ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have happened without the patience and encouragement of my editor, Keith Kahla (whose idea it was), and his assistant, Teresa Theophano. Thanks also to my agent, Jed Mattes, who was always available, understanding, and supportive.

Linda Schlossberg not only read the manuscript and offered expert advice but continually reassured me that, indeed, pulps were not only literature but great reads as well. Patrick Merla also offered his sage counsel and encouragement on the introduction and the entire project. Chris Bram, as always, heartened and inspired me with his persistent love of literature; a well-needed salve whenever I felt that these books, which I had come to love, were less than worthy of rediscovery.

Enormous thanks as well to John Howard, Lawrence Schimel, Katherine Forrest, William K. Dobbs, Larry Townsend, Richard Kasak, Bill Andriette, Brenda Marston, and Hubert Kennedy for their enormous help in tracking down the authors of some of these selections. And to John Mitzel, who over the years has supported my passion for collecting gay male pulps. Stephen Brophy and Brian Gale were incredibly helpful in the preparation of the manuscript. David Bergman was kind enough to share with me some of his own writings on pulp novels, which were invaluable. As invaluable were my friendships with Richard Voos, Carolyn Stack, Paul Van de Carr, and others who tolerated my reading them passages from these books and insisting that they look at book covers whenever they were at my home. And special thanks to production editor Robert Cloud, whose work has made this a better book.

Much of this work could not have been done were it not for the kindness of Linda Schlossberg and Alice Jardine in securing me access to Harvard’s Widener Library.

And thanks to all of the men who over the years collected and preserved their pulp novels. Without these books in archives, used bookstores, libraries, and personal collections, we would have lost a history that is invaluable as it is fascinating.