Pulp Books

I gave it four chapters until I was flatline.

The book gave me an intellectual lobotomy from which it took days to recover, and I lost pay.

I live in Florida and I've read many things about Florida, but I think this book just doesn't capture South Florida's TRUE crime, passion, magic and culture.

Additionally, it was boring. I didn't put it down...because I bet my grandmother $10 I would find something I hadn't heard before or something witty on the next page. So I owe her $10.
[...]
Now, I did read another book recently entitled Miami Psychic and that book was the BOMB!! I highly recommend it.

[...]

In Florida Pulp Nonfiction, Bob Norman exposes the shadowy underbelly of the Sunshine State through stranger-than-fiction tales that range from heartbreaking to hilarious and from deadly serious to simply bizarre. With a compelling combination of hard fact and reasonable speculation, he indicts deranged soccer mom and 9/11 terrorist, gangster and grifter, child abuser and con man. This is not the family-friendly Florida of sand castles, sunsets and Disney World. Be sure to read it before the Florida Department of Tourism has it banned.

A woman for whom "stalker" doesn't even begin to describe her pathology. ... A fatally intolerant Marine. ... A washed-up celebrity lawyer. ...

A wrongfully convicted Death Row inmate. ... An inadequate father trading on a famous son's name. ... A twisted federal bureaucracy driven by a corporate customer service obsession that can't distinguish tourist from terrorist. ...

A boy with impulse control so weak a teacher dies. ... A boiler room conman. ... A P.I. who personifies the notion that cops and crooks share more in common than either cares to confess. ...

In late 1997, journalist Bob Norman quit his daily newspaper job, resisted the conformity required for a corporate chain career, switched Florida coasts, hired on at an alternative newsweekly and slithered into the swamp in search of slime.

Eight years later, armed with a cast of characters only South Florida could accumulate and only he could ferret out, Norman has produced a book that's always compelling, always entertaining and -- in one must-read place -- of national importance.

The national importance lies in Norman's justifiably acclaimed "Admitting Terror," in which he proved the point he'd been trying to make all along by producing at an alternative newsweekly reporting of which neither corporate chain newspapers nor their yacking and yelling cable counterparts any longer seem capable.

The piece, which won him the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, documented how the (now rightly defunct) Immigration & Naturalization Service allowed the 9/11 hijackers entry into the United States. Years later, it remains a vital piece of journalism that every American should read, if only to better grasp what it is we have to overcome in our institutions in order to advance our national struggle with people who want to end our way of life.

It put Norman in an odd position, because "Admitting Terror" won him accolades from Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Malkin and Howard Hunt, with all of whom its hard to imagine Norman finding agreement on the time of day. It also armed him: For the rest of Norman's life, whenever anyone accuses him of pursuing his own political, philosophical or social agenda to the exclusion of all other points of view, he has only to gesture to that one piece of reporting to silence the argument. He doesn't need to say a word.

He is biased -- but unlike most American journalists he neither tries to voice the lie that he isn't nor fails to consider opposing views. He is refreshing because he is completely upfront about his biases.

"Florida Pulp Nonfiction" is a sampler of the best of what Norman found in eight years churning out columns in South Florida, and it reads like a Victorian compendium of strange and exotic creatures.

It reads like a book, too, rather than an assemblage of disparate columns, which is testimony to the oft-neglected fact that the journalist is producing both fodder for the news consumer and something more -- a body of work.

Like the best journalists, Norman allows his sources to tell their stories. When they need help, he's there to coax out telling quotations (A woman concludes a diatribe about cheerleaders, "Of course, secretly, we all wish we were cheerleaders") and note perfect details ("He poured ... Diet Pepsi into an old paper-clip holder he'd made into a makeshift ashtray.") When they don't need help, he gets out of the way (indeed, he notes that he felt more like transcriptionist to one subject than interrogator).

The book is nicely produced. The writing is disciplined and tight.

Norman may piss you off (one wonders why anyone in South Florida still risks an interview, but they never seem to learn) because he happens to diametrically oppose you on a particular issue, but how can you stay angry at someone who's so honest about where he stands? Norman's candor -- his heart -- is a rarity in journalism and to his great credit.

Norman's strength is the character study. Some writers have a compelling sense of place. Norman has a great sense of character, bringing people to life through quotations and details.

"Florida Pulp Nonfiction" is a showcase book that says Norman's talent deserves a wider, larger audience. It does. Norman clearly recognizes that reporting and writing aren't status quo gifts delivered complete and requiring no further work or maintenance. He has clearly been polishing his potential for years, and it really shows in this book. Some of the pieces, in particular, stand out as excellent examples of keeping the story short and tight and leaving the reader wanting more.

The pieces originally ran in the New Times. Introductions and concluding updates are a great touch that keep them current.

Anyone interested in true crime, fans of South Florida and those who enjoy a well-turned column will find "Florida Pulp Nonfiction" exceeds expectations, and the book will leave you wanting more. If it was labeled fiction, readers might call it contrived but it's not fiction -- it's strange fact.

