When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us
Win World War II, by Molly Manning (Mariner
Books, 2015, 304 pages, $23.15)
Enticing Premise, 303 Pages Too Long
When Books Went to War - one book I was very excited to receive recently
(with one tantalizing front cover photo worthy of several conversations itself [reading
in a foxhole]) . . . only to be enormously disappointed in the extensive amount
of extraneous detail.
Perhaps you have come across
a title in the Armed Serviced Editions (ASEs) at a rummage sale and wondered
about the short but wide little paperback with the original cover photo on the book
cover along with other information, and with two columns of print inside on
each page rather than one. When Books
Went to War, (not the first book on the subject) is the story of those little
paperback books for the troops in the 40s, a story that might be more enticing
and memorable had it been considerably shorter. (Who was it that said he would
have sent a shorter letter but he didn’t have time?)
“Weapons in the War of Ideas”
“This is a war of books. . .
Books are our weapons.” (p. 65) It all started with the publication of Mein Kampf and the book burnings. . . .*
Books and Bullets
Yes, When Books Went to War opens with book burnings, the famous book
burnings of 1933 in various locations in Nazi Germany. You may be learning
about these incidents for the first time (and may not know about Banned Books Week** every
fall which celebrates the freedom to read that we have here in the United
States).
Millions of Books
Basically, during WWII, a
series of paperback books was distributed to troops stationed overseas as part
of a morale-boosting program. Each month, different titles were sent from 1943
(it took a while for the program to develop and start up) through June 1947
(not all troops came home right after VE Day or VJ Day – there was rebuilding
to help with and even those troops had some spare time to fill).
One secondary result of the
book distribution to the troops was to help increase the number of books in
Germany, the literary population of which had been decimated by Hitler’s
actions: “. . . 3.6 million books [the overseas editions - donated to Europeans]
were a drop in the bucket when compared to the estimated destruction of more
than 100 million books in Europe by the Nazis.” (p. 154) The 123 million ASEs and
18 million books donated by the American public for our troops also helped
supplant the books burned by the Nazis and helped fill the void they caused.
More books were given to the American armed services than Hitler destroyed!
A second secondary result
was to help educate troops when they had time on their hands. At this time in our
military, the average soldier had an 11th grade education so the
monthly book distribution contained a wide range of reading material from books
about cowboys to books about crime and the classics***. At least one soldier
kept up his reading and went on to earn a PhD after the War. In addition,
perhaps as a result of this reading, from 1947-48, 50% of college graduates
were veterans.
Damned Average Raisers
The final chapter, aptly
named Damned Average Raisers, pertains to those returning college veterans, a
bit older and much more mature than the regular students, who managed to study
harder and, thus, raise the grading curve for the rest of the class.
Yes, I Did Learn
Yes, I did learn about the swift
creation of the paperback and how its size was eventually decided upon. Yes, I
did learn that the rise of the paperback book is due to the rapidly enlarged
military and why other sizes (some, even smaller) failed to catch on.
Yes, I did learn about the public
book drives and why they were discontinued in favor of printing hundreds of
thousands of copies of several titles a month: 122 million total, 1300 titles -
about 155,000 copies of a title.
Writing Style
Written by attorney Molly
Manning (when would an attorney have the time?), Books is fairly quick read for an academic tome, helped by a
section of photos plus about 100 pages of appendices that makes the book itself
only 200 pages rather than 300. Thank goodness.
Although I managed to make
it through the first few chapters, thinking they were just setting the stage
for better reading, more exciting and personal stories, it soon became evident
that Manning began chapters with what was going on during World War II at the
time, a fascinating review of the history of the War, tying it all together.
She starts at the beginning of the War and ends just after WW2 as GIs are going
back to school and work, replacing women and making them free to become
homemakers once again and share in the budding consumer economy.
My Question for You, Dear Reader
What are you reading in your
foxhole tonight?
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NEXT: What My Veterans' Book Club Thinks of When Books Went to War
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*Book burnings, according to
Wikipedia, began in
the 7th century BCE and include those in the US in the 50s, Chile in
the 70s, among others.
**27 September – 3 October
2020 is Banned Books Week: “. . . spotlighting
current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.”
Surprising titles that people have attempted to censor include Tom Sawyer. The most challenged books in
2018 (the previous year included To Kill
a Mockingbird and The Kite Runner)
were the following:
- George by Alex Gino
Reasons: banned, challenged, and relocated because it was believed to encourage children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones, and for mentioning “dirty magazines,” describing male anatomy, “creating confusion,” and including a transgender character - A Day in the Life of
Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller
Reasons: banned and challenged for including LGBTQIA+ content, and for political and religious viewpoints - Captain Underpants
series written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: series was challenged because it was perceived as encouraging disruptive behavior, while Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot was challenged for including a same-sex couple - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Reasons: banned and challenged because it was deemed “anti-cop,” and for profanity, drug use, and sexual references - Drama written and illustrated by
Raina Telgemeier
Reasons: banned and challenged for including LGBTQIA+ characters and themes - Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Reasons: banned, challenged, and restricted for addressing teen suicide - This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki,
illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and certain illustrations - Skippyjon Jones series written and
illustrated by Judy Schachner
Reason: challenged for depicting stereotypes of Mexican culture - The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: banned and challenged for sexual references, profanity, violence, gambling, and underage drinking, and for its religious viewpoint - This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman,
illustrated by Kristyna Litten
Reason: challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content - Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Reason: challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content
***Contemporary fiction led
the lists, followed by historical novels, mysteries, books of humor, westerns
and “. . . adventure stories,
biographies, cartoons, classics, current events, fantasy, histories, music,
nature, poetry, science, sea and naval stories, self-help and inspirational
books, short story collections and travel books.” (p. 80)
