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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 10, 2016 18:37:00 GMT
Recently I've developed an interest in collecting the Man's Book series of omnibus volumes published by Odhams between 1958 and 1977. Available only by subscription originally they were marketed as an economical means to the end of book buying at a time when a new book could retail for as much as twenty one shillings or more. This is a sum which I'm sure vaulters of a pre decimal vintage will confirm constituted an immeasurably higher percentage of a weekly wage than a new book would today. Even so, at eleven shillings plus postage these books would still have been the preserve of the reasonably affluent of the time. Most working people wouldn't have dreamed of investing that sort of sum in a book and would have accessed all their new fiction through their local public library. Odhams billed the series in amusingly virile language: "Action, suspense and thrills are the essential qualities of all the stories which are selected, from the pick of all the publishers' lists, by an all male editorial board who know the kind of tough, hard hitting reading that men prefer."
Its interesting to speculate whether any publisher today would get away with not only owning up to having "an all male editiorial board" but in actively revelling in the fact.
Generally the books collected consisted of thrillers of various types: espionage stories, crime novels, science-fiction, westerns etc etc but there were excursions also into humour and wartime memoirs. Up until 1966 [MB # 44 being the last] each book came jacketed with glorious tripartite colour wrappers with specially drawn illustrations (some of which were the work of the great Jim Holdaway of Modesty Blaise fame). From that point onwards, presumably in an attempt at cost cutting, these were replaced with a drabber format with monochrome reproductions of the featured books' original covers. These lasted until MB # 93 after which dust wrappers were dispensed with entirely.
Nevertheless the quality of book production otherwise remained high and the calibre of the selected titles impressive. In its time the Man's Book series published a lot of highly collectable books and having done so remain as economic a means of collecting those books now as they were originally intended to. Perhaps even more so. Books published include PSYCHO, several titles in the Modesty Blaise sequence, the early work of Harry Patterson (aka Jack Higgins aka Martin Fallon) and Travis McGee novels of John D MacDonald.
In some volumes also the three novels were supplemented by additional short stories. The two stories by Robert Bloch advertised above are "Sock Finish" and "Where the Buffalo Roam" for instance: publishings which I believe escaped even Flanagan's gimlet eye in his Bloch bio-bibliography.