Mr. Norman,

I just finished your book. It is an excellent compilation of what is wrong in law enforcement today. As I read each story and realized how much you know about abuse of power and illegal/unethical behavior by those who are sworn to protect us, I began to wonder why those in power don't get it. I also wonder if the readers of your book will get it.

I have been in law enforcement for fifteen years. It is a scary world that is made much worse by greed and bad judgment. The frightening part, though, is that someone we love, someone we care about could have something horrible happen to them and those in law enforcement will do nothing about it or worse, will make certain no one else does.

Too often cases like you have sited are very common, perhaps too common for the average citizen to comprehend who has never had this inside look at investigations. It only takes one case ignored by an investigator to become relevant--your case.

You have written an excellent, brave book, Mr. Norman. I hope there are many more to come. Hopefully readers will understand how close to home this problem is. Your book is about the WHAT. It will be up to the reader to decide WHY.

Susan Purtee
Columbus, Ohio

What can I say? I thoroughly loved every word, every page, every chapter. Bob Norman is a gifted storyteller and a top-notch reporter. I would have read the whole book in one sitting, but I only let myself read a chapter a night to stretch out the enjoyment. Buy this book for all the book lovers in your life. It'll be the best gift they ever received.

El libro del canadiense Don Hutchinson es una buena y muy interesante guia para conocer las historias, estilos y superheroes de la epoca dorada del PULP. Indiana Jones, Sky Captain y Jack Burton (de MASACRE EN EL BARRIO CHINO) son muestra de estos personajes que actualemente son más atractivos por cargar con ese estilo "retro" de un mundo donde todabia habia maravillas por descubrir, organizaciones secretas por encontrar, poderes fantásticos, tierras perdidas, civilizaciones olvidadas, criminales científicos egomaniacos que querian conquistar la tierra.
Darse cuenta de los personajes e historias que se movian en esa epoca enriquece el acervo cultural del lector fantástico y a los neofitos les habre un nuevo mundo que no conocian y que querran disfrutar despues de leer este libro:
La SOMBRA, Doc Savage, Los pilotos G-8, La Araña, Capitan Futuro y muchos más analizados y recordados en este excelente libro.

Don Hutchinson not only knows his subject matter, he loves it as well. There is a wondrous enthusiam that plays itself out in these pages and gives the reader the briefest glimpse on what the pulp era was truly all about. A great book, both for its fun and its information. Should be in the library of any pulp fan worth his or her salt.

From about the mid 1920's to the mid-1950's, one of the most popular entertainments available that were serious competition to radio and the movies was the pulp magazine. Printed on the cheapest kind of paper and with the most lurid covers, these magazines provided some of the most vivid action and suspence in print in the 20th century. While the medium is largely dead now and replaced by TV, comics and the paperback novel, the most famous heroes still created descendents of some of our most popular current fictional adventure characters. They include Batman(inspired by the pulp character, The Shadow), Superman(Doc Savage) and James Bond (Operator #5). In this book, Don Hutchison talks about this influential medium focusing on the major characters and the writers who spun these wild yarns. With detailed knowledge, the reader can learn about these characters, their development and the source of their appeal with wonderful vividness. The only shortcoming I see is that I would have preferred to have some more detailed thoughts on their latter day influence. However, if you want learn about what popular literature was like before TV was developed and the comic book hit its full stride, then this is a book for you.

This is one of the few books I've come across that features a solid overview of the hero pulp era and touches on all the major titles, characters and trends. In addition, Don Hutchison gives the reader some fascinating inside stories on the creators behind "the masked men" themselves. He obviously has a deep love and a detailed knowledge of his subject matter.

Unfortunately, this potentially great book is marred by some poor formatting, inconsistencies and more importantly, some really careless spelling mistakes. In fact, the editors at Mosaic must have had narcolepsy or something because I found one or more cropping up every couple of pages. It's just embarrassing, not to mention distracting. Sure, a couple of errors I could ignore. But c'mon guys, my edition is on the third printing! You should've caught all this by now. It's like they just threw the whole book together...which is too bad given the earnestness of Hutchison's writing.

It's also too bad the book doesn't go further than it does (it only clocks in at about 276 pages with a large font) and it would've been nice if the cover section had featured some glossy colour instead of plain b&w (but I assume they're just trying to cut down on print costs.)

Other than that, I certainly enjoyed the book and it's definitely worth the read...it's just all the errors I could've lived without.

The coverage of the characters, content, authors, and even some of the artists of the pulp hero era of American popular literature within this volume are excellent and help you really understand the blood, sweat and tears that went into the development of the pulps. A Must-read on the subject!

I found the book delivered on the fact that it split the recipes by dosha however, some of the ingredients in the ones approved for a specific dosha showed up on the lists that the dosha should avoid. For example Quick Black Beans which includes Zucchini in the recipe. The recipe shows a reducing affect for the Kapha dosha, but shows up on the NO list of foods for Kapha. Also, there were a few recipes that included mushrooms which are not allowed in Ayurvedic cooking.

