When Books Went to War (27 page)

I was first introduced to the Armed Services Editions while digging through the archives of Charles Scribner's Sons publishing company, researching my first book. There, I found countless letters from servicemen extending their sincerest thanks to Scribner's for participating in the Council on Books in Wartime and providing free, miniature paperback editions to brighten their days at war. I was immediately intrigued and fascinated by these letters, and was eager to learn more about the ASEs. It was a fortuitous discovery. Telling the story of how books helped win World War II became a passion of mine.

I have been extremely fortunate to have had the help and support of a wonderful group of people along the way. Writing a book is a massive undertaking, and I am thankful for the many family members who have cheered me on over the years, with special thanks to my mother, Nancy Anne Guptill, for being a constant source of support. She has been such an extraordinary example, and I am blessed to have her as a role model. My husband, Christopher Manning, helped me work through ideas, reviewed early drafts, and believed in this book as much as I did. Thank goodness for his patience, kindness, and ability to know just when I needed a dose of encouragement. I am so lucky to be married to him.

Two of my talented colleagues, Ilana Drescher and John Mulvaney, read several drafts of the manuscript and provided great advice and ideas on how to make the story shine. Ilana, your enthusiasm and poignant insight were incredibly useful and I appreciate your wonderful suggestions. John, your advice was spot-on, and our “book lunches” were a highlight for me—your excitement for the topic was infectious and your careful edits were especially helpful.

I owe special thanks to Professor Richard Hamm, a favorite college professor, thesis advisor, and friend. Over a decade ago, he helped seal my love of history in the classroom, and I continue to learn from him today. There aren't words to describe how much I appreciate his invaluable advice and suggestions. I am so grateful for the help he gave me, and for his encouragement through the book-writing process.

ASE expert Brian Anderson was also a tremendous help. I was not sure if anyone could love ASEs as much as I do, and then I met Brian. I have learned so much from him, and have thoroughly enjoyed our discussions about the ASEs and many other novelties of World War II publishing. I am so thankful for his careful review of my manuscript, keen editorial eye, and wonderful ideas. I especially enjoyed his ability to infuse humor into his comments in the margins. I have never laughed so hard while reading an edited document.

A group of fantastic researchers helped me find source material, and I am deeply grateful for their help. Amanda Lawrence helped me understand the character and wit of Althea Warren thanks to her careful review of the Althea Warren Papers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Maryellen Tinsley found what became some of my favorite letters from servicemen in the Betty Smith Papers at the Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And Peggy Ann Brown discovered the needle in a haystack I was searching for in the papers of Katherine Anne Porter at the University of Maryland at College Park. When it comes to source material, I must also thank James Dourgarian, the quintessential bookman, for tracking down documents and ASEs that I needed for this book.

Once I felt the manuscript was ready, I had the good fortune of working with E. J. McCarthy, an extraordinary agent. I cannot thank him enough for being so passionate about this book. I feel fortunate to have had his expert guidance through the publishing process and excellent suggestions and advice. His meticulous edits and profound knowledge of World War II were immensely helpful. It has been such a joy working with him, and I hope this is the beginning of a long friendship and writing partnership.

When I first spoke with Bruce Nichols, of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I knew my book had landed in the right hands. He seemed to know exactly what I wanted this book to be, and thanks to his thoughtful edits and inspired ideas, he refined and polished the manuscript into the book it is today. It has been a true pleasure working with him. I also wish to thank Ben Hyman, of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for his willingness to answer my many questions about the publishing process and for guiding me closer and closer to publication. I'm also grateful to Melissa Dobson, who carefully copyedited my manuscript.

Banned Authors

 

The authors listed below, in random order, represent a fraction of the ten thousand whose books were banned in Germany and all German-occupied countries during World War II.

