NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Heartwarming. -- Tim O\'Brien, author of The Things They Carried.
I was enthralled and moved. . .
A thoroughly engaging, enlightening, and often uplifting account .
When Books Went to War is the inspiring story of the Armed Services Editions, and a treasure for history buffs and book lovers alike.
They Helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity and made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon.
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.
These Armed Services Editions were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today.
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 rucksacks in every theater of war.
Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free Books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. -- USA Today When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy That had banned and burned 100 million books.
A cultural history That does much to explain modern America. . . -- Boston Globe Four stars out of four] . -- Entertainment Weekly A readable, accessible addition to World War II literature and] a book That will be enjoyed by lovers of Books about books. -- New York Times Whether or not you\'re a book lover, you\'ll be moved.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Heartwarming