This is, in my estimation, a good Ayurvedic cookbook. It has many authentic and adapted recipes. Ms Sondhi presents in a comfortable and familiar style. There are times that she steps outside Ayurvedic guidelines. But when she does, she first makes sure that the reader knows what the guidelins are - THEN she steps out. Very candid and has produced an enjoyable book.
The first section gives a nice overview of Ayurvedic facts. It is not in depth. She does not presume to teach the reader who is new to Ayurveda. Instead she gives guidelines, fills the Appendix with many directions to follow, AND focuses on great recipes.
I feel that there are very few good Ayurvedic cookbooks that are available to the Western market. Most have visions of being the Complete Guide to Ayurveda. Most don't succeed. I think Ms Sondhi did succeed in her endeavor - this is a good one.

I purchased this book anticipating condition specific recipes,however, the coverage of the doshas and the problems caused by imbalance is superficial at best. The recipes provide a tasty introduction to mostly Indian style vegetarian food. Many are labor intensive and quite heavy on the carbs and a number involve frying. A few require exotic ingredients that may not be easily accessible outside of urban areas. No nutritional information is provided.

The book is readable and the author has a pleasant, conversational style. The recipes I've tried have all been satisfactory, including the vegetable dishes, dals, pickles,lassis and rice puddings. The book is not limited to Indian cooking-there are also recipes for a fat free muesli, gazpacho and a refreshing fruit soup. There are suggested menus that are a bit starchy for my tastes and a cleansing/fasting program. Cursory chapters on yoga and aromatherapy are presented but without real depth. There is nothing on herbal supplementation and skimpy instructions on implementing the cleansing program. If your primary focus is on healing, you would be better served by offerings by Letha Haddady or Barbara Proust. If you are looking for tasty ways to include more vegetables in your diet, you will be satisfied by this book.

I came across this cookbook at the library, flipped through it, and instantly knew I needed to own this book!! I've only tried a couple of recipes, but can't wait to try more! (Definately try the Carrot Halva on p. 241, spiced with cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon - and I also love the Spicy Almond Milk (p.273) with a unique blend of anise, pepper, and ginger - delicious!) Other recipes of interest include whole-wheat chapatis, paneer samosas (paneer is an Indian cottage cheese), and blackberry oat bars...! Amrita Sondhi explains how foods and spices can balance your dosha/constitution and includes a few menu plans, cleanses, and several yoga postures.
If you like cooking authentic Indian dishes with wonderful spices, you'll truly enjoy this book (and so will your tastebuds!)

"The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook: Healthful, Healing Recipes for Life" by Amrita Sondhi is a compendium of 250 culinary recipes showcasing Indian cuisine. These delicious dishes are provided with clear and 'kitchen cook friendly' instructions for turning out meals that are as nutritious as they are palate pleasing. Of special note are the included appendices: 'Seasons of the Year', "Menu Plans', Cleanses', 'Yoga Poses for the Doshas', 'Alternative Ayurvedic Therapies', and 'Food Guidlines for Basic Constitutional Types'. From Fresh Fruit Salad with Yogurt & Flax Seeds; to Vegetable Samosas; to Tea Party Channa Bateta, to Cinnamon & Sweet Warm Almond Milk, "The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook" will make a welcome and impressive addition to personal and community cookbook collections - and prove to be of very special interest for dedicated students of Indian cooking, holistic health, yoga, and Ayurvidics.

I read constantly and have dozens and dozens of books waiting for me to read-but when this one arrived I read it right away. I had to know all about beards. I LOVE facial hair on men though I don't particularly like beards. Make sense??? What I'm saying is that I like sideburns, goatees, soul patches, goatees without moustache, etc. Just seeing a man with a heavy shadow and the proverbial 5 o'clock shadow. ALL very sexy!! I would have liked more present day photos, but I liked it all. I wish someone would write a book about men's hairy legs. One thousand sets of hairy legs. Then I would really go crazy!!

I, for one, find body hair of any description totally abhorrent, so I found this book one of the most difficult and challenging reads of my life. Peterkin's description of hair follicles, for example, borders, at times, on the pornographic.
I had to skip the chapter where he waxes lyrical about the curl-to-density ratio of pubic hair because I became too nauseous to carry on reading.

Psychiatrist and writer Allan Peterkin has a playful and curious mind, and an obvious love of research. His past wanderings have taken him into the vagaries and varieties of the language of erotics, which he tackled enthusiastically - with a thesaurus, no less. The subject of beards is one that he admits he had never given much thought until one morning a few years ago.

His interest was piqued, he says in his introduction to this delightful book, in "one of those perverse moments of inspiration." Walking to work in downtown Toronto, "rather than indulging my own thoughts as usual," he started noticing faces, and he then noticed that more than a third of the males were in some fashion bearded, soul patched, sideburned, mustachioed - and so it began. He wanted to uncover the meanings of facial hair, the "unconscious reasons" that men grew and tended beards, and even the "ritualistic symbolism of shaving." He wondered what women thought about beards. His survey expanded to his colleagues, his psychotherapy patients, and strap-hangers on the Toronto subway. (You might guess that he asked his friends, too.) He was off and running.

