The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books) [Paperback]

Maxim Jakubowski (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Mammoth Books | Publication Date: December 10, 2001

Packed solid with seven decades of pulp action and peopled by shady operators, voluptuous molls, ruthless big shots, crooked cops, and gruff private eyes, this new collection of hard-boiled tales includes classics by such masters of the craft as Dashiell Hammett, Robert Leslie Bellem, Cornell Woolrich, and Erle Stanley Gardner, as well as some of the best modern crime fiction to be published by postwar giants like John D. MacDonald, Ross McDonald, Ed McBain, Charles Willeford, David Goodis, and James Ellroy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Pulp fiction never dies!" proclaims Maxim Jakubowski and he might be right: the editor of The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction returns with The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action, a celebration of the hardboiled form. From Raoul Whitfield's 1929 "Sinners' Paradise" to Michael Guinzburg's 2000 "The Gangsta Wore Red," this volume has all the big guns, dirty cops, shady characters and dishonest damsels a pulp enthusiast could hope for.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Maxim Jakubowski is the editor of numerous Mammoths on the Constable & Robinson list. He lives in London where he owns and runs the world-famous Murder One bookshop. He also reviews new crime titles for the Guardian. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (December 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709200
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709205
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 4.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually, I'd go 3 1/2 stars on this one, July 29, 2004

By 

D. Hughes "Dennis" (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

There are some good stories in this collection but I would recommend reading "The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction" first. Once you have read those stories, come back to this collection. It's not as good as the other collection, but it'll help "fill the corners" in your appetite for pulp.

4.0 out of 5 stars Ya, Quick Dose of Pulp, December 1, 2007

By 

Deacon Priest (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

For those addicted to Pulp, this anthology rocks. Great Detective fiction mysteries and action. Loaded with Pulp. Gives you your quick fix. Good Read

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hits Outway the Misses...Just., April 2, 2008

By 

Rathko (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

A hit-and-miss affair with enough hits to make the whole thing worth while. The more dated and preposterous the language the better. There's much fun to be had with dialogue that unconsciously summons the voices of Jimmy Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. While the audience for this kind of anthology is interested purely in the real pulp fiction of the 1930s and 40s, the collection is sprinkled with a few more modern pieces. While many of them are perfectly serviceable stories, it's a mystery as to why they're included. When the reader simply wants to experience the best that 'Black Mask' and 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine' had to offer, it seems odd to include such unwanted intrusions on the reader's nostalgia.

Many reviewers here take issue with the inclusion of 'The Gangsta Wore Red', a novella by Michael Guinzburg, scion of the multi-million dollar Viking Publishing Guinzburgs. Though not for the feint of heart, his writing is unquestionably in the pulp fiction style, albeit by way of 1970's style exploitation. If Golden Era writers could have gotten away with such liberties they would have done. Though his work is not as well known in America as it is in France and Britain, Guinzburg's an excellent writer. While there may be certain ethical questions about the very fact of a privileged white man writing a first-person narrative about being a poor, African-American criminal, the fact remains that the novella is very good and Guinzburg's writing far superior to that of the genuine pulp authors that bookend his work here.

Not a bad collection, but you miss the smell of cheap ink on yellowing paper.