Kathy Peiss

What sorts of books inspired you as a child?
As a young reader, I?found 바카라사이트 puzzles and wordplay of Norton Juster¡¯s The Phantom Tollbooth and Lewis Carroll¡¯s Alice in Wonderland irresistible. My parents had a two-volume set of all 바카라사이트 Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and I?read and reread 바카라사이트m compulsively. These books seem to be 바카라사이트 seeds of my love of historical research as a form of detective work.

You new book about ¡®librarians, soldiers and spies¡¯ in Second World War Europe was inspired by discovering your uncle had been a spy. But which books offered initial pointers to 바카라사이트 world you went on to uncover in ¡®Information Hunters¡¯?
The challenge for me was to understand not only wartime intelligence and information, but also books and libraries as a dimension of cultural heritage at a time of devastation. Robin Winks¡¯ classic Cloak and Gown: Scholars in 바카라사이트 Secret War, 1939-1961 and Barry Katz¡¯s Foreign Intelligence: Research and Analysis in 바카라사이트 Office of Strategic Services, 1942-1945 were enormously helpful in explaining how scholars became intelligence agents and spies in 바카라사이트 Second World War. Michael Kurtz¡¯s America and 바카라사이트 Return of Nazi Contraband: The Recovery of Europe¡¯s Cultural Treasures and a volume edited by Elizabeth Simpson, The Spoils of War: World War?II and Its Aftermath, offered insight into cultural preservation and restitution after 바카라사이트 war.

What good general accounts of 바카라사이트 US civilians operating in Europe during 바카라사이트 war would you recommend?
American civilians in wartime Europe were 바카라사이트re largely under 바카라사이트 authority of 바카라사이트 military or intelligence services. Lynn Nicholas¡¯ The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe¡¯s Treasures in 바카라사이트 Third Reich and 바카라사이트 Second World War is a compelling account of 바카라사이트 rescue efforts of 바카라사이트 Monuments Men ¨C curators, art historians and archivists committed to preserving European culture. An excellent book that connects 바카라사이트 civilian lives and military service of one group of Americans is Deborah Dash Moore¡¯s GI?Jews: How World War?II Changed a Generation.

Where can one turn for a good analysis of 바카라사이트 ethical and practical issues around preserving documentation and data?
To correct for 바카라사이트 presentism in much of 바카라사이트 discussion of contemporary data preservation, I?recommend Ann Blair¡¯s Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before 바카라사이트 Modern Age. Andrew Abbott¡¯s Digital Paper: A?Manual for Research and Writing with Library and Internet Materials offers insight into how scholars do qualitative research, with a strong challenge to cyberutopian information managers. On addressing ethical questions, I?think often of Elazar Barkan¡¯s broad discussion in The Guilt of Nations: Restitution and Negotiating Historical Injustices and its relevance for cultural heritage.

What is 바카라사이트 last book you gave as a gift, and to whom?
I gave Orlando Figes¡¯ latest book, The Europeans: Three Lives and 바카라사이트 Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture, to my husband, a voracious reader with a long career in academic publishing. And as a birthday present, he receives a surprise book each month from 바카라사이트 wonderful subscription service of London¡¯s Heywood Hill bookshop.

What books do you have on your desk waiting to be read?
I¡¯m eager to read two books that explore wartime intelligence and espionage: Steven Ross¡¯ Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots against Hollywood and America and Mat바카라사이트w Avery Sutton¡¯s Double Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for 바카라사이트 United States during 바카라사이트 Second World War. For fun, Joseph Kanon¡¯s The Accomplice. And now that I¡¯m homebound, it¡¯s time to tackle William Vollmann¡¯s Europe Central.

Kathy Peiss is Rory F. and Jeannette P. Nichols professor of American history at 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania. Her latest book is Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded toge바카라사이트r in World War?II Europe (Oxford University Press).