This marvelous and generously-illustrated book is the result of his considerable ability to tackle his subject with energy, brainpower, humor and a sense of fun. It's a documentary, a history, a survey, an appreciation, and a catalogue. There are hundreds of black and white illustrations, and topical quotations from famous and not so famous beard-wearers. Chapter 6 deals with the (usually) unwanted thing: "The Feminine Beard." The compulsory beard (the Taliban being a recent and dramatic example of mandatory beardedness) is examined, too - in a chapter on religious beards. There's a "Timeline of Queer Facial Hair" among other remarkable bits of information in the chapter "The Gay Beard."

Facial hair's inevitable products and labors (shaving cream, razors, clippers, trimmers, and more) are included. Chapter 13, "The Personal Beard: Grooming Strategies" is a sort of owner's manual. If Great-grand-dad is no longer around to show you how to strop a razor, you can use Peterkin's instructions.

There are a lot of useful addresses and websites listed at this book's end (even "Where to Order False Facial Hair" should you need some), an extensive bibliography but, unfortunately, no index. Nonetheless this is a delightful book that is comprehensive and smart - and also a lot of fun. I know that I won't look at or think about facial hair in quite the same way ever again.

I found this book moderately amusing when I first came across it but that was before I discovered Fashions in Hair (2001-9th edition) by Richard Corson, certainly the ultimate, definitive source on the history of facial hair. This is sort of the cliff notes version of that book...lightweight, whimsical, jokey, brief, lacking the almost overwhelming detail, historical illustrations and info of the Corson book (first published in the 60's and updated numerous times since). The Corson book is the way to go if you're a beard afficianado.

I don't have a beard myself, but I know a lot of people who do, and this is a fascinating account of the history of facial hair that provides some interesting factoids and insight into the meaning of why some of us choose to wear hair on our faces. I gave this book to some of my bearded friends, and they loved it. It's a real winner.

As lovely to look at as learn from, Teena Flanner's unique artistry is revealed in page after gorgeous page. Throughout, the author's warmth and passion for her craft inspires even beginners to go for the magic. As Flanner writes, "perfection is not my goal," it's all about loving the process. With this beautiful and informative guidebook in hand, budding papier-mache artists are off to an excellent start.

This book is as lovely as the author/artist herself. As a collector, I never had the understanding or appreciation for the art that I should have until opening the pages of this book. Teena takes you through the step by step process she goes through in creating each of these "one of a kind" pieces. Teena has now inspired me to learn the craft as well as collect. How kind of her to share her secrets!!! I especially enjoyed all her childhood/inspirational stories that she shared with us throughout the book. Family and nature certainly fill her heart!! As a photographer myself, it is an incredible joy to turn the pages to see picture after picture of as she journeys through the seasons show casing only a small sample of her special art. She even shares her precious pets with us!! This was a much anticipated book for me as a collector, but I'll be sharing it with friends for Christmas that enjoy my collection for their coffee tables as well.....it's that special! And then, after the holidays a new hobby awaits!!!

If you are creative and resourceful, this book is a guide AND an inspiration. There are a handful of projects that don't call for a mold, including her ever-popular snowmen. The rest? Sure, you need molds, but I saw three last weekend while antiquing and one was only $6 (and it was a lamb, too!). They don't have to be old, just a mold you like! Really, NOT HARD TO FIND.

This book gave me insight into the process and acted as a jumping point for my own projects. I had many lightbulb moments while reading this " ... Ah ha! THAT'S how you do THAT!", etc. I've got a project baking in the oven as I type and I'm so glad I checked this book out of the library. I'll probably buy it now!

To really use this book you will need (preferably) vintage chocolate or candy molds. So forget it if you don't have these available. Or better yet, start collecting them once you order the book.

Lovely photos and detailed directions for specific pieces. Of course, you need the molds for these pieces. There are instructions to make molds, but you need the positive to make the negative. This would all be fine, except there is no Resources List. After spending hours on the web, I haven't come up with much. But I'm sure I will. However, my attempt to find "sterling tinsel" yielded nothing. This book is well done as far as it goes and inspirational - but frustrating.

I was always curious about the Spider, described to me as a more bloodthirsty version of the Shadow. Well, the "bloodthirsty" part was correct. The Spider takes all the conventions of the Shadow, blazing guns, long suffering girlfriend, cape, slouching hat, and does a poor imitation. Hundreds of people die at the hands of evil masterminds in both novellas and the Spider is in a constant state of rage throughout. Rage is the basic emotion and even that emotion is not effectively conveyed to the reader. Exclamation points are used throughout the novels for the purpose of creating excitement, it's the written equivalent of constantly screaming at the reader, it loses it's effect very quickly and in the end becomes annoying. The only reason for two stars instead of one is the general excitement of the first tale(The Devil's Paymaster)which at least tries to be creative.These stories lack the sheer mystery of the Shadow or the escapist fun of Doc Savage. Stick with them if your a fan of this genre.

