Magic at War

From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million books were published and printed by the Council on Books in Wartime, an American non-profit organisation. Known as Armed Services Editions (A.S.E.s), the books were all reprints of popular fiction and non-fiction titles, printed in lightweight, paperback formats, half the size of regular paperbacks. They were sent out to the U.S. military in every theatre of war.  The idea was that service men and women could carry them in a hip pocket or stuff them in their rucksacks. Ostensibly aimed at keeping the troops entertained, the books also educated readers about political, historical, and military issues. The slogan of the Council on Books in Wartime was: “Books are weapons in the war of ideas.”   Given to service members for free, the A.S.E. books were enormously popular. A contemporary newspaper article recounted: “The hunger for these books, evidenced by the way they are read to tatters, is astounding”. G.I.s wrote tha...

The Empire of Japan formally entered World War Two on 27 September, 1940, joining Germany and Italy as one of the major Axis Powers. For five years, the Allies fought to halt Japan's aggressive expansion and to roll-back and defeat her armed forces. In July 1945, the British Empire, China and the United States called for the unconditional surrender of Japan's military. After this diplomatic engagement failed, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, on 6 August. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped; this time on the city of Nagasaki. Hours earlier, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. With an Allied invasion of Japan's main islands imminent, Emperor Hirohito ordered Japan's surrender. The formal signing of the surrender took place on 2 September, bringing the hostilities of World War Two to a close. Victory over Japan, or V-J Day, was celebrated around the world. Japan's foreign affairs minister signs the Japanese Ins...