Enoch_Root sez, “The blog The Art of Manliness has a great post about Armed Services Edition (ASE) books produced during World War II. The idea was to print as many books as cheaply as possible and get them into the hands of GIs for free. There was also the considerations of ruggedness and size for wartime use. The titles range from Plato to contemporary westerns.
Perhaps the best part of the article is the poster at the top ‘Books cannot be killed by fire’ and ‘Books Are Weapons In The War of Ideas.'”
Literature on the Frontlines: The History of Armed Services Edition Books
(Thanks, Enoch_Root, via Submitterator!)
- Old comic book ad for public libraries – Boing Boing
- Smithsonian videos of old "animated" books – Boing Boing
- Kit Karter: old comic book about go kart enthusiast – Boing Boing
- Measuring the smell of old books to find candidates for …
- Suzuki Beane: lost 1961 beatnik kids' book from Louise Fitzhugh …
- Scans of old Scholastic book covers Boing Boing