0544535022 (hbk.)

9780544535022 (hbk.)

0544570405 (pbk.)

9780544570405 (pbk.)

9780544535176 (ebk.)

"When America entered World War II in 1941, [it] faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war. Comprising 1,200 different titles of every imaginable type, these paperbacks were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy; in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific; in field hospitals; and on long bombing flights. They wrote to the authors, many of whom responded to every letter. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity. They made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. When Books Went to War is an inspiring story for history buffs and book lovers alike." -- Publisher's website.

Chronicles the joint effort of the U.S. government, the publishing industry, and the nation's librarians to boost troop morale during World War II by shipping more than one hundred million books to the front lines for soldiers to read during what little downtime they had.

A phoenix will rise

$85 worth of clothes, but no pajamas

A landslide of books

New weapons in the war of ideas

Grab a book, Joe, and keep goin'

Guts, valor, and extreme bravery

Like rain in the desert

Censorship and FDR's F

- th T

m

Germany's surrender and the godforsaken islands

Peace at last

Damned average raisers.

World War, 1939-1945 > United States > Literature and the war.

Books and reading > United States > History > 20th century.

Publishers and publishing > United States > History > 20th century.

American literature > 20th century > History and criticism.