Book Review

 When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped us Win World War II.

by Molly Guptill Manning

 

https://www.amazon.com/When-Books-Went-War-Stories-ebook/dp/B00LRI90R8

 It intrigues me that a full eighty years after the second world war began there is no end of interest in it. Both fiction and non-fiction relating to endless aspects of that critical time in world history continues to roll off the presses - so to speak.

     But here is a fascinating and important part of the war effort that seems to have been lost in the decades that followed - until this author brought it to light. 

     In a sense this is a history book, and at times the reading was admittedly as tedious as a classroom history book can be. But it was worth wading through those portions in order to get to the crux of the amazing and successful task of getting books to the American troops.  

     When you think of military men and women far away from home in the those decades past, you think of care packages and letters from loved ones as being morale boosters.  Here is a ton of evidence that getting pocket sized editions of reading materials to their pockets played an enormous part in keeping their spirits up.

     A few dedicated individuals who saw the need for books to be available in the training camps and worked tirelessly to make that happen were the forerunners of those who brainstormed how to make a small and light weight edition of reading materials. 

     Learning how they made it happen was fascinating. And once again, as in all projects that stem from a worthwhile idea, there are unforeseen hurdles along the way.  Which books to choose? Where to get the funds to ship them?

     Was it worth it? That's the best part of this narrative. In feedback from the front lines and every part of the earth where there was a contingency of the U.S. military, letters found their way back to the authors and publishers. Some are poignant, some are humorous, a few are critical, and all are grateful. It is fair to say the books that went to war raised morale untold numbers of times, and saved the sanity of many a man hanging on to it by a thread.