(Reblog) A book drive for US troops overseas, 95 years ago this month.
The Great War, which wasn't considered so great by those who were part of it, came to an end 95 years ago this month, November 11, 1918. During the last week of the war, the American Library Association (ALA) helped in a drive to send books to soldiers and sailors overseas to keep morale up during the final months they had to wait to get home again.
Similar campaigns had also been run during the previous year as American troops were transported to the front lines in Europe. The only author on the 1918 bestseller list who would still be readily recognized today was Zane Grey, whose book The U.P. Trail was the top selling book that year.
This ALA poster is from the Library of Congress collection of First World War posters. As a side note, it wasn't known as the "First World War" or "World War I" until there was a "World War II" to compare it to.
Click on the image for more book posters in the LOC collection:
 A book drive for US troops overseas, 95 years ago this month. )
