Armed Service Editions Books

[LoyalHistorian]

Smitty - Thanks for posting! Oh, I love Robert Benchley! He's so funny in his movie shorts from the 1930s' and '40s. That's where I know him best from. I haven't read any of his books or articles, but I knew he was a humorist for some newspapers and magazines, too. Mark, you might recognize his face...here's a picture of him.



I looked up what this book is about. Here's part of the blurb for it:

"This was a pleasant collection of a variety of essays and short articles written by Benchley and published in several different magazines of the times. Benchley had a fertile mind for the use of wordplay. His little works displayed a strong knowledge of puns and farce. The title of the book itself has no actual meaning related to the contents. He just liked the title. All of these short pieces were written before his relationship with “The New Yorker” magazine came into effect. One of his best customers seemed to be the “Detroit Athletic Club News,” followed by “Life” magazine."

Very cool! Again, thanks for sharing!

Oh, and Mark, I like your "fathom" pun, haha!

[Rakkasan187]

Mark,

I too am in "the deep" in regards to the titles of the book.. I thought it was a combination of both stories in one book but I was mistaken.... Here is shot of the back that may better explain to the "Leagues" out there..

Smitty

[Watchdog]

Oh, and Mark, I like your "fathom" pun, haha!

I hoped somebody would spot that!

It surprises me how many people today vaguely know the term "to fathom" as meaning to gain an understanding of something yet have have no idea of the origin of the word and what a fathom actually is (ie a measure of depth in water = 6ft)

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

Mark,

I too am in "the deep" in regards to the titles of the book.. I thought it was a combination of both stories in one book but I was mistaken.... Here is shot of the back that may better explain to the "Leagues" out there..

Smitty

Ah, I get it, satire!

Yes the idea that it might be a meld of the two occurred to me but seemed so bizzare as to be impossible in any meaningful way

Regards

Mark

[LoyalHistorian]

It's been a while since I've been able to update my ASE finds. Here's a baker's dozen that I've gotten over the past few months.



*Laura by Vera Caspary, #666 (from Series U), May 1945

*Life with Father and Mother by Clarence Day, #769 (from Series W), July 1945

*The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain, #1058 (from Series EE), March 1946




*How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn, H-239, April 1944

*Selected Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, O-1, November 1944

*The Ox-Bo Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, S-24, March 1945




*Selected Short Stories of Walter D. Edmonds, #677 (from Series U), May 1945

*Mankind So Far by William Howells, #729 (from Series V), June 1945

*This Is Our World: Man's Place In Nature by Paul B. Sears, #790 (from Series X), August 1945




*Tragic Ground by Erskine Caldwell, #866 (from Series Z), October 1945

*Mostly Canallers by Walter D. Edmonds, #875 (from Series Z), October 1945

*The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson, #1041 (from Series DD), February 1946




This is one of the ASEs that were made for troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It was restarted under the Legacy Project by Andrew Carroll (the author of War Letters). This specific ASE is an abridged version of Carroll's War Letters, printed in 2002-2003, coded as "1-TLP/VFW". This edition is bound on the long-edge like a regular book instead of the short-edge like a traditional ASE book. I have seen pictures of a version of this ASE bound on the short-edge like the traditional ones. I just wonder if this specific type was printed for VFWs only, and the other would have been for troops. But, I can't find an explanation one way or the other. I hope to find more of the Legacy Project ASEs to add to my collection.

-Robyn

[MAP]

Nice pickups Robyn.

[rra227]

Nice books. Rich A. in Pa.

[Rakkasan187]

Robyn,

Nice assortment of books..

Smitty

[Rakkasan187]

Was at the storage facility looking for some helmets and I came across these..

Smitty

[LoyalHistorian]

Smitty - Nice little collection there! Thanks for posting! I love the story of Ransom of Red Chief...my dad used to tell me that as a bedtime story. I'll have to look for that one myself to add to my collection.

-Robyn