World War II was
a war that united the American population like no other. Young men enlisted to
serve in the Armed Forces and civilians pitched in by making whatever sacrifices
they could make: planting Victory Gardens, living with food and gasoline
rationing, turning possessions into scrap (metal, paper, cloth), and donating
books for the troops. Unfortunately, the book donation program was not entirely
successful. Many titles donated were not of interest to young American men
(knitting, theology, and foreign policy, just to name a few of the not terribly enticing subjects.) But an even bigger problem was the size of the books. Before the
1950’s, very few books were published in paperback. The hardcover books were
simply too big and bulky for an infantryman to add to his already heavy load of
over 60 pounds. A solution was proposed and accepted—small, lightweight books
printed especially for the men in the Armed Services. ASEs (Armed Service
Editions) were designed. Titles were chosen, printed and distributed to the far
corners of the earth. And they were greatly appreciated by men in foxholes, in
jungles, in deserts, on ships and in hospitals. Surprisingly perhaps, the most
popular title was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Many soldiers
and sailors wrote to her, describing the comfort they found in her story of a
Brooklyn family, living an American life much like theirs. Second in popularity
was Chicken Every Sunday by Rosemary Taylor, a memoir of life in her
mother’s boarding house with many mouth-watering descriptions of good old
American food. There were many other popular authors like Ernest Hemingway,
Marjorie Rawlings, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, as well
as histories, biographies, poetry and numerous other subjects. Many of the
service men were readers who took solace in books. Others were introduced to
reading for pleasure by the ASEs and returned home with a new interest in
literature. Librarians and publishers fought shortages of funds, shortages of
paper and, eventually, even censorship to keep the program running and, in the
end, they were as victorious as the American Armed Forces. Anyone reading a blog like this one can
appreciate the contribution the ASEs made in the quality of life of the
American G.I. When Books Went to War lists all the titles published by
the program, year by year. Some of the titles are out of print, but, for the
information of the omnivorous and curious reader, many are available in our
library system.
