An Informal History of the Pulp Magazine Author:Ron Goulart Original title: Cheap Thrills. Spanning the years between the dime store novels of the 19th century and today's paperbacks, pulp magazines provided millions with their first and only tast of "literature". The noble, resourceful heroes of those gripping tales of fiction, along with their monstrous, evil antagonistis, were depicted on cheap pap... more »er, and housed in lurid covers that shocked all but the near-blind. There was THE SHADOW, scourge of the underworld, DOC SAVAGE, superhuman adventurer, and THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE, sleuth extraordinaire, as well as the breath-taking exploits of World War I sky fighters, mad scientists, TARZAN and a host of now-immortal writers. The printed word has indeed become alive in that most vigorous and thrilling of literary eras.« less