 

Ernest Hemingway

Walter Rathenau

Émile Zola

Thomas Mann

Michael Gold

Helen Keller

Lion Feuchtwanger

Arthur Schnitzler

Heinrich Heine

Emile Vandervelde

Leon Trotsky

Karl Marx

Ernst Toller

Henri Barbusse

Georges Duhamel

David Lloyd George

Alfred Döblin

Walter Hasenclever

Alfred Schirokauer

John Dos Passos

H. R. Knickerbocker

Nevile Henderson

Arthur Eloesser

Joseph Kallinikow

Ludwig Renn

Kurt Tucholsky

Joseph Roth

Erich Muhsam

Carl Einstein

Rudolf Olden

Arthur Holitscher

Leonhard Frank

Albrecht Schaeffer

Hermann Broch

Erika Mann

Bruno Frank

Rudolf Leonhard

Alfred Neumann

Georg Bernhard

Ernst Bloch

Kurt Kersten

Bodo Uhse

Adam Scharrer

Annette Kolb

Erich Weinert

Georg Hermann

Maria Leitner

Franz Weiskopf

Max Raphaël

Bruno Frei

Paul Zech

Heinz Pol

Max Osborn

Sigrid Undset

Franz Werfel

August Bebel

Gina Kaus

Karel Čapek

Otto Strasser

H. G. Wells

Maxim Gorki

Alfred Kerr

Heinrich Mann

Stephen Zweig

C. G. Jung

Jakob Wassermann

Albert Einstein

Arnold Zweig

Theodore Dreiser

John Gunther

G. K. Chesterton

Albert Ehrenstein

Heinrich Eduard Jacob

Ernest Ottwalt

Upton Sinclair

John Reed

Max Brod

Jaroslav Hašek

Richard Beer-Hofmann

Anatoly Lunacharsky

Karl Tschuppik

Werner Hegemann

Franz Hessel

Walter Benjamin

Robert Musil

Anna Seghers

Carl Zuckmayer

Alfred Polgar

Arthur Koestler

Klaus Mann

Alfred Wolfenstein

Martin Gumpert

Willi Bredel

O. M. Graf

Julius Hay

Fritz Brügel

Hans Sahl

Georg Kaiser

Franz Blei

Leo Lania

Gustav Regler

Wilhelm Herzog

Carl Sternheim

Paul Tillich

Karin Michaëlis

Jules Romains

Geneviève Tabouis

Romain Rolland

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Konrad Heiden

Sholem Asch

Voltaire

Sigmund Freud

Jack London

Benedict Spinoza

Ignazio Silone

Emil Ludwig

Erich Maria Remarque

André Malraux

Louis Fischer

Bertolt Brecht

Egon Kisch

Theodore Plievier

Ludwig Renn

Louis Aragon

Vicki Baum

Winston Churchill

Ilya Ehrenburg

Kurt Pinthus

Paul Levy

Otto Bauer

Carl von Ossietzky

Theodor Lessing

Ernst Weiss

René Schickele

Helmut von Gerlach

Alfons Goldschmidt

Fritz von Unruh

Paul Stefan

Walter Mehring

Balder Olden

Hans Siemsen

Theodor Wolff

Johannes R. Becher

Paul Westheim

Hans Marchwitza

Alfred Kantorowicz

Friedrich Wolf

Maria Gleit

Alexander Roda Roda

Hermynia Zur Mühlen

Max Werner

Ferdinand Bruckner

Wieland Herzfelde

Martin Andersen Nexø

André Maurois

Henri de Kérillis

Armed Services Editions

 

A-Series, September 1943

A-1
Leonard Q. Ross,
The Education of Hyman Kaplan

A-2
Joseph C. Grew,
Report from Tokyo

A-3
Ogden Nash,
Good Intentions

A-4
Kathryn Forbes,
Mama's Bank Account

A-5
Robert Carse,
There Go the Ships

A-6
Rose C. Feld,
Sophie Halenczik, American

A-7
Theodore Pratt,
Mr. Winkle Goes to War

A-8
Charles Dickens,
Oliver Twist

A-9
John Steinbeck,
Tortilla Flat

A-10
John R. Tunis,
World Series

A-11
James Thurber,
My World and Welcome to It

A-12
Frank Gruber,
Peace Marshal

A-13
H. L. Mencken,
Heathen Days

A-14
C. S. Forester,
The Ship

A-15
William Saroyan,
The Human Comedy

A-16
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
Wind, Sand, and Stars

A-17
John Bartlett Brebner and Allan Nevins,
The Making of Modern Britain

A-18
Philip K. Hitti,
The Arabs

A-19
Howard Fast,
The Unvanquished

A-20
Albert Q. Maisel,
Miracles of Military Medicine

A-21
Herbert Agar,
A Time for Greatness

A-22
Graham Greene,
The Ministry of Fear

A-23
Max Herzberg, Merrill Paine, and Austin Works, eds.,
Happy Landings

A-24
Herman Melville,
Typee

A-25
Rackham Holt,
George Washington Carver