The War Book Panel was created in 1942 during
World War II by the
Council on Books in Wartime
The Council on Books in Wartime (1942–1946) was an American non-profit organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, authors, and others, in the spring of 1942 to channel the use of books as "weapons in the war of ideas" (the co ...
to recommend books to the public that would assist in the goals of the war effort.
Background
The Council on Books in Wartime decided to choose a limited selection of high quality books for the public that clarified why the United States was at war, what values were at stake, and the terms which peace might be extended.
Panel members included
Irita Van Doren
Irita Bradford Van Doren (March 16, 1891 – December 18, 1966) was an American literary figure and editor of the '' New York Herald Tribune'' book review for 37 years.
Biography
Born Irita Bradford in Birmingham, Alabama, she moved with her ...
, editor of the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'';
Amy Loveman, associate editor of the ''
Saturday Review of Literature''; Lieutenant Colonel
Joseph L. Greene, editor of the ''
Infantry Journal''; Admiral
Harry E. Yarnell
Admiral Harry Ervin Yarnell (18 October 1875 – 7 July 1959) was an American naval officer whose career spanned over 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish–American War through World War II.
Among his achievements was proving, in 1932 war ga ...
, retired; and
J. Donald Adams, editor of the ''
New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
''.
[
The panel met periodically and voted on titles. Selected books were republished and labeled "Imperative" of the front cover with an emblazoned large 'I'.][ Council members, which included publishers, were obligated to advertise these books even if they were published by a competitor.
]
Imperative books
The following books were republished as "Imperative" by the War Book Panel.[ Dates are when the book was chosen as Imperative, not the original publication date.
# W. L. White, '']They Were Expendable
''They Were Expendable'' is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story ...
''. November 1942
# John Hersey, ''Into the Valley
"Into the Valley" is a song by Scottish punk rock band Skids, released in 1979 as the second single from their debut album ''Scared to Dance''. It is their best known song, appearing on a number of punk rock and Scottish music compilation albums. ...
''. March 1943
# Wendell Willkie, '' One World''. May 1943
# Walter Lippmann, '' U.S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic''. July 1943
# John Hersey, '' A Bell For Adano''.
# Edgar Snow, '' People on Our Side''. September 1944
In the spring of 1945, the panel voted for Ralph Ingersoll's '' The Battle Is the Payoff'', but the book was already selling well and the war was coming to an end so it was never officially republished as an Imperative book.[
]
References
{{Reflist
External links
Sample cover
of an Imperative book.
Series of books
1942 establishments in the United States
1945 disestablishments in the United States