{"product_id":"information-at-war-a-communication-history-of-the-ministry-of-information-1939-1946-hardcover","title":"Information at War: A Communication History of the Ministry of Information 1939-1946 - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSimon Eliot\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eHenry Irving\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe short-lived Ministry of Information (MoI, 1939-1946) had an outsized impact. It played a key role in the Allied war effort, and its work has reverberated in British culture ever since: from its much darker version (as the 'Ministry of Truth') in Orwell's \u003cem\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c\/em\u003e to memes based on the slogan 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. But despite its long legacy, it has been the subject of only limited scholarly investigation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis multi-authored volume offers the first comprehensive and global history of the MoI. It explores the variety of tools it used to issue and control information, which ranged from the censorship of personal communications to the production of propaganda films. The book demonstrates the remarkable breadth and depth of its activities. It explores the MoI's use of a range of media, from pamphlets and posters to public meetings, films and exhibitions; its attempts to justify Britain's empire and imagine a post-war world; and its truly transcontinental reach, with a consolidated presence in many countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. The book also establishes that the MoI was an inherently ambivalent institution: its negative side (the threat of an un-British level of state control) offset by its perceived ability to generate a sense of national purpose at a time of crisis. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book sheds light on an important but little-understood chapter of British wartime history. The lively and highly illustrated chapters raise important and timely questions about the nature of state surveillance, information, and propaganda in an increasingly connected world.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimon Eliot, \u003cem\u003eProfessor Emeritus and Senior Reserach Fellow, Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London\u003c\/em\u003e, Henry Irving, \u003cem\u003eSenior Lecturer in Public History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSimon Eliot is Professor Emeritus of the History of the Book, IES, School of Advanced Study, University of London. He is co-founder and served as second president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing. He is the author of over fifty articles and of \u003cem\u003eSome Patterns and Trends in British Publishing, 1800-1919\u003c\/em\u003e (1994); co-editor of \u003cem\u003ePublishers' Circular\/English Catalogue 1837-1900\u003c\/em\u003e (1988), \u003cem\u003eLiterary Cultures and the Material Book\u003c\/em\u003e (2007), \u003cem\u003eThe Blackwell Companion to the History of the Book\u003c\/em\u003e (2007, 2019), \u003cem\u003eAllied Communication to the Public during the Second World War\u003c\/em\u003e (2020); and general editor of \u003cem\u003eThe History of Oxford University Press\u003c\/em\u003e (four volumes, 2013-17). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHenry Irving is a Senior Lecturer in Public History at Leeds Beckett University. He has worked on the project 'A Communication History of the Ministry of Information' since 2014. Henry specialises in the MoI's work on the 'home front'. His research has been published in leading journals, including the \u003cem\u003eEnglish Historical Review\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eHistorical Research\u003c\/em\u003e, and collections, most recently \u003cem\u003eThe Routledge Handbook of Information History\u003c\/em\u003e (2025). His research has also been felt in the classroom, where his students often find themselves asked to censor a newspaper report or devise a publicity campaign. Henry is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has held a British Academy Innovation Fellowship to apply his knowledge of wartime publicity to the promotion of the circular economy. \u003cem\u003eInformation at War\u003c\/em\u003e is his first book.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 736\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.7 x 9.29 x 6.55 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 08, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51409388110047,"sku":"9780192844736","price":111.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/r9elwUThU99780192844736.webp?v=1789617508","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/information-at-war-a-communication-history-of-the-ministry-of-information-1939-1946-hardcover","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}