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History of Books Across
the Sea
Books-Across-the-Sea started just after World War II when The Outpost,
a group of Americans stationed in war-torn England, saw a need
to replace American books destroyed in the war. At their request,
a group of book-minded Americans rushed 70 books to the U.K. The
books were welcomed as Ambassadors and London responded by sending
70 books in exchange. The books chosen reflected the life and culture
of each country. The English-Speaking Union took over the program
in 1947 under the chairmanship of T.S. Eliot.
 The exchange has grown over the years to include shipment
of the Books-Across-the-Sea volumes to many of the international
ESU's. Categories for selection of the books are: Fiction,
Biography & Autobiography, Poetry and American Studies.
A panel selects one book in each category as an Ambassador
Book. Authors of Ambassador Books are honored at a reception
and receive prizes.
 Past recipients include Arnold
Rampersand, Tom Wolfe, Grace Paley, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Updike, Michael Beschloss
and David McCulloch. When the program celebrated its 25th
Anniversary the panels on each side of the Atlantic chose
the best biography written in each of the 25 years. Copies
of these volumes form The Nerney Collection which is housed
in both the U.S. and British ESU headquarters.
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