Probably the most satisfying aspect of collecting these books stems from how cheaply they can be picked up. Sometimes they can be found for as little as £2 or so and rarely more than a tenner; although the Travis McGees do attract a premium on account of the original novels being so hard and expensive to obtain. And its true that its easier to find them without the sumptuous jackets than with them.
But then, hey, who wants one's book collecting hobby to be easy.
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 12, 2016 20:43:19 GMT
Here is the complete and comprehensive listing for all 162 volumes in the Odhams Man's Book Club series. The author index can be found on pages 4 and 5 of this thread. [Edited 31 July 2020 ]1958 GALE FORCE - Elleston Trevor /COUNT FIVE AND DIE - Barry Wynne /THE BIG BITE - Charles Williams [Man's Book # 1 b]
1959 COMPANY OF COWARDS - Jack Schaefer /TEN THOUSAND EYES - Richard Collier /ALIEN VIRUS - Alan Caillou [MB # 2 ]FLIGHT INTO DANGER - John Castle & Arthur Hailey /A PRAYER FOR THE SHIP - Douglas Reeman /THE TASTE OF ASHES - Harold Browne [MB # 3 b]EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN - JPW Mallalieu /STRANGER IN GALAH - Michael Barrett /THE HOLLOW SQUARE - Geoff Taylor [MB # 4 b]BRAZEN CHARIOTS - Robert Crisp/ THE BIG STILL - Roderick Wilkinson/ THE MIDNIGHT SEA - Ian Cameron [MB # 5 b]1960 THE ACHILLES AFFAIR - Berkely Mather /BLOOD AND JUDGEMENT - Michael Gilbert /TWO HOURS TO DOOM - Peter Bryant [MB # 6 b]DESTROYERS WILL RENDEZVOUS - Jamieson Brown /STAIN OF SUSPICION - Charles Williams /THE FARTHER SHORE - Jack Couffer [MB # 7 ]GLORY THROWN IN - Richard Martin /THE BRIGHT ROAD TO FEAR - Hugh Fosburgh /THE DROWNING STONE - Dudley Clarke [MB # 8 b]A TWIST OF SAND - Geoffrey Jenkins /MY SHADOW, DEATH - Peter Malloch /APPOINTMENT IN ZAHRAIN - Michael Barrett [MB # 9 ]1961 ONE STAR GENERAL - Al Morgan /THE HUSTLER - Walter Tevis /BEGIN WITH A GUN - Michael Cronin [MB # 10 b] THE BURNING EYE - Victor Canning /PSYCHO - Robert Bloch /SEND A GUNBOAT - Douglas Reeman [MB # 11 ]OFFICIAL SECRET - Clayton Hutton/ BUTCHER'S CROSSING - John Williams/ COME BACK FOR MORE - Al Fray [MB # 12 ]STRIKE FROM THE SKY - Alexander Mckee /McCABE - Edmund Naughton /STEADY BOYS STEADY - James Mitchell [MB # 13 ]
VILLA MIMOSA - Jerrard Tickell /SUBSMASH! - JE Macdonnell /DEADLY WELCOME - John D MacDonald [MB # 14 ]
1962 ROAD BLOCK - Hillary Waugh /FAITH HAS NO COUNTRY - R Vernon Beste /THE MAN WHO OWNED THE WORLD - Charles Eric Maine [MB # 15 b]ISLAND OF TERRIBLE FRIENDS - Bill Strutton /THE SANDS OF KALAHARI - William Mulvihill /HURRICANE - John D MacDonald [MB # 16 ]
ON DESPERATE SEAS - James Pattinson /DEATH OF A SNOUT - Douglas Warner /THE ANGRY SILENCE - John Burke [MB # 17 ]
FEAR IS THE KEY - Alistair Maclean /DO YOU KNOW THIS VOICE? - Evelyn Berckman /THE CROSSROADS - John D MacDonald [MB # 18 ] DIVE IN THE SUN - Douglas Reeman /THE MAN WHO RAN AWAY - Daniel B Dobson /MEMORY OF TREASON - Harry Hossent [MB # 19 ]THE SAVAGE SKY - RT Bickers /THE MANTRACKERS - William Mulvihill /THE CLYDESIDERS - Hugh Munro [MB # 20 b]1963 THE LIBERATORS - James Pattinson /THE GENIAL STRANGER - Donald Mackenzie /THE UNQUIET SLEEP - William Haggard [MB # 21 ]
