The War Book Panel was created in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 ...

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, 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 compet ...

''; Amy Loveman, associate editor of the ''

Saturday Review of Literature ''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, essays a ...

''; 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 g ...

, 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 stor ...

''. November 1942 #

John Hersey John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to no ...

, '' Into the Valley''. March 1943 #

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

, '' One World''. May 1943 #

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter, and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of the Cold War, coining t ...

, '' U.S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic''. 1943 #

, ''

A Bell For Adano ''A Bell for Adano'' is a 1945 American war film directed by Henry King and starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. It was adapted from the 1944 novel of the same title by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945. The st ...

''. #

Edgar Snow Edgar Parks Snow (July 19, 1905 – February 15, 1972) was an American journalist known for his books and articles on communism in China and the Chinese Communist Revolution. He was the first Western journalist to give an account of the history of ...

, '' 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. Book series 1942 establishments in the United States 1945 disestablishments in the United States