Description |
240 pages : color illustrations ; 28 cm |
Note |
Includes index. |
Contents |
Introduction: A bright new morning / by Richard A. Lupoff -- In the beginning: dime novels, proto-paperbacks, and pocket books -- The floodgates open: publishers surge into an exciting new marketplace -- Gats, gals, and gumshoes: crime and mystery novels, hard-boiled and otherwise -- Saddles, six-guns, and sagebrush: Westerns, and the cactus cavaliers that made them popular -- Adventurers, past and present: spies, pirates, warriors, explorers, and soldiers of fortune -- Distant planets, future threats: science fiction migrates from the pulps to paperbacks -- Terror tales, fantasy worlds: tales of horror, the supernatural, and the imagination -- Changing times, new directions: post-World War II social issues influence paperback fiction -- The pulp-hero revival: Tarzan, the Shadow, Doc Savage, the Spider, and others -- Sex on the sleazy side: softcore sex novels promise more than they deliver -- Toiling at typewriters: paperback authors who enjoyed remarkable success -- Brilliant brushwork: paperback artists whose striking covers guaranteed sales -- Afterword: Paperbacks since 1970. |
Summary |
The mid-twentieth century saw paperback novels eclipse cheap pulp magazines and expensive clothbound books as the most popular format for escapist fiction. To catch the eyes of potential buyers, they were adorned with covers that were invariably vibrant, frequently garish, and occasionally lurid. |
Subject |
Book jackets -- History -- 20th century.
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Book cover art -- History -- 20th century.
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Pulp literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
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Added Author |
Lupoff, Richard A., 1935-2020.
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ISBN |
9781684057993 |
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168405799X |
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