You're a centuries old master villian. You're after loot and destruction and destroying everything good and decent in the world. So naturally you concentrate on destroying the bridges and sewer system of Cincinatti, Ohio! Kind of a kooky pulp-premise, but the SPIDER is up to the challenge as always! (Part II of IV)

While the Spider has often been compared to the Shadow, he was really more like the now forgotten "Operator Number Five", or perhaps even Doc Savage, an adventurer, not a detective, literally a crime FIGHTER: The Spider didn't bring criminals to justice. He hunted impossibly wierd super criminals and killed them. Lots of them. The books are savage, colorful, and strangely enough, in Norvell Page's hands, far better written than most of the pulp novels of the day (as good or better than William Gibson's Shadow novels)

However, Amazon.com has mistakenly listed the contents of most of these Carrol and Graff reprints. Volume one contains THE SECRET CITY OF CRIME and THE SPIDER AND THE PAIN MASTER, Volume three, DEATH'S CRIMSON JUGGERNAUT and THE RED DEATH RAIN, four, DEATH REIGN OF THE VAMPIRE KING and THE PAIN EMPEROR, five, JUDGEMENT OF THE DAMNED and MASTER OF THE FLAMING HORDE, while six contains the two listed on most of these pages, SLAVES OF THE LAUGHING DEATH and SATAN'S MURDER MACHINES

SPIDER stories so inexpensive -- what a great deal! In SLAVES OF THE LAUGHING DEATH, we get the master of disguise super-criminal, while in SATAN'S MURDER MACHINES, we've got giant robots pounding through the streets of New York. These reprints of the 1930's pulps have more action and adventure than anything being published today.

First they destroy his good name. Then they turn his friends against him. Then they take the millions. Then they kidnap his girl. They even take the penthouse apartment. But all this doesn't make THE SPIDER mad. Because THE SPIDER doesn't get mad; he gets even. Weather Forecast: Bad Times for Bad Guys!

There is plenty of books out there that covers the Object-Oriented concepts. This author seems to have rushed this book and is not all that acurate with the concept. Struggles in terms of trying to explain it, mostly with the fact that the author is not fluent with the concept, just trying to write a book to make a qucik buck. I recommend that you save your money and select a different book.

This book is targeted at people with limited programming experience and little-no C/C++ experience. It does a great job of explaining complicated concepts (e.g. pointers) without assuming too much in the way of prior knowledge. It does a great job of integrating humor into what many beginners would consider dry and boring material.

It's not really a reference book, although it does have a good index. It's not meant for people seeking object-oriented design tips and techniques.

If you fit the target market, this is a great book. My only complaint is that the material about the book at this sight doesn't do it justice.

I found this book particularly helpful indeed. Pointer concepts are most difficult but the author's presentation made it easy for me to understand. But, some material in the book might be too advanced for beginners, yet, I have no doubts that this book covers material other books omit or skip completely.

This book is targeted at people with limited programming experience and little-no C/C++ experience. It does a great job of explaining complicated concepts (e.g. pointers) without assuming too much in the way of prior knowledge. It does a great job of integrating humor into what many beginners would consider dry and boring material.

It's not really a reference book, although it does have a good index. It's not meant for people seeking object-oriented design tips and techniques.

If you fit the target market, this is a great book. My only complaint is that the material about the book at this sight doesn't do it justice.

There are so many places The Incredible Pulps: A Gallery Of Fiction Magazine Art could have been featured: in our art section for fans of magazine art, in our literary section for readers of magazine fiction - but it's featured here for the added interest collectors will have. Full-page color photos pack a small collection which sometimes holds several covers per page. While there are no accompanying values, the reproductions are stunningly rich in color and any with an interest in pulps will find it a worthy reference indeed.

Smaller than a postcard; overly tight binding makes skimming impossible; particularly poor gallery of bad, uninteresting covers. I give it one star because, for no reason I can imagine, it's well scanned and printed. But it's easily the least interesting collection of pulp art I have ever seen; I've seen a lot.

Pulp magazines were long gone before I was even a gleam in my father's eye and yet they have always held a tremendous fascination for me and are one of the very few things I collect today. The great thing about collecting pulps is that while many range into the thousands of dollars, many more such as the Sci-Fi pulps of the 50's are very affordable. "The Incredible Pulps: A Gallery of Fiction Magazine Art" focuses on one of the main reasons that people collect pulps...the incredible artwork, particularly those covers that just had to have mesmerized kids and adults back in the 30's and 40's.

Writer Frank M. Robinson (who also wrote the very excellent Pulp Culture) provides a brief, but enlightening history of pulp magazines, beginning with Argosy Magazines decision to move from slick magazine, to all-fiction pulp. One of the great things about pulps is that they virtually could appeal to any person due to the diversity of subject matter. The pulps covered it all: crime, mystery, western, romance, adventure, war, horror, Sci-Fi, sports...if it had a possible audience, there was probably a pulp to suit them. But perhaps the most popular were the hero pulps featuring characters like The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Spider. The popular misconception was that the pulps were written by hacks but some of the great writers of the first half of the 20th century wrote for pulps, among them: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft, and Frederick Faust AKA Max Brand.

