546:", 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.
139:. 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
20:
228:
530:
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.
521: 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
529:
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
453:
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
449:
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";
87:
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
538:
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
249:
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
160:. 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
100:), 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.
445:
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.
208:
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
525:
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.
56:(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
185:, 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
172:
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
980:
893:
52:. 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
574:
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:
450:
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.
111:
executive, as project manager. The volunteer advisory panel that selected the books comprised notable figures from publishing and literature. Its initial members were
80:" 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
213:, 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.
950:
77:
971:
1086:
73:
931:
178:
177:
still protested against what he considered government distribution of "Communist propaganda". More serious problems for the ASE ensued when Title V of the
884:
231:
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
124:
457:
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).
120:
76:, sought to remedy this by purchasing one book per soldier, but when that failed, librarians launched a nationwide book collection campaign. This "
72:, millions of young soldiers found themselves in barracks and training camps, where they were often bored. The head of the Army's Library Section,
97:
1028:
69:
1101:
554:
Many Armed
Services Editions remain available from used booksellers. The only complete collection of all ASE books is held at the
465:
The small books were convenient for soldiers because they fit easily into a cargo pocket. Finished size varied slightly, from
1106:
227:
940:
25:
181:
of 1944 limited the distribution of government-financed information to soldiers. The act was sponsored by
Senator
923:
222:
812:
1096:
972:"Literature Re-enlists In the Military; Pilot Project Is Sending Books to American Ships And Troops Abroad"
205:
among other works. After vigorous public backlash, Congress amended the act to make it less restrictive.
116:
96:, was instrumental for the project to be realized. Apart from the Army and Navy (through chief librarian
53:
198:
539:
Army and Navy officers and the book-trade officials who conceived Editions for the Armed Services".
1091:
259:
611:
194:
562:. Other American university libraries hold partial collections of up to several hundred books.
347:
104:
1070:
1049:
1024:
As Popular as Pin-Up Girls: The Armed Services Editions and American Print Culture, 1943–1947
559:
391:
383:
379:
371:
136:
89:
1029:
School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1111:
905:
603:
395:
311:
279:
210:
8:
914:
911:
575:
555:
399:
387:
363:
359:
319:
303:
245:
by Bellamy Partridge was never cut apart by the printer, and its edges remain untrimmed.
607:
596:
Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present
419:
411:
335:
287:
283:
174:
45:
1022:
1071:
Virtual catalog for "Books Go to War: The Armed Services Editions in World War Two"
1039:
351:
331:
295:
237:
186:
92:, chairman of the CWB's executive committee and president of the publishing house
989:
375:
343:
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23:
US Serviceman Nunzio Antonio "Jim" Giambalvo reads an Armed Services Edition of
879:
590:
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571:
407:
367:
307:
182:
128:
112:
84:
were found to be unsuitable for use in the field. The campaign ended in 1943.
19:
1080:
1073:, an exhibit held April 20 – September 10, 1996 at the University of Virginia
945:
423:
327:
299:
267:
901:
816:
728:"Armed services editions. New York: Council on Books in Wartime, 1943-1947"
543:
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271:
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165:
153:
141:
108:
93:
57:
49:
995:
435:
415:
355:
339:
132:
966:
431:
232:
157:
146:
941:"How Books Designed for Soldiers' Pockets Changed Publishing Forever"
323:
275:
263:
81:
41:
558:. A near-complete set (lacking 16 titles) is in the library of the
1065:
585:
727:
994:. New York: Editions for the Armed Services, Inc. – via
600:
War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars.
44:
books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the
885:"Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II"
522:
454:
non-consecutive numbers during the course of publication".
771:
769:
1047:
Wittels, David (June 23, 1945). "What the G.I. Reads".
614:. None of the books were on the original list of ASEs.
16:
Books distributed in the U.S. military in World War II
781:
766:
650:
648:
793:
696:
635:
633:
631:
629:
627:
156:, the ASE series was free from official government
970:
883:
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742:
672:
645:
708:
624:
1078:
991:Editions for the Armed Services, Inc.: A History
831:
754:
684:
660:
542:Soldiers wrote that the ASEs "are as popular as
924:"Books in Action: The Armed Services Editions"
1087:United States home front during World War II
907:Books In Action: The Armed Services Editions
70:the draft was reinstated in the U.S. in 1940
720:
878:
775:
1002:
987:
896:from the original on September 10, 2014.
549:
226:
18:
1046:
1011:
953:from the original on September 23, 2017
787:
748:
1079:
1007:. New York: Columbia University Press.
965:
938:
861:
639:
1020:
934:from the original on October 6, 2015.
815:. Library of Congress. Archived from
730:(Catalog record). Library of Congress
922:Cole, John Y. (September 30, 2015).
921:
900:
849:
837:
813:"Armed Services Editions Collection"
805:
799:
760:
714:
702:
690:
678:
666:
654:
493: in (17 cm) long and from
939:Giaimo, Cara (September 22, 2017).
13:
1021:Poole, Alexander H. (April 2009).
565:
14:
1123:
1059:
983:from the original on May 2, 2013.
1102:20th-century American literature
1012:Manning, Molly Guptill (2014).
871:
223:List of Armed Services Editions
107:, a printing expert and former
1:
617:
533:
460:
216:
152:"Surprisingly", according to
142:The Education of Hyman Kaplan
7:
54:Council on Books in Wartime
10:
1128:
1107:1940s in the United States
507: in (9.8 cm) to
220:
63:
479: in (14 cm) to
928:Library of Congress Blog
26:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1003:Jamieson, John (1950).
988:Jamieson, John (1948).
612:Washington Square Press
602:They were published by
195:Catherine Drinker Bowen
88:poetry. The support of
34:Armed Services Editions
1014:When Books Went to War
882:(September 10, 2014).
348:William Colt MacDonald
246:
164:". The publication of
105:Philip Van Doren Stern
30:
1053:. pp. 11, 91–92.
1050:Saturday Evening Post
560:University of Alabama
550:Post-war availability
392:Charles Alden Seltzer
384:Eugene Manlove Rhodes
380:William MacLeod Raine
372:George Sessions Perry
278:, Eugene Cunningham,
260:Stephen Vincent Benét
230:
90:William Warder Norton
78:Victory Book Campaign
22:
1097:American book series
1016:. New York: Mariner.
969:(November 7, 2002).
819:on February 24, 2023
598:, and Carroll's own
594:, Allen Mikaelian's
396:Percy Bysshe Shelley
312:Erle Stanley Gardner
280:James Oliver Curwood
211:invasion of Normandy
915:Center for the Book
912:Library of Congress
576:William Shakespeare
556:Library of Congress
364:Clarence E. Mulford
360:W. Somerset Maugham
320:Arthur Henry Gooden
304:F. Scott Fitzgerald
203:Yankee from Olympus
74:Raymond L. Trautman
1005:Books for the Army
977:The New York Times
608:Dover Publications
570:In November 2002,
420:Grace Zaring Stone
247:
179:Soldier Voting Act
103:The CBW appointed
31:
1066:Books for Victory
705:, pp. 33–78.
412:George R. Stewart
336:Richard Lockridge
288:Walter D. Edmonds
284:Clyde Brion Davis
175:George A. Dondero
117:William M. Sloane
46:American military
1119:
1054:
1043:
1040:Internet Archive
1037:
1035:
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802:, pp. 9–10.
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352:John P. Marquand
332:MacKinlay Kantor
296:William Faulkner
238:Huckleberry Finn
187:Charles A. Beard
163:
1127:
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1120:
1118:
1117:
1116:
1092:Series of books
1077:
1076:
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1057:
1033:
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956:
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880:Appelbaum, Yoni
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681:, pp. 5–7.
677:
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657:, pp. 3–4.
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566:2002 initiative
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376:Edgar Allan Poe
344:H. P. Lovecraft
316:Edmund Gilligan
292:Edward Ellsberg
256:Robert Benchley
225:
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170:Native's Return
161:
125:Nicholas Wreden
66:
17:
12:
11:
5:
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1060:External links
1058:
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904:, ed. (1984).
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776:Appelbaum 2014
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591:The Art of War
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408:John Steinbeck
334:, Frances and
308:C. S. Forester
243:Country Lawyer
221:Main article:
218:
215:
183:Robert A. Taft
129:Mark Van Doren
121:Jeanne Flexner
113:John C. Farrar
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902:Cole, John Y.
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39:
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1023:
1013:
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957:December 29,
955:. Retrieved
944:
927:
910:– via
906:
890:The Atlantic
889:
872:Bibliography
857:
845:
833:
823:February 13,
821:. Retrieved
817:the original
807:
795:
788:Wittels 1945
783:
756:
749:Manning 2014
744:
732:. Retrieved
722:
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698:
693:, p. 9.
686:
674:
669:, p. 5.
662:
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569:
553:
544:pin-up girls
541:
537:
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464:
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448:
444:
440:Philip Wylie
428:W. C. Tuttle
404:Thorne Smith
272:A. J. Cronin
252:Hervey Allen
248:
242:
236:
207:
202:
199:O. W. Holmes
191:The Republic
190:
169:
166:Louis Adamic
154:John Y. Cole
151:
140:
137:Harry Hansen
109:Pocket Books
102:
94:W. W. Norton
86:
67:
58:war of ideas
50:World War II
37:
33:
32:
24:
1112:1940s books
996:Hathi Trust
967:Gussow, Mel
862:Gussow 2002
640:Giaimo 2017
436:H. G. Wells
416:Bram Stoker
368:John O'Hara
356:Ngaio Marsh
340:Jack London
300:Peter Field
189:'s history
133:Amy Loveman
1081:Categories
618:References
534:Popularity
461:Publishing
432:Mark Twain
400:Luke Short
388:Craig Rice
233:Mark Twain
217:ASE titles
201:biography
158:censorship
147:Leo Rosten
82:hardcovers
1034:April 17,
850:Cole 1984
838:Cole 2015
800:Cole 1984
761:Cole 1984
734:August 6,
715:Cole 1984
703:Cole 1984
691:Cole 1984
679:Cole 1984
667:Cole 1984
655:Cole 1984
324:Zane Grey
276:Carl Crow
264:Max Brand
42:paperback
981:Archived
951:Archived
932:Archived
894:Archived
604:Hyperion
523:"two-up"
1027:(MSc).
586:Sun Tzu
581:Henry V
516:⁄
502:⁄
488:⁄
474:⁄
64:History
48:during
438:, and
68:After
1036:2022
959:2018
825:2018
736:2024
610:and
241:and
193:and
135:and
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