Este tópico está presentemente marcado como "inativo" —a última mensagem tem mais de 90 dias. Reative o tópico publicando uma resposta.
12wonderY
I'm in the middle of When Books went to War by Molly Guptill Manning, and finding it fascinating reading.
She details the first civilian drive to get books to servicemen via the American Library Association National Defense Book Campaign, which collected, sorted and shipped donated books.
That effort was superseded by a more comprehensive organization, The Council of Books in Wartime, comprising publishers, booksellers, librarians and authors. This group contracted with the Office of War Information to print and sell at cost for distribution to servicemen everywhere they were stationed. They created ASEs, Armed Services Editions, of current bestsellers and a multitude of other writings. Cartons of these compact books were put out as units were being deployed, and they were snatched up and treasured by the soldiers. Large chunks of Manning's book contain letter snippets describing just how important the books were in staving off boredom, relieving stress and depression and creating a generation of thoughtful readers. Many soldiers corresponded with authors. Some, like Betty Smith continued the correspondences throughout the war.
Before the 1944 presidential election, Congress passed The Soldier Voting Bill, and there was a provision to keep political propaganda from being disseminated to the troops. The War Office interpreted this so broadly that they were withdrawing their own textbooks from circulation. The Council of Books in Wartime took on Congress and loudly pointed out that censorship was contrary to what this war was about. The law was rapidly amended.
A few of the most significant sought after titles are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Chicken Every Sunday, Forever Amber and Strange Fruit.
She details the first civilian drive to get books to servicemen via the American Library Association National Defense Book Campaign, which collected, sorted and shipped donated books.
That effort was superseded by a more comprehensive organization, The Council of Books in Wartime, comprising publishers, booksellers, librarians and authors. This group contracted with the Office of War Information to print and sell at cost for distribution to servicemen everywhere they were stationed. They created ASEs, Armed Services Editions, of current bestsellers and a multitude of other writings. Cartons of these compact books were put out as units were being deployed, and they were snatched up and treasured by the soldiers. Large chunks of Manning's book contain letter snippets describing just how important the books were in staving off boredom, relieving stress and depression and creating a generation of thoughtful readers. Many soldiers corresponded with authors. Some, like Betty Smith continued the correspondences throughout the war.
Before the 1944 presidential election, Congress passed The Soldier Voting Bill, and there was a provision to keep political propaganda from being disseminated to the troops. The War Office interpreted this so broadly that they were withdrawing their own textbooks from circulation. The Council of Books in Wartime took on Congress and loudly pointed out that censorship was contrary to what this war was about. The law was rapidly amended.
A few of the most significant sought after titles are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Chicken Every Sunday, Forever Amber and Strange Fruit.
42wonderY
In 2002, the Legacy Project revitalized the ASEs and sent pocket-sized books to Americans serving around the world. Today, the Navy is distributing e-readers pre-loaded with popular books so service members always have hundreds of books at their fingertips.
52wonderY
The papers of the Council of Books in Wartime are held in the Princeton University Library
http://findingaids.princeton.edu/collections/MC038
6Taphophile13
I remember my mother had some paperbacks that had a notice on the cover that after you had finished reading it you could send it to a serviceman for 25¢ .
7MarthaJeanne
When I was growing up we had a few books that had been special editions for soldiers. As I recall, the paper was very poor.
82wonderY
Yep, the format and materials quality were cheapened in order to reduce costs per unit (6 cents) and deal with paper supply shortage. They estimated the books would live through 6 reads. In reality, the books seemed to chug on forever. It was also common to tear a book in half and distribute the pages from hand to hand.
9MarthaJeanne
Actually Dad said the pages made good toilet paper.
10elenchus
Great thread, I've been interested in the book since it was released and the snippets posted here only strengthen my interest.
I've not yet run across an ASE in a used bookshop but I still hope to. Wasn't aware of the Legacy reprints, either!
I've not yet run across an ASE in a used bookshop but I still hope to. Wasn't aware of the Legacy reprints, either!
11Diane-bpcb
I don't recognize some of the organizations listed above, but want to mention The English-Speaking Union, which grew out of a book exchange between the U.S. and England after WWI, when England asked for books to refill their ruined libraries.
This later turned into the English-Speaking Union, which is now in 56 countries and celebrates and teaches English in many ways with/to interested individuals whose English is their second language.
This later turned into the English-Speaking Union, which is now in 56 countries and celebrates and teaches English in many ways with/to interested individuals whose English is their second language.