But this book is not about the stories, but rather that beautiful, often terrifying and downright shocking artwork. The artists are as legendary as the writers: Virgil Finlay, J. Allen St. John, George Rozen, and Frank Kelly Freas to name just a few. It was their job to create covers that would grab the attention of readers in a very crowded and competitive market. Today their works are worth thousands and many of them are on display in this great collection.

The book reprints hundreds of pulp covers and is divided by four main genres: Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery/Detective, Adventure/Western. The book provides the name and date of the issue and the artists name if known. Tragically, so many of the artist names have been lost to history. The covers are reprinted beautifully and seemingly from flawless copies of the pulp. Frank Paul was one of the very early greats and did many classic covers for Amazing Stories in the 20's and 30's. He was a man well ahead of his time and his imagination was limitless as his paintings foreshadowed many technical advances that would not take place for decades. J. Allen St. John is best know for his Tarzan illustrations but a great cover in this book features Burroughs' other great character John Carter of Mars from Amazing Stories January 1941, for the story John Carter and the Giant of Mars.

My favorite pulps have always been the horror and weird menace pulps. So gruesome were some of the covers that the government eventually had to step in and force the publishers to clean them up a bit. One great cover is by Grave Gladney for Dime Mystery August 1937, showing a woman about to be sliced in half by a very large paper cutter.

George Rozen may be my favorite pulp artists of all-time. His Shadow covers were beautifully sinister. The cover to Shadow January 1933 is one of the all-time great covers showing a skeletal shadow emerging from behind a curtain. You think gore is a product of modern times? Then check out Rudolph Relarski's cover to Thrilling Detective from August 1940. It shows a table full of decapitated heads and a man locked in a stock, about to be the next victim of an evil Asian's sword. The book reprints numerous Rozen Shadow and Doc Savage covers.

It's really a great little book that anyone who is a pulp or pop culture illustration fan will love. I do have a couple of minor complaints though. First, there are no cover reprints from Weird Tales, arguably the most famous pulp ever. I can only assume that since Weird Tales is still being produced that perhaps the rights could not be obtained. Since there is no Weird Tales covers there are no examples, and not even a mention of Margaret Brundage, one of the truly great pulp cover artists. That aside, I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

COVERS OF PULP MAGAZINES ARE ALWAYS WONDERFUL TO BEHOLD.BUT FRANK M. ROBINSON'S "THE INCREDIBLE PULPS,A Gallery of Fiction Magazine Art" ,PUBLISHED BY COLLECTORS PRESS,INC. HAS ITS SHORTCOMINGS.ITS SIZE,FOR INSTANCE.THE BOOK IS TOO SMALL.COVERS OF A FEW OF THE GREAT PULP MAGAZINES ARE MISSING ( 'WEIRD TALES','STRANGE TALES, 'ASTOUNDING STORIES',FOR INSTANCE ).AND WORST OF ALL:CLASSIC COVERS BY FRANK R.PAUL ,ONE OF THE ICONS OF SCIENCE FICTION ILLUSTRATION,ARE NOT IDENTIFIED.FOR EXAMPLE:ON PAGES 16 (COVER FOR 'WONDER STORIES'),17( IDEM),23(COVER FOR 'SCIENCE WONDER STORIES'),24(COVERS FOR 'WONDER STORIES'& 'AIR WONDER STORIES),25(COVER FOR 'WONDER STORIES QUARTERLY'),27(COVERS FOR 'WONDER STORIES'),28(COVER FOR 'WONDER STORIES'),29(COVER FOR 'SCIENCE WONDER STORIES'),35(IDEM), 36(COVERS FOR 'WONDER STORIES'),and 55(COVER FOR 'SCIENCE WONDER STORIES).ALSO, THE GREAT EARLE K. BERGEY IS NOT IDENTIFIED ON PAGE 42 (COVER FOR 'STARTLING STORIES').LAWRENCE ON PAGE 40(COVER FOR 'FANTASTIC NOVELS Magazine').LEO MOREY ON PAGES 44 & 56(COVERS FOR'AMAZING STORIES').ROBERT FUCQUA ON PAGE 57(COVER FOR 'AMAZING STORIES').AND MANY OTHERS IDENTIFIABLE COVER ARTISTS ARE NOT CREDITED.SAD.I DON'T REGRET HAVING PURCHASED THIS BOOK.I REALLY LOVE PULP MAGAZINES.EVEN WHEN THE RESEARCH FOR THE BOOK IS SLOPPY,I LOVE TO PERUSE IT,ONLY FOR THE PLEASURE OF SEEING,AGAIN, THE AMAZING AND GARISH IMAGES OF THESE UNFORGETTABLE MAGAZINES.BUT I ADVISE:PURCHASE,NOT THIS ONE,BUT FRANK M. ROBINSON & LAWRENCE DAVIDSON'S 'PULP CULTURE,The Art Of Fiction Magazines'(1998),FROM COLLECTORS PRESS,TOO.IT'S A CLASSIC!

An anthology of stories mostly from the early thirties, and mostly from Black Mask magazine, with the latest being Cornell Woolrich's, in the early forties.

Hard boiled cops, private detectives, gangsters and dames to be found here, with the odd reporter or Texas Ranger, for variety.