DEVIL IN MOONLIGHT - Maurice Procter /TRAIL OF A GUNFIGHTER - Jo Barnwell /REQUIEM FOR A SCHOOLGIRL - Ivan T Ross [MB # 22 b]
HANGMAN'S SONG - Jess Shelton /THE HIGH BRIGHT SUN - Ian Stuart Black /DEATH OF A BOGEY - Douglas Warner [MB # 23 ] FROM THE CITY, FROM THE PLOUGH - Alexander Baron /BLACK FLAMINGO - Victor Canning /PRISON FEUD - James Preston [MB # 24 ]MARK OF THE LION - Kenneth Sandford /THE GAUNT WOMAN - John Blackburn /RELIGION AND DAVEY PEACH - Robert Holles [MB # 25 ]THE IPCRESS FILE - Len Deighton /THE BODY SNATCHERS - Jack Finney /A GRUE OF ICE - Geoffrey Jenkins [MB # 26 ]
GILLIGAN'S LAST ELEPHANT - Gerald Hanley /DIVING DEATH - Charles Forsyte /THE CRUISE OF THE THREE BROTHERS - Robert Standish [MB # 27 b] WIND ALONG THE WASTE - Ewart Brookes /PHYLLIS - EV Cunningham /DEATH OF A TOM - Douglas Warner [MB # 28 ] 1964 JOURNEY FOR BETSY - Joseph Lee/ THE KILLING CHASE - Roger Simons/ TAR WHITE - JS Tullett [MB # 29 ]THE RAISING OF THE QUEEN - Jerry Korn /THE CAREFUL MAN - Richard Deming /THE DAY THEY HI-JACKED DEATH - James Lake [MB # 30 ]
YOUNG MR KELSO - James Dillon White /DUEL IN THE SHADOWS - Anthony Lejeune /SEA VERMIN - Keith Henshaw [MB # 31 ]
50 NORTH - Alan Easton /REQUIEM FOR A RAT - John Godwin /ALWAYS GO FIRST CLASS - Laurence Marks [MB # 32 ] FLIGHT OF THE BAT - Donald Gordon /THE DARK SIDE OF THE ISLAND - Harry Patterson /THE DANGEROUS LADY - Michael Cronin [MB # 33 b]SAFARI - Doug Allan /BIRTH OF THUNDER - Robin Cranford /THE CHASE - Richard Unekis [MB # 34 b]
BARBOUZE - Alan Williams /THE ZEBRA-STRIPED HEARSE - Ross Macdonald /CINCINNATI KID - Richard Jessup [MB # 35 ]
1965 THE 10:30 FROM MARSEILLE - Sebastien Japrisot /WARMASTER - Philip McCutchan /THE FACELESS FUGITIVE - Robert Charles [MB # 36 ]
TROIKA - David Montross /THUNDER AT NOON - Harry Patterson /SO THIN IS THE LINE - WRD McLaughlin [MB # 37 b] THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX - Elleston Trevor /HAMMERHEAD - James Mayo /DOUBLE EXPOSURE - Donald Mackenzie [MB # 38 ]NERVE - Dick Francis /SECONDS - David Ely /QUICK, BEFORE IT MELTS - Philip Benjamin [MB # 39 ]THE RIVER OF DIAMONDS - Geoffrey Jenkins /THE MONTH OF THE PEARL - Philip Jones /MISTER - Michael Burgess [MB # 40 ] THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME - Gavin Lyall /MOON BASE - EC Tubb /MAN ON A HORSE - Howard Clewes [MB # 41 ]
THE HILL - Ray Rigby /SMOKE ISLAND - Antony Trew /THE MAN WHO WOULD DO ANYTHING - Ivan T Ross [MB # 42 ]
1966 THE BERLIN MEMORANDUM - Adam Hall /FOR KICKS - Dick Francis /AFFAIR AT QUALA - Thomas Helmore [MB # 43 ]SNAKE WATER - Alan Williams /MODESTY BLAISE - Peter O 'Donnell /THE LONG DAY'S DYING - Alan White [MB # 44 ]
AN AMERICAN DREAM - Norman Mailer /UNDERSTRIKE - John Gardner /LET SLEEPING GIRLS LIE - James Mayo [MB # 45 ]
THE DARK OF THE SUN - Wilbur Smith /THE NETWORK - Godfrey Smith /NORTH AGAINST THE SIOUX - Kenneth Ulyatt [MB # 46 ]THE HARD SELL - William Haggard /NAPLES OR DIE! - Henry Chesham /HUBERT CALENDAR COUNTS HIS BLESSINGS - Patrick Ryan [MB # 47 b]
