# Little Blue Book **Source:** [Little Blue Book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_Book) (Wikipedia. Accessed: 2024-08-05) **See Also:** [[Education]]. >[!quote] >**Little Blue Books** are a series of small staple-bound books published from 1919 through 1978 by the Haldeman-Julius Publishing Company of [Girard, Kansas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girard,_Kansas "Girard, Kansas").[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_Book#cite_note-1) They were extremely popular, and achieved a total of 300-500 million booklets sold over the series' lifetime. >... >Demand for existing titles remained steady throughout the [Depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression "Great Depression") although only about 300 new titles were released during the 1930s, the bulk appearing prior to 1932.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_7-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_Book#cite_note-:0-7">[7]</a></sup> Following [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"), the [FBI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI "FBI") under [J. Edgar Hoover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover "J. Edgar Hoover") viewed the Little Blue Books' inclusion of such subjects as socialism, atheism, and frank treatment of sexuality as a threat and put Haldeman-Julius on their enemies list, getting him convicted of income tax evasion. This persecution caused a rapid decline in the number of bookstores carrying the Little Blue Books, and they slowly sank into obscurity by the 1950s, although still well remembered by older people who had read them in the 1920s and 1930s. The Cardinal [Francis Spellman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Spellman "Francis Spellman") FBI file contains clear indications concerning the interest of the FBI on Haldeman-Julius Publications by 1955, after an anonymous letter in late 1954 alerted the government to a book that was under press "vilifying" the Cardinal.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_Book#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> - These were the pre-digital version of podcasts: small, self-contained books intended to raise the [[Critical Thinking]] capacity of the citizenry. - Their publication was eventually destroyed by powermongering autocratic politicians. - No resurgence is possible because now [[Everyone is talking but no one is listening]], even people who cannot be trusted and have no expertise in anything. - The production of the Little Blue Books was overseen by an intelligent, ethical, and compassionate person. - What dumb luck that this happened. - It could have easily been some morally destitute grifter in charge, who selected titles rife with lies and propaganda. - Indeed, I think it was precisely the good character of Haldeman-Julius that eventually made him a target of the psychopaths who were in public office in the 30s. - How can we bring this kind of communication back?