One quibble would be including a novel in this, being an anthology and them saying Carroll John Daly being of no great interest as a writer, apart from influence wise, why not one of his influential stories instead, and get a bunch more writers in there, or at least a few more seeing there is a marked preference here for novellas it would appear?

The City of Hell! you could almost see as an adventure of The Spider, or The Suicide Squad - much more in that vein than some of the others, and very entertaining - so this was my favorite, ahead of Walsh, Woolrich and Daly.

The stories averaged right on 3.50, with a few ordinary ones, certainly enough to call this good overall and worth a look.

Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : One Two Three - Paul Cain
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : The Creeping Siamese - Dashiell Hammett
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Honest Money - Erle Stanley Gardner
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Frost Rides Alone - Horace McCoy
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Stag Party - Charles G. Booth
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Double Check - Thomas Walsh
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : The City of Hell! - Leslie T. White
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Red Wind - Raymond Chandler
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Wise Guy - Frederick Nebel
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Murder Picture - George Harmon Coxe
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : The Price of a Dime - Norbert Davis
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Chicago Confetti - Williams RollinsJr
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : Two Murders One Crime - Cornell Woolrich
Pulp Fiction the Crimefighters : The Third Murderer - Caroll John Daly

"I talked to my driver like a father. I got down on my knees and begged him to keep that car in sight."

3 out of 5


"It is your idea that whoever did the carving advertised himself by running around the street in a red petticoat?"

3.5 out of 5


"I'm bucking a machine in this town and the machine is well entrenched with a lot of money behind it."

4 out of 5


One man Texas air army.

3.5 out of 5


Governor's lady killer.

3 out of 5


"Honest to gawd," he said, "some day Flaherty I'm gonna lay you like a rug.

4 out of 5


New justice, new court, a lot less rat.

4.5 out of 5


Some missing pearls, a dame, a dodgy cop, and a really good night for drinking.

3.5 out of 5


A spot of white slave trading.

2.5 out of 5


"The idea is okey as long as I don't get stuck with short beers."

3 out of 5


"Them heroes of the screen ain't taken no chances gettin' hurt. It'd spoil their act."

3.5 out of 5


"Even while I pulled the trigger, I knew I was pulling my second boner."

3 out of 5


"We couldn't get you for the one you did commit, so we'll try you for another and get you for that instead."

4 out of 5


Multiple Gorgons, The Flame and the Devil Unchained.

Here's a story of a private detective, a tough woman with a troubled past, and some immigrant bad guys, and a somewhat complicated tale of revenge.

The PI has a thing for the woman, and the woman is playing all sides to get what she wants, including the cops.

Definitely not understated, or sparse, this one.

4 out of 5




4 out of 5

Editor Otto Penzler, Edgar-winning proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop and founder of Mysterious Press, has picked out fourteen fast-paced and tightly-written tales (mostly from Black Mask magazine) from 1928 to 1942: an era of diamond-studded gangsters and glittering gun molls, a time long before political correctness.

There are tough private eyes a-plenty, armloads of femmes fatales (a surprisingly large number of them redheads), honest "harness bulls" and corrupt cops, criminal lawyers as well as virtuous ones, even an heroic newspaper photographer.

There's a Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe story, `Red Wind', which alone is worth the price of the book. On a night when the Santa Ana is blowing and "Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.", Chandler's world-weary knight-errant witnesses a murder in a bar, and finds himself trying to sort through the mess created by an over-ambitious blackmailer in a way that will spare the innocent.

It's a beautifully written short piece, not just for its dialogue and prose, but for its characterization, its wonderfully tight little plot, and Marlowe's personal code of honor.

Similar in tone, if less polished, is Erle Stanley Gardner's `Honest Money', the tale of a young attorney's first case. Ken Corning accepts the job of defending a woman arrested for bootlegging and attempted bribery. Almost instantly, he's visited by a cop from the liquor detail, then by the man who tells New York's mayor what to do.

Corning soon discovers what "the ring" is prepared to do to defend one of its own - and not in a courtroom. It's a cynical but oddly pleasing tale from the writer who'd later become famous as the creator of Perry Mason.

Even more darkly cynical is Cornell Woolrich's `Two Murders, One Crime', a story of a detective who realizes that the police and eyewitnesses have sent an innocent man to the gallows. When the real murderer is caught, too late, the D.A. refuses to prosecute for fear of making the system seem fallible. The detective refuses to accept this, and begins a campaign of psychological warfare against the murderer.

Leslie T. White's `The City of Hell!' also features crusading off-duty cops; it's much less subtle in its plot, characterization, police procedures and ethics, or prose style than Woolrich's (White used exclamation marks the way many modern writers use four-letter words), but it's undeniably action-packed and exciting.

`The Creeping Siamese' is a Continental Op story by Dashiell Hammett, written immediately before he started work on the superb Red Harvest. It begins with a man walking into Continental's offices and dropping dead on the floor, and doesn't slow down much after that.