ODDS AGAINST - Dick Francis /A RING OF ROSES - John Blackburn /THE CONCRETE KIMONO - John Paddy Carstairs [MB # 48 ] THE SKY TRAMPS - Peter Jackson /DEATH IN A SLEEPING CITY - John Wainwright /THE PAKISTANI AGENT - Philip Robinson [MB # 49 ]1967 THE NAKED RUNNER - Francis Clifford /I HAVE FRIENDS IN HEAVEN - Max Catto /THE WENCH IS DEAD - Roger Miles [MB # 50 ]
THE VIRGIN SOLDIERS - Leslie Thomas /CROWS IN A GREEN TREE - WH Canaway /SABRE-TOOTH - Peter O'Donnell [MB # 51 ]
THE SHOOT - Elleston Trevor /AMBER NINE - John Gardner /THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES - James Hadley Chase [MB # 52 ]
THE OLD TRADE OF KILLING - John Harris /SHAMELADY - James Mayo /GIRL ON THE RUN - Hillary Waugh [MB # 53 ]IT WONT GET YOU ANYWHERE - Desmond Skirrow /MOVING TARGET - Jack McClenaghan /NIGHTMARE IN PINK - John D MacDonald [MB # 54 ]IN PRAISE OF OLDER WOMEN - Stephen Vizinczey /FERAMONTOV - Desmond Cory /THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT - Harry Patterson [MB # 55 ]MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP - Jonathan Scott /TREE FROG - Martin Woodhouse /THE STRANGE AFFAIR - Bernard Toms [MB # 56 ]THE ELIMINATOR - Andrew York /THE TRANSFER - Silvano Ceccherini /THE QUICK RED FOX - John D MacDonald [MB # 57 ] 1968 THE 9TH DIRECTIVE - Adam Hall /RIOT 71 - Ludovic Peters /OCEAN ROAD - Jack Bennett [MB # 58 ] THE WRECKING OF OFFSHORE FIVE - Ronald Johnston /TRIAL BY BATTLE - David Piper /BLACK MONEY - Ross Macdonald [MB # 59 ]
THE NIGHT IS A TIME FOR LISTENING - Elliot West /BOUND TO DIE - Bill Turner /NOW HEAR THIS! - Daniel V Gallery [MB # 60 ]THE FREEBOOTERS - Elleston Trevor /BROUGHT IN DEAD - Harry Patterson /A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD - John D MacDonald [MB # 61 ]THE KREMLIN LETTER - Noel Behn /THE BALLAD OF DINGUS McGEE - David Markson /SNOW IN PARADISE - Raymond Sawkins [MB # 62 ]I, LUCIFER - Peter O'Donnell /THE MULES OF BORGO SAN MARCO - WH Canaway /DARK SIDE OF THE STREET - Martin Fallon [MB # 63 ]
ORANGE WEDNESDAY - Leslie Thomas /THE DEEP SILENCE - Douglas Reeman /THE CO-ORDINATOR - Andrew York [MB # 64 ]
MADRIGAL - John Gardner /THE BANANA MEN - Max Catto /EXERCISE HOODWINK - Maurice Procter [MB # 65 ]THE LONG PURSUIT - Jon Cleary /A GIRL CALLED FATHOM - Larry Forrester /THE DUST AND THE HEAT - Michael Gilbert [MB # 66 ]
1969 LONG RIVER - John Elliot /THE EXPERIMENT - Patrick Skene Catling /THE GOLDEN LURE - Charles Leader [MB # 67 ] THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN - Jackie Collins /TO GLORY WE STEER - Alexander Kent /A WIND OF DEATH - Gavin Black [MB # 68 ] SEX TRAP - Bill Turner /THE GUNNER - William Stevens /THE PREDATOR - Andrew York [MB # 69 ]I'M TRYING TO GIVE IT UP - Desmond Skirrow /ONCE IN A LIFETIME - James Mayo /DEATH OF THE WILD BIRD - John Newton Chance [MB # 70 b]
PENDULUM - John Christopher /NICK THE CLICK - GK Wilkinson /BELIEVED VIOLENT - James Hadley Chase [MB # 71 ]
THE SPRINGERS - Berkely Mather /THE BAIT - Dorothy Uhnak /THE LONG NIGHT'S WALK - Alan White [MB # 72 ]
