When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II. This item is unavailable.When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II

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 today as it was then (New York Times).

When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned 100 million books. 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 rucksacks in every theater of war. These Armed Services Editions 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 helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity and made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon.

When Books Went to War is the inspiring story of the Armed Services Editions, and a treasure for history buffs and book lovers alike.

"A thoroughly engaging, enlightening, and often uplifting account . . . I was enthralled and moved."--Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried

A cultural history that does much to explain modern America. --USA Today

MOLLY GUPTILL MANNING is an author, historian, curator, and associate professor of law at New York Law School. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller When Books Went to War, The Myth of Ephraim Tutt, and The War of Words. In 2026, her next book, A Librarian's War, will be published. She has spoken across the country about the power of the written word, and has curated the exhibit, "The Best-Read Army in the World," which launched in New York City in 2023 and is traveling around the United States. The exhibit showcases the essential role that books, magazines, and newspapers played in World War II.

Before she became a professor, Molly worked in the New York federal courts for thirteen years. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in American history, a J.D. at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and an M.A. in Museum Studies from NYU.