When you are crowded on a troop ship on a six-day ocean voyage that will take you to a war zone, what is an excellent way to spend your time? If you are on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, how do you amuse yourself? If you are flat on your back in a military hospital, how do you keep from being bored and lonely? To be transported, if only for a little while, from your homesickness, anxiety and boredom to the world of books is a wonderful getaway. That is exactly what books did for the men who fought in World War ll.

The enemy banned and burned books, squashing personal freedom and thought in the countries that they stormed, devastated and controlled. Americans were appalled by this philosophy and lack of freedom. War is partly about a clash of ideas and ideals. Nowhere was this more apparent than in how books were perceived by either side.

"WHEN BOOKS WENT TO WAR is a behind-the-scenes look at the war from an unusual perspective --- the morale of the American troops."

WHEN BOOKS WENT TO WAR is a behind-the-scenes look at the war from an unusual perspective --- the morale of the American troops. The GIs were loaded down with heavy and cumbersome yet vitally important gear. But what about lightweight books that are small enough to be tucked in a hip pocket? That would be just the ticket, but it took a long time and a huge amount of effort to make this program a reality. Molly Guptill Manning’s book describes in great detail how these wonderful tiny books came about. At first, there were book drives for the servicemen, but many of the donated books were unsuitable. What soldier wants to read a book about knitting? And hardcovers weren't practical; they took up too much precious space and were awkward to carry around.

Through much effort and dedication on the part of many individuals and groups, what finally came about were ASEs  --- very small, lightweight books that could be pulled out of one's hip pocket and be read during snatches of free time. They could be traded and, in fact, were, and read until the slim pages literally fell apart. Even General Eisenhower was known to read westerns when he could snatch a few free minutes from his wartime duties.

The men read for entertainment, escape, knowledge and pure pleasure. What did they read? A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith was a favorite. She received a lot of fan mail from them because it gave them a glimpse of ordinary daily life and of home. A novel that had not received much attention, THE GREAT GATSBY became very popular because of the ASE program. The men read biographies, novels, westerns and many other genres, and since there were eventually 1,200 titles printed, they could even carry around works by Mark Twain and Shakespeare. A racy novel that was popular during that time, FOREVER AMBER, also kept them turning pages.

Two different philosophies --- one that banned books and suppressed individual thought and one that encouraged freedom of speech in all its many forms --- were certainly apparent during World War ll. Who knew that a stack of books (or a lack of them) could make such a huge difference?