When Books Went to War

This New York Times bestselling account of books parachuted to soldiers during WWII is a “cultural history that does much to explain modern America” ( USA Today ). When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned 100 million books. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops, gathering 20 million hardcover donations. Two years later, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 12