first edition Softcover
1953 · New York
by Appel, Benjamin
New York: Lion Books, Inc. (166). Very Good. 1953. First Edition. Softcover. [moderately edgeworn, light browning to page edges, hinges tender but intact]. Mass Market PB Uncommon paperback original, a collection of short pieces apparently hustled into print to capitalize on the success of Appel's previous Lion paperback, "Hell's Kitchen," which according to the possibly-hyperbolic back-cover blurb on this book had "sold nearly a million copies." This volume contains ten stories: two excerpts from the novels "Brain Guy" and "The Dark Stain"; seven reprinted from various magazines, 1933-1941; and the title story, especially written for this publication. Unlike many hard-boiled writers of his day, Appel never wrote for the pulps; the stories collected here originally appeared in relatively obscure publications like "Blast: A Magazine of Proletarian Short Stories" and "Manuscript," although he also had stories published in mainstream mags like "Collier's" and "Esquire." . (Inventory #: 17343)