The paperback book as we know it can be traced back to New York in 1939. That year ten books were published by Pocket Books. Smaller, lighter, inexpensive, and easy to carry, paperback books became a huge success. Paperback publishers cashed in on a new, more mobile and modern society that liked to read on the bus, in subways, or on the beach. Soldiers during World War II were able to carry small paperbacks in their uniform pockets. Special “Armed Services Editions” were produced for free distribution to Servicemen.

The appeal of the paperback

The books had titles that appealed to everyday people. Sci-Fi, crime dramas, westerns, romance, sleaze, adventure, everything was available in a paperback for under a dollar. Titles such as Fleshpots of Malibu, Six-Gun Melody, The Planet Killers or Slice of Hell enticed millions to read them. Some well known authors became even more famous. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Louis L’amour, and Edgar Rice Burroughs would release dozens of titles, and gain legions of fans in the process.