Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh.

Okay, we've got a delightful one for you today in honor of Memorial Day, about something I didn't know.

So apparently, back during World War II, publishers printed tiny copies of their books to send over to troops so they could read them, carry them around, and pass around and share.

Writer Molly Guptil Manning wrote a book about it in 2014 called When Books Went to War,

and she talked to NPR's Renee Montaigne about it when it came out.

And they get into this fascinating discussion about what types of books these soldiers were reading,

mostly books that either A, reminded them of home,

or B, were kind of horny, such as the duality of man, I suppose. But either way, because of

this effort from publishers, these soldiers were reading books and being exposed to stories and

writers they never would have otherwise read.

Let's hear a tale of books.

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Going to War, lots and lots of books. Seventy three years ago this week, President Franklin

D. Roosevelt spoke of a date which will live in infamy.

The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces

of the Empire of Japan. After Pearl Harbor, millions of Americans would leave home to fight in Europe and the Pacific.

Comforts would be few, and there would be little in the way of escape or entertainment.

One much prized item, then, tiny books. During World War II, American publishers wanted to do their part to support the troops. And so they decided that the

best they could do was print miniature paperback books that were small enough that they could

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