The only way to describe the writing in this book is 'pedantic'. While the author covers many hardboiled mystery authors, most of the prose were dense and I got little meaning out of them.

Additionally, the photos of old paperback book covers were of very poor quality...almost illegible.

Use tis book for the list of paperback books in the back and for its bibliography of relevant books on the subject. ( )

I am of two minds about this book. When O'Brien is talking about specific authors, his insights are often right on target. More than once he stated something that I have thought myself, such as that it is pretty amazing that a writer as depressing as David Goodis could have his "testaments of deprivation and anxiety" published by a mass market publisher and sustained a career. His observations about other writers are just as sharp, but it's a shame he doesn't take on a broader selection.

Then there is the other part of the book, the story of the origin and growth of paperback publishing in the United States and an exploration of the place of hardboiled literature in America from the 1920s through the 1950s and into the present day. Parts of this narrative sink into academic gobbledegook that will tie your brain in a knot if you read it more than once.

There are also a nice selection of paperback covers, many of the related to the discussions of the authors and artists in the book. These alone aren't worth buying the book for (although this is the updated version and some of the covers are in color). If it is covers you want (and a very good narrative about the growth of paperback publishing), turn to Richard Lupoff's THE GREAT AMERICAN PAPERBACK.

All in all, I did enjoy reading this and it has pointed me to a few writers I haven't read yet. And that's the purpose of reading a book like this to begin with, isn't it? ( )

This book gave a good overview of the history and trends in pulp fiction. I'm a graphic designer and collector of Dell Mapbacks, and I really enjoyed this book. The only drawback is that the lovely images of the paperbacks throughout this book are in black and white. This book would have been so much more fascinating to see the covers in full color.