AMERICAN PULP

AMERICAN PULP tells the story of the midcentury golden age of pulp paperbacks and how it brought modernism to Main Street, democratized literature and ideas, spurred social mobility, and helped fashion new identities by introducing readers to books by and about gays and lesbians, African Americans, and other marginalized groups. Drawing on extensive original research, Paula Rabinowitz unearths the far-reaching political, social, and aesthetic impact of the pulps between the late 1930s and early 1960s. Examining their often-lurid packaging as well as their content, AMERICAN PULP is richly illustrated with reproductions of dozens of pulp covers, many in color.

A fascinating cultural history, AMERICAN PULP will change the way we look at these ephemeral yet enduringly intriguing books.

Paula Rabinowitz is professor of English at the University of Minnesota.