When Books Went to War

Hey, did you know that books and librarians won World War II? That's a bit of an exaggeration but it feels like it's close to the lesson that Molly Guptill Manning wants readers to take away from her exploration of the Armed Services Edition books that were sent to soldiers overseas between 1941 and 1947. I think it's a little idealistic to make the claim that books were a major motivating force to American GIs to combat the atrocities of Hitler and Hirohito. But there's no denying the fact that the ASE books, along with the massive book drives that preceded them, are a fascinating, overlooked footnote in World War II history that deserve their day in the sun.