MAJOR PUBLISHERS BEGIN MASSIVE DISTRIBUTION OF FREE BOOKS TO U.S. TROOPS ABROAD
December 10, 2002

Distribution of the fourth title in the “Armed Services Edition” (ASE) series will be Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST, in the Pentagon at the north end of the main concourse. Additionally, distribution will continue with a waterfront give-away on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at Norfolk Naval Station aboard USS Nicholas.

Hyperion, Simon & Schuster, and Dover Publications are participating in a revival of the same “Armed Services Edition” initiative that distributed over 123 million paperback books to U.S. troops stationed overseas in World War II. They will be re-formatted in the same “cargo pocket” size and will have the same vintage appearance as the original ASEs from World War II.

Over 100,000 copies of the following titles will be sent to deployed U.S. forces this month:

“Medal of Honor: Profiles of America’s Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present,” by Allen Mikaelian, with commentary by Mike Wallace (Hyperion, 2002).

“Henry V,” by William Shakespeare (Dover, 2002).

“The Art of War,” by Sun Tzu (Dover, 2002).

“War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars,” edited by Andrew Carroll (Washington Square Press/Simon & Schuster, 2002).

“Getting quality reading material to our troops on the front lines is a great initiative, and one that all the armed services are eager to support,” says the Pentagon’s Chief of Naval Information, Rear Adm. Stephen R. Pietropaoli. “The Armed Services Editions were a big hit with the greatest generation and it is heartening to see the publishing industry looking for ways to support the men and women in uniform who are defending America today.”

For further information or questions, please contact project manager Andrew Carroll at (202) 338-1109 or mailto:[email protected] .