Armed Services Editions
![A US Serviceman reading an Armed Services Edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn](/Images/godic/202412/21/Serviceman_reading_brooklyn1939.jpg")
![Armed Services Editions were printed in pairs, one atop the other, to make most efficient use of the digest magazine presses. This rare](/Images/godic/202412/21/Armed_Services_Edition_UnprocessedHuckleberry_Finn_&_Country_Lawyer1939.jpg")
Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small, compact, paperback books printed by the Council on Books in Wartime for distribution within the American military during World War II. This program was in effect from 1943 to 1946. The ASEs were designed to provide entertainment to soldiers serving overseas, while also educating them about political, historical, and military issues. The slogan of the Council on Books in Wartime was, "Books are weapons in the war of ideas."