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Gatsby's Resurgence
- In 1944, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" sold only 120 copies, nearing out-of-print status.
- The next year, 155,000 copies were printed as part of a wartime initiative, reviving its popularity.
Paperback Boom
- The Council on Books in Wartime distributed free books to soldiers, boosting paperback popularity and inadvertently saving "The Great Gatsby" from obscurity.
- This program printed 122 million books, establishing the paperback market.
Posthumous Recognition
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, who died in 1940, didn't live to see "The Great Gatsby's" widespread recognition as "the great American novel."
- Its popularity surged only after World War II, thanks to the Armed Services Editions.