557:", or that "to heave one in the garbage can is tantamount to striking your grandmother". A study found that the most popular "deal frankly with sexual relations (regardless of tone, literary merit and point of view, no matter whether the book is serious or humorous, romantically exciting or drably pedestrian)". Authors received voluminous fan mail from the frontlines. ASEs were the first books some readers had picked up since high school, and for some, the first they had read cover to cover. Many authors perceived the selection of their book by the ASE as a great honor, and it contributed significantly to some of their careers.
150:. The panel met twice weekly, selecting publications from among the publishers' suggestions. It aimed at publishing 50 books per month, but soon reduced that goal to 30. The panel mainly focused on selecting recreational reading material, both fiction and nonfiction, primarily drawn from current publications and aiming at "all levels of taste within reasonable limits". The order of publication was chosen at random by pulling names out of a cookie jar; the first book to be printed was
31:
239:
541:
when the presses were not in use, printing costs were low. The cost for printing was around 6 cents per copy, and royalties of one cent per copy were split between authors and publishers. This early experiment with mass paperback printing helped to prove the viability of paperback publishing in the United States.
532: in (11 cm) high. Unlike traditional paperbacks, most of the ASEs were bound on the short side of the text block rather than the long side, due to the printing presses used. A few titles near the end of the series were published in traditional paperback format with the spine on the long side. A
540:
Armed
Services Editions were printed on digest and pulp magazine presses, usually in two columns per page for easier reading. Some ASEs were stapled along the binding, in addition to being glued, to make them sturdier. Because the Council on Books in Wartime made use of magazine presses to print ASEs
464:
The number of ASEs is given as 1,322 or 1,324 in different sources. The
Library of Congress's catalog record lists 1,322 volumes and explains: "The last listed number is 1322, the discrepancy between that and the number 1324 mentioned in the title probably being due to the use of sub-categories with
460:
Over the life of the program, over 122 million copies of ASE books were printed. This makes the ASE program one of the largest wide-scale distributions of free books in history. 1,225 were unique titles and 99 were reprints of titles issued earlier in the series. 63 of the titles were "made books";
98:
In that year, in collaboration with the graphic artist H. Stanley
Thompson and the publisher and CWB executive Malcolm Johnson, Trautman proposed his idea of "Armed Services Editions": mass-produced paperbacks selected by a panel of literary experts from among classics, bestsellers, humor books and
549:
ASEs were very popular in the armed forces. Copies were shared, re-read, and ripped into sections so they could accommodate two or more readers at once. A contemporary newspaper article recounted: "The hunger for these books, evidenced by the way they are read to tatters, is astounding even to the
260:
The ASE program featured an array of fiction and non-fiction titles, including classics, contemporary bestsellers, biographies, drama, poetry, and genre fiction (mysteries, sports, fantasy, action/adventure, westerns). Most of these books were printed in unabridged versions. Authors included
171:. But the Army and Navy chief librarians, Trautman and DuBois, made sure that all books were acceptable to both services, and rejected works with "statements or attitudes offensive to our Allies, any religious or racial group, or not in accord 'with the spirit of American democracy
111:), over seventy publishers and a dozen printing houses collaborated on the ASEs. To appease some publishers' concerns, a legal commitment was made that prevented the domestic distribution and post-war resale of surplus books, and educational and scientific books were excluded.
456:
The distinctive covers bore the description, "Armed
Services Edition: This is the Complete Book – Not a Digest." Seventy-nine of the titles printed were abridged, usually for length rather than content, and their covers were marked to reflect this fact.
219:
Distribution of ASEs began in
October of 1943 and continued until 1947. The books were issued to soldiers overseas, such as in hospitals and on transports, and air-dropped as part of the supplies destined for remote outposts. Notably, just before the
536:
process was frequently used to produce the books, in which the upper and lower halves of each page and the cover contained text from two different works. Once the entire volume was bound, it was cut in half across its width to separate the books.