While all of the stories are readable and entertaining, not all of them are gems. `Frost Rides Alone' is lightweight and rather disappointing, considering that it came from Horace McCoy, author of the brilliant (though very depressing) They Shoot Horses, Don't They? And Penzler admits to having chosen the closing piece, Carroll John Daly's `The Third Murderer' purely because of Daly's role in inventing the prototype of the hard-boiled, wise-cracking P.I. in 1923.

Penzler describes Daly rather unkindly as "truly a hack writer, devoid of literary pretension, aspiration and ability", but while `The Third Murderer' is perhaps the only story in the anthology that tends to ramble (at 136 pages, it's also by far the longest), it is also one of the few that tries to give the reader some insight into the villain and the femme fatale. Some of the twists may seem clichéd now, but that can happen when you're the pioneer in a field. It's an interesting story rather than a completely successful one, but I think Penzler was right to include it.

Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters will not suit everyone's tastes. The world of the pulps was a simpler one, but that doesn't mean their simple answers were always good ones, and some readers may find some of these crimefighters difficult to warm to, or even tolerate.

If you dislike fiction by dead white males with few roles for women except as victims or vamps; if you're offended by stereotypes or epithets such as "good wop"; or even if you can't help giggling at the phrase "private dick", this book probably isn't for you. For fans of the genre and the era, though, it's a must-read. That's a lead-pipe cinch.

This collection foreworded by one of the most successful modern day writers Harlan Coben, presents big stories from a former era. Those interested in this book purely for the Coben angle may be disappointed if they don't understand the concept of this book by the fact that he has no story in here (his foreword barely scraped over a page as well). None of the stories inside were written after the 1930s but that doesn't mean they are not good. These are the stories where movies are made with a tough guy hero in a hat wearing a trench coat or suit. The stories are introduced by the editor Otto Penzler whose collections are always full of great stories. For modern day tale fans you can't go past his various author anthology titled Dangerous Women but he's proven with this book he can pick great stories from any era. Like any collection of various authors the quality will vary from story to story and some you'll enjoy more than others, but with 14 stories, even if you don't like a few, this book is still great value for money.

The stories and their authors inside are -
One, Two, Three by Paul Cain
The Creeping Siamese by Dashiell Hammett
Honest Money by Erle Stanley Gardner
Frost Rides Alone by Horace McCoy
Stag Party by Charles Booth
Double Check by Thomas Walsh
The City of Hell! By Leslie White
Red Wind by Raymond Chandler
Wise Guy by Frederick Nebel
Murder Picture by George Harmon Coxe
The Price of a Dime by Norbert Davis
Chicago Confetti by William Rollins Jr
Two Murders, One Crime Cornell Woolrich
The Third Murderer by Carroll John Daly

I have not purchased this book, but I have purchased its sister publication: Pulp Fiction: The Villains and was pleased with this British-published anthology. Unfortunately, I purchased and just received the Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps, published in USA; it includes all the stories in The Villains and has 2 other major sections entitled "The Dames" and "The Crimefighters". I believe the Crimefighters book is also included completely in the Black Lizard Big Book of Pulp. Also, the Black Lizard volume is printed in 2-column format(like the original pulps) with the original story illustration included. Unfortunately the Black Lizard book is printed on much cheaper paper with apparent smaller type face. The Black Lizard book has a tremendous amount of reading in it; it is a giant book.

'Bow Grip' is an exceptionally well-crafted debut novel in which the author, Ivan E. Coyote accomplished to weave the silk and cotton threads of her sentences to create a vibrant tapestry of chapters.
The story introduces appealing and intriguing folks that one might know as neighbours, friends or relatives who modestly unfold propelled by the author's impeccable observation skills and refreshing sense of humour.
Like a passenger on a bus touring gently rolling prairie hills, the reader stays connected to these compassionate characters, the heart-warming language and ordinary yet idyllic scenery page after page and realizes that it just plain feels good to root for the protagonist, Joey.
He is a car mechanic in his forties who gets a kick-start towards a major challenge by trading a beat-up Volvo for a cello. Witnessing Joey's journey might bring back the belief in all of us who thread our way to catch a dream.
Already accumulated accolades for this book: Winner of the 2007 ReLit Award for Best Novel, Shortlisted for the 2007 Ferro-Grumley Award for Women's Fiction and an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book.
Watch for more from the author who may be destined to loop sky-high in the literary horizon.

I am going to read everything this woman writes - yeah, everybody in this story smokes, but I thought that was just a Canadian thing. Rather unconventional tale of a man finding himself, graceful and full of hope.

While you do develop an affection for the lead character, and are pulling for him to make this journey of self-discovery in garages, blue collar restaurants, motels, "artists lofts", and rooms where he is offered herbal teas, the plot seems right out of a college sophomore writing seminar. The supporting characters have little nuance. It may be telling that almost every important "scene" has each and every character smoking cigarettes in the same way... I almost thought it was a deep literary device, but by the 20th scene like this it emerges as reliance on technique, just like when sloppy actors use cigarettes to disguise that they really don't know who their characters are. But it's got attempted suicide, dogs, death of parents, lesbian chic, white trash love, lonely gay men, and is better than TV and you can read it in just a few hours.