Originally published on September 30, 2026 (Episode 477)
Introduction
On December 16, 1944, as American troops retreated or fled before advancing German soldiers on the first day of what is now known as the Battle of the Bulge, Lieutenant Colonel Ray Love Trautman found himself leading an ad hoc formation of stragglers and stranded soldiers. This might not seem strange—that’s a lieutenant colonel’s job, isn’t it? But while Ray Trautman had the rank of a lieutenant colonel, his training was that of a librarian. He was, to be sure, the Army’s chief librarian, but that was hardly preparation for combat.
This is just one of the many amazing revelations in Molly Guptill Manning’s new book, A Librarian’s War: The Man Who Fought World War II with Books and Brought the Joy of Reading to Millions. She tells the story of how Trautman, having earned a degree in library science at Columbia, joined the Army, created the largest library system in the world, and championed the Armed Services Editions of books and magazines.
This is not simply a biography of Trautman. It is also a history of the Second World War as a war of ideas, of intellectual life under some of the most difficult imaginable circumstances, and—maybe—of the future of reading.
About the Guest
Molly Guptill Manning is a historian, curator, and professor of law at New York Law School. Her scholarship examines legal history and the intersection of law and culture, with particular interests in freedom of expression, censorship, voting rights, and access to books.
She is the author of the New York Times bestseller When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II and the curator of “The Best-Read Army in the World,” an exhibition devoted to the books, magazines, newspapers, and other reading material distributed to American service members during the Second World War.
For Further Investigation
Molly Guptill Manning, A Librarian’s War: The Man Who Fought World War II with Books and Brought the Joy of Reading to Millions (Oxford University Press, 2026).
Molly Guptill Manning, When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014).
Molly Guptill Manning and Brian Anderson, The Best-Read Army in the World (Grolier Club, 2020).
The Grolier Club’s online exhibition, “The Best-Read Army in the World.”
The Library of Congress, “Books in Action: The Armed Services Editions.”
The Library of Congress, Armed Services Editions Collection.
Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper & Brothers, 1943)—one of the books most cherished by American troops.
Ernest Hemingway, ed., Men at War: The Best War Stories of All Time (Crown, 1942)—whose corrected proofs accompanied Trautman around the world.
Related Episodes
1942—When World War II Engulfed the Globe: Peter Fritzsche on the decisive year of a global conflict.
Book Makers: Adam Smyth on the lives behind printed pages
The Intellectual Life in Difficult Circumstances: Jonathan Rose on the education of the British working classes
The Devils Will Get No Rest: James B. Conroy on Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Casablanca Conference.
Tags: Molly Guptill Manning, Ray Trautman, Armed Services Editions, World War II, Libraries, Reading, Books, Publishing History, Intellectual History
