About this item
“When Books Went to War winds up feeling like the bibliophile’s equivalent of It’s a Wonderful Life.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times “Whether or not you’re a book lover, you’ll be moved by the impeccably researched tale. Grade: A.” — Entertainment Weekly “Thoroughly engaging, enlightening, and often uplifting . . . I was enthralled and moved.” — Tim O'Brien When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war.
About the Author
Molly Guptill Manning is a staff attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and sits on the board of editors of the Federal Bar Council Quarterly. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in American history from the University at Albany and a J.D. at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Molly lives in Manhattan with her husband.
