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The Pulps: Fifty Years of American Pop Culture
This is a beautiful book in very, very good condition! Slight soiling on the fore-edge, and dj has signs of slight wear, but is in a protective sleeve. This is an oversized anthology of the art and literature of the "Pulps" of 1896-1953 and includes 100 full-color reproductions of rare original cover art as well as over 50 stories and poems and reproductions of ads all in their original formats. Authors represented Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Max Brand, Dashiell Hammet, H. P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Wallace. This collection was compiled and edited by Tony Goodstone.
239 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 13, 2023
09/2017
This compilation covers the early days of pulp magazine fiction, teens, twenties and thirties. Of the 1900s, of course (I have to keep reminding myself to stop just casually referring to the 1920s as the 20s, as I have all my life, since we are soon to enter the 2020s). It is an unwieldy book, coffee table sized, with lovely glossy cover prints, from the 1970s. So it is difficult to read, but largely worth it (okay, I did skip the sports and war stories). The introduction telling about the birth and development of pulps, about American history and the growth of cities, is so interesting I wish it were a book itself.
This compilation covers the early days of pulp magazine fiction, teens, twenties and thirties. Of the 1900s, of course (I have to keep reminding myself to stop just casually referring to the 1920s as the 20s, as I have all my life, since we are soon to enter the 2020s). It is an unwieldy book, coffee table sized, with lovely glossy cover prints, from the 1970s. So it is difficult to read, but largely worth it (okay, I did skip the sports and war stories). The introduction telling about the birth and development of pulps, about American history and the growth of cities, is so interesting I wish it were a book itself.
November 15, 2009
This is an excellent survey of the pulp magazines, complete with illustrations and advertisements from the originals. It's divided into ten categories, and includes many wonderful stories from the original magazines, as well as a terrific selection of color cover reproductions. It's a fantastic volume that was obviously put together with much care and love.
June 24, 2009
A pretty good survey of the pulp era that isn't really a survey. It's more like a very incomplete historical anthology with some good explanatory sections that are utterly invaluable. The fiction and poetry selections are great for what they are, and there are priceless ads duplicated in the pages -- they're a hoot. There's also a color section with an amazing representative sample of covers.
Released in 1970, this book has that interesting perspective on the pulps that is now 40 years out of date, making my reaction that of piling nostalgia upon nostalgia -- nostalgia for the '60s-'70s attitude toward the '20s-'30s pulp, sort of like seeing a remake of Grease.
It's also very poorly proofread and horribly typeset, making the explanatory sections (introductions, histories et al) hard to read. But for fans of the pulp era, it is WELL worth tracking down.
Released in 1970, this book has that interesting perspective on the pulps that is now 40 years out of date, making my reaction that of piling nostalgia upon nostalgia -- nostalgia for the '60s-'70s attitude toward the '20s-'30s pulp, sort of like seeing a remake of Grease.
It's also very poorly proofread and horribly typeset, making the explanatory sections (introductions, histories et al) hard to read. But for fans of the pulp era, it is WELL worth tracking down.
October 9, 2020
I first encountered this book in 1970 when it was first published. I had only discovered—and begun reading—pulp magazine reprints around that time. Mostly I read the hero pulps from Belmont, Bantam, and Berkley, but this volume, with it’s full color cover gallery piqued my interest, and after seeing stacks of copies in my local university book store for weeks on end I finally scraped together the $15 admission. There were several large format hardcover comic strip collections competing at the same price: Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, and Little Orphan Annie.
I purused The Pulps many times, but never sat down and read it cover to cover. Years later I’d lost track of it. Maybe it was sold or traded, but it was no longer in my library.
Years passed and one day my daughter brought home a used copy from Powell’s City of Books on Burnside. She paid $9.50 for it in good condition, with a beat-up dust jacket. She thought it would be something I’d like. Spot on, and this time I finally read it.
Maybe I was just out of the loop, but when it was published I don’t think reprints of short stories from pulps were commonplace. This gave editor Tony Goodstone free rein to select any story he wanted, and he did a great job choosing. Every story is a pleasure to read.
Past Goodstone’s introduction and a generous selection of covers, the volume is divided into ten sections, each providing a choice sample of pulp genres: Adventure, Sports, Aviation and War, Western and Frontier, Detective and Mystery, Innocence (Romance), Straight Out Sex (Spicy), Supernatural, Science Fiction, and excerpts from The Hero Pulps. Sorry, it took me fifty years to read this thing cover to cover, but I gotta say, it was well worth the wait.
I purused The Pulps many times, but never sat down and read it cover to cover. Years later I’d lost track of it. Maybe it was sold or traded, but it was no longer in my library.
