Knowledge

Council on Books in Wartime

Source 📝

163:
to choose titles officially recommended by the council. These titles were republished by Council member publishers with a seal of approval, a large "I" on the front cover meaning an "Imperative" book. Six "Imperative" books were published between 1942 and 1945 (see
139:
The Council attempted to achieve its goals by acting as a clearinghouse for book-related ideas, by being an intermediary between the book-trade industry and government agencies, by offering advice to publishers, and by handling all forms of
204:
helped revive interest in the book. In 1944, the council launched Oversees Editions, Inc, a subsidiary aimed at distributing American books to civilian populations abroad, to promote a positive view of American culture.
213:
With the end of World War II, the Council on Books in Wartime ceased active operations on Jan 31, 1946 but maintained its corporate entities to deal with the dispersal of remaining funds and the safekeeping of records.
88:, to build and maintain the will to win, to expose the true nature of the enemy, to disseminate technical information, to provide relaxation and inspiration, and to clarify war aims and problems of peace. 371: 232: 381: 180:. By the time the program ended in 1947, it had printed 122,951,031 books, selling them to the government at an average cost of just over six cents a volume. The 376: 297: 366: 120: 361: 356: 184:
brought high-end books to a mass audience, and helped popularize the emerging paperback format. One of the most popular ASE books was
97: 316: 280: 80:, publishers, librarians, authors, and others, in the spring of 1942 to channel the use of books as "weapons in the 186: 84:" (the council's motto). It promoted the use of books to influence the thinking of the American people regarding 317:"How 'Gatsby' Went From A Moldering Flop To A Great American Novel (Interview with Maureen Corrigan, author of 46: 100:(OWI) and other government agencies, but was itself a voluntary, unpaid, non-governmental organization. 342:
Council on Books in Wartime Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
181: 177: 176:
In the spring of 1943, the council launched the effort for which it would become best known, the
237: 124: 104: 8: 195: 269: 276: 149: 255: 200: 141: 341: 165: 160: 128: 350: 251: 60: 267:
Molly Guptill Manning (2014). "Chapter 4: New Weapons in the War of Ideas".
116: 112: 108: 85: 81: 191: 77: 153: 145: 372:
Communications and media organizations based in the United States
76:(1942–1946) was an American non-profit organization founded by 298:"Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II" 266: 268: 382:United States government propaganda organizations 348: 275:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 103:Some of those involved on the Council included: 295: 377:United States home front during World War II 144:including distribution of reading lists and 16:American non-profit organization (1942–1946) 314: 171: 367:1942 establishments in the United States 233:"Army To Buy 50,000 Books For Soldiers" 91: 349: 260: 156:, and book promotion and publication. 296:Yoni Appelbaum (September 10, 2014). 362:Organizations disestablished in 1946 13: 230: 14: 393: 357:Organizations established in 1942 335: 315:Terry Gross (September 8, 2014). 96:The Council co-operated with the 194:, and the ASE's distribution of 159:In 1942, the Council created a 308: 289: 245: 224: 208: 1: 217: 134: 7: 74:Council on Books in Wartime 22:Council on Books in Wartime 10: 398: 109:W. W. Norton & Company 98:Office of War Information 52: 42: 34: 26: 187:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 182:Armed Services Editions 178:Armed Services Editions 172:Armed Services Editions 271:When Books Went to War 238:The Milwaukee Journal 92:Members and partners 231:AP (May 12, 1943). 196:F. Scott Fitzgerald 125:Doubleday & Co. 23: 21: 70: 69: 389: 329: 328: 319:In So We Read On 312: 306: 305: 293: 287: 286: 274: 264: 258: 256:Internet Archive 249: 243: 242: 228: 201:The Great Gatsby 142:public relations 63: 24: 20: 397: 396: 392: 391: 390: 388: 387: 386: 347: 346: 338: 333: 332: 313: 309: 294: 290: 283: 265: 261: 250: 246: 229: 225: 220: 211: 174: 137: 121:George A. Hecht 94: 66: 59: 17: 12: 11: 5: 395: 385: 384: 379: 374: 369: 364: 359: 345: 344: 337: 336:External links 334: 331: 330: 307: 288: 281: 259: 244: 222: 221: 219: 216: 210: 207: 173: 170: 166:War Book Panel 161:War Book Panel 150:radio programs 136: 133: 129:Mark Van Doren 93: 90: 68: 67: 65: 64: 56: 54: 50: 49: 44: 40: 39: 36: 32: 31: 28: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 394: 383: 380: 378: 375: 373: 370: 368: 365: 363: 360: 358: 355: 354: 352: 343: 340: 339: 326: 322: 320: 311: 303: 299: 292: 284: 282:9780544535022 278: 273: 272: 263: 257: 254: at the 253: 248: 240: 239: 234: 227: 223: 215: 206: 203: 202: 197: 193: 189: 188: 183: 179: 169: 167: 162: 157: 155: 151: 147: 143: 132: 130: 126: 122: 118: 114: 110: 106: 101: 99: 89: 87: 83: 79: 75: 62: 61:United States 58: 57: 55: 51: 48: 45: 41: 37: 33: 29: 25: 19: 324: 318: 310: 302:The Atlantic 301: 291: 270: 262: 252:Words at War 247: 236: 226: 212: 199: 185: 175: 158: 148:, lectures, 138: 117:Random House 113:Bennett Cerf 105:W. W. Norton 102: 95: 86:World War II 82:war of ideas 73: 71: 18: 209:Dissolution 192:Betty Smith 78:booksellers 351:Categories 218:References 190:(1943) by 135:Activities 325:Fresh Air 198:'s novel 154:newsreels 146:pamphlets 35:Dissolved 27:Formation 53:Location 279:  127:, and 277:ISBN 72:The 43:Type 38:1946 30:1942 168:). 123:of 115:of 107:of 47:NGO 353:: 323:. 321:)" 300:. 235:. 152:, 131:. 119:, 111:, 327:. 304:. 285:. 241:.

Index

NGO
United States
booksellers
war of ideas
World War II
Office of War Information
W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton & Company
Bennett Cerf
Random House
George A. Hecht
Doubleday & Co.
Mark Van Doren
public relations
pamphlets
radio programs
newsreels
War Book Panel
War Book Panel
Armed Services Editions
Armed Services Editions
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
"Army To Buy 50,000 Books For Soldiers"
The Milwaukee Journal
Words at War
Internet Archive
When Books Went to War

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.