Subtitled The stories that helped us win World War II. This is the fascinating story of how the U.S. government went into the publishing business to produce millions of inexpensive paperback books for the servicemen fighting in World War II. The first books for soldiers were provided through public donations through the ALA National Defense Book Campaign. Althea Warren, head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library was put in charge. Book drives were set up all over the country in libraries, train & bus stations, and other public venues. The drives were advertised via millions of posters, bus tickets and these St. Louis streetcar tickets:
Sadly, most of the books donated were large hard-bound volumes that were, for the most part, unsuitable for use by servicemen in battle. The Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were created in the form of inexpensive paperback books formatted to fit in a soldier's pocket so they could be carried easily anywhere. The books were stapled rather than glued and featured a thumbnail photo of the original book cover on the front. The success of this program was phenomenal and turned even non-readers into avid book lovers. Most of the books didn't survive after the war because they were literally "read to death" as they passed from soldier to soldier. (an Ebay search found some selling for over $100.) Forty-six separate collections of books were produced including popular and classic fiction as well as biographies, poetry, plays, and non-fiction topics. Many authors received thousands of letters from servicemen who had read their books via ASE editions. The book is appended with lists of all the books published as ASEs and a list of authors banned by the Nazis.
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