When Books Went to War

By Molly Guptill Manning,

Book cover of When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II

Book description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. While the Nazis were burning hundreds of millions of books across Europe, America printed and shipped 140 million books to its troops. The "heartwarming" story of how an army of librarians and publishers lifted spirits and built a new democratic audience of readers is as inspiring…

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Why read it?

1 author picked When Books Went to War as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love the grit and heroism of this story about the history of the humble Armed Services Editions. My own university holds one of the largest collections of these small wartime reprints that were sized to fit into the pocket of a GI’s uniform.

So, I initially reached for this book out of duty but then relished it for its compelling historical facts and vividly bookish humanity.

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