Armed Services Editions Part I

I've recently been picking up some of the 1322 books published from September 1943 to June 1947 by Editions for the Armed Services, Inc. A couple of new books, American Pulp by Paula Rabinowitz and Molly Guptill Manning's When Books Went to War have reignited my interest in this fascinating series.

The books were published in series each month, the first being A-1 to A-30. Each book in this first series had a print run of 50,000.

Thirteen of the first fourteen series were listed in YANK The Army Weekly with the "A" series in the October 23, 1943 issue at page 21. Each book was briefly described. Here are the descriptions for three of the books.

A-1 The Education of H*Y*M*A*N* K*A*P*L*A*N* by Leonard Q. Ross (pseudonym for Leo Rosten) - Hyman Kaplan's adventures in the English language at Mr. Parkhill's class in the American Nights Preparatory School for Adults in New York. Funny as hell.

 

ASE A-1 September 1943

 

ASE A-1 back

 

A-2 Report from Tokyo by Joseph C Grew - Our former ambassador to Tokyo gives the inside dope on Japan and explains why the present Jap ruling class must be wiped out to ensure a lasting peace.

ASE A-2 September 1943

 

ASE A-2 back

 

A-9 Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck - Lusty, poetic and sacrilegious tales of the paisanos of Monterey, Calif., by one of America's top writers.

 

ASE A-9 September 1943

 

ASE A-9 back