SOCK! is what they had, those hardboiled dicks of yesteryear.

They form a segment of American crime and mystery fiction that refuses to die. Still very much with us in nearly every style of contemporary writing, the tough detective school is a mixture of cynicism, violence, native American pragmatism and heroic poetry.

The early pulp magazine had untrimmed edges and a lurid, four-color cover. It was a training ground for writers who went on to dominate the fields of Western, suspense, and action writing and particularly the mystery-detective field.

In many senses, the characters who emerged from the pulp mystery pages represented the last stronghold of individuality in a country that was plunged into the Depression.

Here, then, is an anthology of representative stories taken from the great, driving forces in pulp detective fiction: Black Mask, Dime Detective, and Detective Fiction Weekly. They represent the work being done in the 20s's and 30's and are offered here as more than a nostalgic look at the past. They are offered as prototypes of one of the most popular fiction genres ever developed.

Edited by Ron Goulart.

Contents:

• Introduction by Ron Goulart
• Don't Give Your Right Name by Norbert Davis
• The Saint in Silver by John K. Butler
• Winter Kill by Frederick Nebel
• China Man by Raoul Whitfield
• Death on Eagle's Crag by Frank Gruber
• A Nose for News by Richard Sale
• Angelfish by Lester Dent
• Bird in the Hand by Erle Stanley Gardner
• An Informal Reading List