For a pulp fan wanting to learn more about the magazines, give a book or two by pulp expert Robert Sampson.
Though it has been over 20 years since Sampson died, several of his Popular Press* books are still available at cover price.
There’s his excellent six-volume series, “Yesterday’s Faces,” which looks the legions of minor pulp characters. Characters such as Anthony Wynne‘s detective Dr. Eustace Hailey of Flynn’s have often been overshadowed in pulp research by more popular characters, but Sampson shines a bit of light onto them.
Each volume focuses on different themes: Vol. 1, “Glory Figures”; Vol. 2, “Strange Days”; Vol. 3, “From the Dark Side”; Vol. 4, “The Solvers”; Vol. 5, “Dangerous Horizons”; and Vol. 6, “Violent Lives.”
Both hardback and paperback versions ($39.95/$17.95) are available for volumes 1, 3-5; but volumes 2 and 6 are only available as hardbacks. Scroll down toward the bottom of the Press’ In Print page for links to the “Yesterday’s Faces” volumes.
Sampson’s “Deadly Excitements: Shadows & Phantoms” covers some of the same terrain as the “Yesterday’s Faces” series, but in one 234-page book. Originally published in 1989, this book is a collection of essays and articles on the hero pulps, little-known pulps, assorted characters and more.
“Deadly Excitments” is available in both hardback ($33.95) and paperback ($15.95) from the University of Wisconsin Press.
Any or all of these books are highly recommended as a pulp gift for any curious pulp fan.
* The University of Wisconsin Press purchased the stock of the Popular Press, which was originally at the Bowling Green State University, Ohio.
