Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Publishing In Wartime: The Modern Library Series During The Second World War, Gordon B. Neavill

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

American book publishing during the Second World War had to cope with a huge increase in demand for books coupled with scarcity of resources, especially paper rationing imposed by the War Produc- tion Board. Based on research in the Random House archives and focusing on the Modern Library series, this article examines how publishers coped with wartime challenges and opportunities. Ran- dom House grew rapidly during the war. Sales reached the million dollar mark in 1941 and exceeded three million dollars by 1946. Many new titles were published in smaller printings than demand would have justified and were out of …