67:(CBW), an American non-profit organization, in order to provide entertainment to soldiers serving overseas, while also educating them about political, historical, and military issues. The slogan of the CBW was: "Books are weapons in the
196:, who feared that the Roosevelt administration would distribute propaganda in favor of the president's reelection to a fourth term. The Army strictly enforced the act and, as a result, banned the ASE publication of
183:
as an ASE title caused controversy because the novel's first edition had contained passages that were considered pro-Communist. Although these had been removed in later editions and the ASE version, Congressman
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904:
63:. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to service members, with whom they were enormously popular. The ASEs were edited and printed by the
585:
used a $ 50,000 corporate donation to print 100,000 copies of four new Armed
Services Editions to active-duty American military personnel serving in combat zones overseas. The books were:
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461:
they were collections of short stories, poems, plays, essays, or radio plays, usually by the same author, that were assembled and published together for the first time.
122:
executive, as project manager. The volunteer advisory panel that selected the books comprised notable figures from publishing and literature. Its initial members were
91:" collected a million books in its first month, but its efforts dropped off when the Army rejected many of the donated books as unsuitable for soldiers, and the bulky
224:, a mass distribution of ASE titles took place among the troops marshalled in southern England, and each man received a book as he embarked his invasion transport.
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still protested against what he considered government distribution of "Communist propaganda". More serious problems for the ASE ensued when Title V of the
80:
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238:
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Armed
Services Editions were printed in pairs, one atop the other, to make most efficient use of the digest magazine presses. This rare "two-up" of
468:
Lists of all ASEs have been published, among other works, in the appendices to the studies by Molly
Guptill Manning (2014) and John Y. Cole (1984).
87:, sought to remedy this by purchasing one book per soldier, but when that failed, librarians launched a nationwide book collection campaign. This "
83:, millions of young soldiers found themselves in barracks and training camps, where they were often bored. The head of the Army's Library Section,
1117:
565:
Many Armed
Services Editions remain available from used booksellers. The only complete collection of all ASE books is held at the
36:
233:
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The small books were convenient for soldiers because they fit easily into a cargo pocket. Finished size varied slightly, from
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of 1944 limited the distribution of government-financed information to soldiers. The act was sponsored by
Senator
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983:"Literature Re-enlists In the Military; Pilot Project Is Sending Books to American Ships And Troops Abroad"
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among other works. After vigorous public backlash, Congress amended the act to make it less restrictive.
107:, was instrumental for the project to be realized. Apart from the Army and Navy (through chief librarian
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Army and Navy officers and the book-trade officials who conceived Editions for the Armed Services".
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573:. Other American university libraries hold partial collections of up to several hundred books.
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As Popular as Pin-Up Girls: The Armed Services Editions and American Print Culture, 1943–1947
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School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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by Bellamy Partridge was never cut apart by the printer, and its edges remain untrimmed.
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Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present
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Virtual catalog for "Books Go to War: The Armed Services Editions in World War Two"
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US Serviceman Nunzio Antonio "Jim" Giambalvo reads an Armed Services Edition of
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were found to be unsuitable for use in the field. The campaign ended in 1943.
1084:, an exhibit held April 20 – September 10, 1996 at the University of Virginia
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274:
92:
52:
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739:"Armed services editions. New York: Council on Books in Wartime, 1943-1947"
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952:"How Books Designed for Soldiers' Pockets Changed Publishing Forever"
569:. A near-complete set (lacking 16 titles) is in the library of the
237:
29:
1076:
738:
533:
1005:. New York: Editions for the Armed Services, Inc. – via
611:
War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars.
55:
books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the
896:"Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II"
465:
non-consecutive numbers during the course of publication".
782:
780:
1058:
Wittels, David (June 23, 1945). "What the G.I. Reads".
625:. None of the books were on the original list of ASEs.
27:
Books distributed in the U.S. military in World War II
661:
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646:
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167:, the ASE series was free from official government
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1002:Editions for the Armed Services, Inc.: A History
553:Soldiers wrote that the ASEs "are as popular as
935:"Books in Action: The Armed Services Editions"
8:
1098:United States home front during World War II
918:Books In Action: The Armed Services Editions
81:the draft was reinstated in the U.S. in 1940
786:
907:from the original on September 10, 2014.
964:from the original on September 23, 2017
798:
759:
634:
1018:. New York: Columbia University Press.
872:
650:
945:from the original on October 6, 2015.
826:. Library of Congress. Archived from
741:(Catalog record). Library of Congress
7:
933:Cole, John Y. (September 30, 2015).
860:
848:
824:"Armed Services Editions Collection"
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771:
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689:
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665:
504: in (17 cm) long and from
950:Giaimo, Cara (September 22, 2017).
