American families have sent books to their soldiers overseas in every war of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The government considered the shipping of books to the soldiers so important that crates of them joined the reinforcements, weapons, and food that flooded ashore after D-Day in 1944. Books, in fact, were an important part of the propaganda program to educate European citizens about American history and literature.
I have a WWI poster hanging on my wall at home asking people to donate as many books as they can for the boys at the front. The poster is dated November 11th, 1918 which turned out to be Armistice Day—the end of the Great War. By that time, many thousands of books had already been shipped “over there” for the soldiers, and avidly consumed during the 98% time of boredom that preceded the 2% of the time of sheer terror.
Our soldiers in combat zones today have lap-tops and cell-phones.  Even some of the weapons are computerized. Ninety-eight percent of the time is still boring and routine, however, and electricity and cell towers don’t always conform to peace-time availability. My oldest son just arrived home from combat in Iraq. He was not permitted to have a cell-phone there and the computer use was spotty. He read books. Previous deployments in non-combat zones enabled him to read small libraries in a year’s time.
Many of those books came from stashes left behind by previously deployed Guard units. Some he carried with him (all paperbacks—most do not survive the harsh conditions), most of the books came from packages sent from home. There were never enough. Most soldiers don’t carry books across the world then wish they had them. Now comes a program to fill that need, sponsored by veteran George Scott, founder of Peerless Bookstore, located at the Kroger shopping center at Holcomb Bridge Road and Barnwell Road in Johns Creek.
In keeping with the tradition of providing our troops around the world and in VA hospitals with Bibles and other books, he invites you to donate used books to the cause. Also, Peerless sponsors book signings with local authors, especially those who have written military history, memoirs, and novels. We will alert you to special book signings where you can meet the author, donate a few books, and here from veterans at the bookstore location.
For instance, this Monday night, January 23rd, at 7:00 pm, Lt. Col. Brad Taylor (ret.) will be signing  his new release, All Necessary Force. Col. Taylor is a twenty one year veteran of the Army in Special Forces, including Delta Force.
Also mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 1st, for the appearance of Paula Broadwell, author of a new “biographical snapshot” of General David Petraeus entitled All In.
Print is not dead. More books are being published than ever before. Many soldiers still read, and you have an opportunity to help provide material. At the same time, meet new authors and improve you own intellectual life.

Bill Potter
Historian,
The American History Guild