Years passed and one day my daughter brought home a used copy from Powell’s City of Books on Burnside. She paid $9.50 for it in good condition, with a beat-up dust jacket. She thought it would be something I’d like. Spot on, and this time I finally read it.
Maybe I was just out of the loop, but when it was published I don’t think reprints of short stories from pulps were commonplace. This gave editor Tony Goodstone free rein to select any story he wanted, and he did a great job choosing. Every story is a pleasure to read.
Past Goodstone’s introduction and a generous selection of covers, the volume is divided into ten sections, each providing a choice sample of pulp genres: Adventure, Sports, Aviation and War, Western and Frontier, Detective and Mystery, Innocence (Romance), Straight Out Sex (Spicy), Supernatural, Science Fiction, and excerpts from The Hero Pulps. Sorry, it took me fifty years to read this thing cover to cover, but I gotta say, it was well worth the wait.
February 9, 2016
An Excellent introduction book to the Pulp books and characters. if you were interested in learning about this distinctly American form of literature then this is a good book to kick off your journey. Well researched and written it is a wonderful overview of the Pulps. Very recommended
May 29, 2021
This book is exactly what it it looks like: a collection of lurid, improbable stories (and a few poems) from the pages of various pulp magazines published between about 1920 and 1950. All are creative, some unpredictable, a few laughable with their political incorrectness by modern standards. Each, is worth reading in its own way. With so much material to pick from, this is a well-chosen set to represent the pulp “genre” - though many, many others would do as well.
Special mention to Edgar Wallace’s “The Greek Poropulos”, Luke Short’s “Tough Enough”, T.T. Flynn’s “The Deadly Orchid”, Russ West’s “Hot Rompers”, Mary Elizabeth Counselman’s “The Green Window”, and by way of poetry, H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Garden of Yin”.
Special mention to Edgar Wallace’s “The Greek Poropulos”, Luke Short’s “Tough Enough”, T.T. Flynn’s “The Deadly Orchid”, Russ West’s “Hot Rompers”, Mary Elizabeth Counselman’s “The Green Window”, and by way of poetry, H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Garden of Yin”.
June 5, 2023
Various (Editor: Goodstone, Tony) - The Pulps
Published in 1970, this was one of the earlier overviews of the pulps.
Goodstone gives a brief history from the 1890’s Munsey magazines to the collapse in the 1950’s.
The “Golden Era” of the 30’s-40’s makes up the bulk of this thick, coffee table book.
Fifty color plates showcase a wide variety of genres.
In my copy, the third book of signatures used cheaper paper and that section has turned brown.
Very appropriate.
Stores categorized by genre: Western, Aviation, Horror, SciFi, Detective, Girls In Peril, Bad Girls, etc.
Which meant I read some I never would have, particularly the westerns, or aviation adventures.
I was surprised by how many names I had more than a passing familiarity.
Published in 1970, this was one of the earlier overviews of the pulps.
Goodstone gives a brief history from the 1890’s Munsey magazines to the collapse in the 1950’s.
The “Golden Era” of the 30’s-40’s makes up the bulk of this thick, coffee table book.
Fifty color plates showcase a wide variety of genres.
In my copy, the third book of signatures used cheaper paper and that section has turned brown.
Very appropriate.
Stores categorized by genre: Western, Aviation, Horror, SciFi, Detective, Girls In Peril, Bad Girls, etc.
Which meant I read some I never would have, particularly the westerns, or aviation adventures.
I was surprised by how many names I had more than a passing familiarity.
November 3, 2024
Who doesn't love all those nickel heroes and dime novels? Inside you'll find great stories by the most famous pulp authors of each genre (e.g. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Wallace). Adventure pulps, aviation&war, western and frontiers, detective&mystery, the girls, weird tales, astounding stories, supernatural, science fiction. Among the stories you'll find some of the best covers of the pulps. This is the entire world of pulps. Highly recommended.
September 25, 2018
A nice survey of the pulps via sci-fi, westerns, teen boy adventures, Tarzan, etc--and you don't have to get an unwieldy collection of book--it's all here in this impressive coffee table book.
It's an anthology with a fair bevy of genres in it.
It's an anthology with a fair bevy of genres in it.
February 25, 2020
A great collection Of Pulp magazine stuff. Includes the Clement Wood poem "Enter The Vampire", which contrasts the "vamp" with the old style of Movie actress. The old stylt actress... "...She must be apt at fainting/and watercolor painting..." :D
May 7, 2017
A very entertaining selection of a wide variety of pulp fiction. Including the king of pulp, Robert Leslie Bellem. This is my favorite pulp anthology.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews