Library Exhibits

Pulped: The Shocking History of the Paperback Book  physical/digital exhibit presents the surprising backstory of the paperback book. Pulp fiction, long criticized as lowbrow and immoral, challenged social norms, promoted free expression, and influenced modern publishing, leaving a lasting impact on literature and popular culture, and played a significant role in expanding literacy and making reading accessible to the masses.

The term pulp originates from the cheap wood pulp paper used to print inexpensive paperbacks. By the 20th century, it became associated with mass-produced fiction characterized by sensational, fast-paced stories in genres like crime, horror, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Known for their lurid cover art and raw, plot-driven narratives, pulps offered readers a form of escapism that prioritized entertainment over literary refinement. While often dismissed as lowbrow or guilty pleasure, pulp fiction played a vital role in democratizing reading, promoting free expression, and reshaping the publishing industry, paving the way for the rise of the modern paperback.

During World War II, books became “weapons of democracy.” While Nazi Germany burned books, the United States distributed them to promote the free exchange of ideas as essential to democracy. Publishers formed the Council on Books in Wartime with Army librarian Colonel Raymond Trautman to create Armed Services Editions (ASEs): small, pocket-sized paperbacks first produced in 1943. Printed in double columns and bound with staples, ASEs were durable and diverse, covering classics, fiction, history, and humor. Over 1,300 titles and 122 million copies were distributed, becoming beloved by soldiers. They traded, reread, and shared the books, earning the U.S. the designation of being “the best-read army in the world.”

C/O Postmaster, Corporal Thomas R. St. George, Armed Services Edition, 1943.

Georgia College Special Collections

The saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” may hold true, but after World War II, publishers proved you could certainly sell one because of it. Pulp fiction’s striking cover art drove much of the paperback’s success, as publishers quickly discovered that sex, or at least the suggestion of it, sold books. Fierce competition for readers led to increasingly provocative imagery, with scantily clad women and suggestive scenes appearing on everything from literary classics to hardboiled detective stories. The strategy worked: paperback sales soared, launching many authors to fame and cementing pulp cover art as a defining mid-century art form.

In 1950s America, Cold War anxieties and conservative values fueled a surge in government censorship. The Red Scare, driven by McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee, targeted books accused of promoting un-American or immoral ideas. The 1952 House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials condemned paperbacks for “filth” and “degeneracy,” citing their lurid cover art. Though pulp novels largely avoided federal bans, local crackdowns and poor sales hurt the industry.

Pulp paperbacks both democratized reading and reflected the prejudices of their time, often reinforcing sexism, racism, and homophobia. Still, their widespread circulation challenged censorship laws. Affordable and accessible, paperbacks published controversial works like Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Tropic of Cancer, sparking landmark obscenity trials. The Lady Chatterley case in 1959 upheld literary merit as a defense for free expression, and the 1964 Tropic of Cancer ruling required a clear legal definition of “obscenity.” These cases reshaped cultural attitudes toward sexuality and speech, securing lasting First Amendment protections for literature.