TELLING THE STORY ON A POWDER KEG:
USIA Book Translation Program in Iran and Afghanistan
Funded by Gerda Henkel Stiftung (2023-2024)
This a new research project that aims to explore the history of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Translation Program in Iran and Afghanistan. It is the general objective of this project to write a translation history of BTP based on primary and secondary sources related to Iran and Afghanistan. It aims to departs from a zero-sum game narrative of the Cold War, to go beyond a pure propaganda reading of Cold War book programs, and to give voice to otherwise silent translators. In this history, books and their translators take the center stage: books as material objects of culture and translators as essential to this act of transfer.
USIA Book Reviews
Books sponsored by the USIA Book Translation Program had to be reviewed for their suitability for inclusion in the program. This is an example of a book review or what was called, Book Appraisal Form. This book was recommended for inclusion in the program.
The Asia Foundation book diplomacy in Afghanistan
The Asia Foundation, which is the subject of a major forthcoming book by David H. Price, Cold War Deceptions: The Asia Foundation and the CIA, was also active in Afghanistan. The following document shows the number of books sent to Afghanistan as part of the foundation’s Books for Asian Students:
Cold Books in Hot Lands 