'When Books Went to War' is Kerri's book pick

'When Books Went to War'
'When Books Went to War' by Molly Guptill Manning
Book cover courtesy of publisher

Kerri's book Pick of the Week is "When Books Went to War" by Molly Guptill Manning.

During World War II, at the behest of America's librarians, the U.S. War Department and the publishing industry banded together to supply American troops with slim paperbacks that could be carried on planes, on long marches or taken to sea.

The millions of books didn't just make a difference to the men who read them, they changed literary history and made obscure novels into classics.

From EW.com review:

'When Books Went to War' may be a slim read, but it packs a wallop. Whether or not you're a book lover, you'll be moved by the impeccably researched tale. Manning not only illuminates a dusty slice of WWII history that most of us know nothing about but also reminds us, in the digital era of movies and TV, just how powerfully literature once figured in people's lives.

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