The Best-Read Army in the World is a traveling exhibit that displays the panoply of publications read by America’s foot soldiers during World War II. Small, lightweight, and ubiquitous, these literary novelties include miniaturized versions of popular magazines and newspapers, propaganda leaflets, and the smallest mass-produced paperbacks in history, the “Armed Services Editions.” With these books tucked in their pockets, American soldiers invaded Europe bearing titles and authors that had been banned and burned by the Nazis. When Congress attempted to ban certain books from the military, troops and the American public vehemently resisted, and the law was swiftly amended. Words were weapons, and the best way to fight repressions was to read.

This exhibit has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Artdaily, and Fine Books & Collections.

Among the items available for exhibit are the only known intact bundle of Armed Services Editions; a WWII-era women’s librarian uniform; the dress uniform of the first Chief Librarian of the U.S. Army, Col. Ray Trautman; prototypes for the ASEs, mini magazines, and Overseas Comics; correspondence about wartime book programs from Eleanor Roosevelt, Richard Simon, George Marshall, and Grace Tully on behalf of President Franklin Roosevelt; and an array of original photographs, books, magazines, posters, and other ephemera.