1032:Poole, Alexander H. (April 2009).
25:
994:from the original on May 2, 2013.
1113:20th-century American literature
1023:Manning, Molly Guptill (2014).
234:List of Armed Services Editions
118:, a printing expert and former
1:
163:"Surprisingly", according to
153:The Education of Hyman Kaplan
65:Council on Books in Wartime
1139:
1118:1940s in the United States
518: in (9.8 cm) to
231:
490: in (14 cm) to
939:Library of Congress Blog
37:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1014:Jamieson, John (1950).
999:Jamieson, John (1948).
623:Washington Square Press
613:They were published by
206:Catherine Drinker Bowen
99:poetry. The support of
45:Armed Services Editions
1025:When Books Went to War
893:(September 10, 2014).
359:William Colt MacDonald
257:
175:". The publication of
116:Philip Van Doren Stern
41:
18:Armed Services Edition
1064:. pp. 11, 91–92.
1061:Saturday Evening Post
571:University of Alabama
561:Post-war availability
403:Charles Alden Seltzer
395:Eugene Manlove Rhodes
391:William MacLeod Raine
383:George Sessions Perry
289:, Eugene Cunningham,
271:Stephen Vincent Benét
241:
101:William Warder Norton
89:Victory Book Campaign
33:
1108:American book series
1027:. New York: Mariner.
980:(November 7, 2002).
830:on February 24, 2023
609:, and Carroll's own
605:, Allen Mikaelian's
407:Percy Bysshe Shelley
323:Erle Stanley Gardner
291:James Oliver Curwood
222:invasion of Normandy
926:Center for the Book
923:Library of Congress
587:William Shakespeare
567:Library of Congress
375:Clarence E. Mulford
371:W. Somerset Maugham
331:Arthur Henry Gooden
315:F. Scott Fitzgerald
214:Yankee from Olympus
85:Raymond L. Trautman
1016:Books for the Army
988:The New York Times
619:Dover Publications
581:In November 2002,
431:Grace Zaring Stone
258:
190:Soldier Voting Act
114:The CBW appointed
42:
1077:Books for Victory
716:, pp. 33–78.
423:George R. Stewart
347:Richard Lockridge
299:Walter D. Edmonds
295:Clyde Brion Davis
186:George A. Dondero
128:William M. Sloane
57:American military
16:(Redirected from
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968:December 29,
966:. Retrieved
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938:
921:– via
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901:The Atlantic
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883:Bibliography
868:
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844:
834:February 13,
832:. Retrieved
828:the original
818:
806:
799:Wittels 1945
794:
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760:Manning 2014
755:
743:. Retrieved
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555:pin-up girls
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439:W. C. Tuttle
415:Thorne Smith
283:A. J. Cronin
263:Hervey Allen
259:
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210:O. W. Holmes
202:The Republic
201:
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177:Louis Adamic
165:John Y. Cole
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148:Harry Hansen
120:Pocket Books
113:
105:W. W. Norton
97:
78:
69:war of ideas
61:World War II
48:
44:
43:
35:
1123:1940s books
1007:Hathi Trust
978:Gussow, Mel
873:Gussow 2002
651:Giaimo 2017
447:H. G. Wells
427:Bram Stoker
379:John O'Hara
367:Ngaio Marsh
351:Jack London
311:Peter Field
200:'s history
144:Amy Loveman
1092:Categories
629:References
545:Popularity
472:Publishing
443:Mark Twain
411:Luke Short
399:Craig Rice
244:Mark Twain
228:ASE titles
212:biography
169:censorship
158:Leo Rosten
93:hardcovers
1045:April 17,
861:Cole 1984
849:Cole 2015
811:Cole 1984
772:Cole 1984
745:August 6,
726:Cole 1984
714:Cole 1984
702:Cole 1984
690:Cole 1984
678:Cole 1984
666:Cole 1984
335:Zane Grey
287:Carl Crow
275:Max Brand
53:paperback
992:Archived
962:Archived
943:Archived
905:Archived
615:Hyperion
534:"two-up"
1038:(MSc).
597:Sun Tzu
592:Henry V
527:⁄
513:⁄
499:⁄
485:⁄
75:History
59:during
449:, and
79:After
1047:2022
970:2018
836:2018
747:2024
621:and
252:and
204:and
146:and
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