SIGN ON FOR TOKYO -Alec Haig /HELL IS ALWAYS TODAY - Harry Patterson /THE SHORT NIGHT - Ronald Kirkbride [MB # 73 ]
THE LOVE BEACH - Leslie Thomas /PASSPORT FOR A PILGRIM - James Leasor /FORFEIT - Dick Francis [MB # 74 ]TOUCHFEATHER - Jimmy Sangster /SURGEON AT ARMS - Richard Gordon /HIDEAWAY - Maurice Proctor [MB # 75 ]1970s listings to follow
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 12, 2016 23:40:20 GMT
The Odhams Man's Book series: 1970s issues
1970 MILLS - Manning O'Brine /DANCE OF THE DWARFS - Geoffrey Household /EAST OF DESOLATION - Jack Higgins [MB # 76 ]
THE DEVIATOR - Andrew York /MURPHY'S WAR - Max Catto /THE TALLYMAN - Bill Knox [MB # 77 ]
AND TO MY NEPHEW ALBERT - David Forest /THE LONG DROP - Alan White /BLESSED McGILL - Edwin Shrake [MB # 78 ]
TEMPTATION IN A PRIVATE ZOO - Anthony Dekker /THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THAT ANYMORE - James Leasor /FEVER GRASS - John Morris [MB # 79 ]
A TASTE FOR DEATH - Peter O'Donnell /THE STRIKER PORTFOLIO - Adam Hall /THE SIEGE OF TRENCHER'S FARM - Gordon Williams [MB # 80 ]
A COMPLETE STATE OF DEATH - John Gardner /IN THE HOUR BEFORE MIDNIGHT - Jack Higgins /THE SHROUD SOCIETY - Robert Crawford [MB # 81 ]
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN - Michael Crichton/ BLOSSOM LIKE A ROSE - Christopher Bray /THE MAN ABOVE SUSPICION - James Mayo [MB # 82 ]COME TO THE WAR - Leslie Thomas /THE SEIZING OF THE BRIG - Michael F Page /ASSASSIN - James Anderson [MB # 83 ]THE VULTURE IS A PATIENT BIRD - James Hadley Chase/ ENQUIRY - Dick Francis/ THE INNOCENT BYSTANDERS - James Munro [MB # 84 ]1971 A HOT AND COPPER SKY - Jon Burmeister /THE DOMINATOR - Andrew York /THE BLACK CAMELS OF QASHRAN - Ronald Johnston [MB # 85 ]
JACK'S RETURN HOME - Ted Lewis /THE TALE OF THE LAZY DOG - Alan Williams /THE INTERCOM CONSPIRACY - Eric Ambler [MB # 86 ]
THE BRASS GO-BETWEEN - Oliver Bleeck /A FLOCK OF SHIPS - Brian Callison /KISS THE BOSS GOODBYE - Robert Crawford [MB # 87 ]
TOUCHFEATHER, TOO - Jimmy Sangster /NORTH CAPE - Joe Poyer /THE HAWSER PIRATES - Oswald Wynd [MB # 88 ]
THE PROJECT'S SECTION - Tom Lilley /THERE'S A HIPPIE ON THE HIGHWAY - James Hadley Chase /A GAME FOR HEROES - James Graham [MB # 89 ] NEVER HAD A SPANNER ON HER - James Leasor /THIS PERFECT DAY - Ira Levin /THE XYY MAN - Kenneth Royce [MB # 90 ]
NIGHT JUDGEMENT AT SINOS - Jack Higgins /THE WITNESS - Dorothy Uhnak /THE GOLD OF ST MATTHEW - Duff Hart-Davis [MB # 91 ]
THE HEIGHTS OF ZERVOS - Colin Forbes /RAT RACE - Dick Francis /CONFESSIONS OF A HITCH-HIKER - Adrian Reid [MB # 92 ]
A CAGE OF ICE - Duncan Kyle /THE YOUNG PREY - Hillary Waugh /THE FALSE JOANNA - John Fredman [MB # 93 ] 1972 THE JERSEY PLUNDER - John Chancellor /LIKE A HOLE IN THE HEAD - James Hadley Chase /BOMB RUN - Spencer Dunmore [MB # 94 ]
DUEL IN THE SNOW - Hans Meissner /FINISH ME OFF - Hillary Waugh /THE INFILTRATOR - Andrew York [MB # 95 ]THE WRATH OF GOD - James Graham /THE BADGER'S DAUGHTER - Robert Crawford /THE LONG WATCH - Alan White [MB # 96 ]
THE CONCRETE BOOT - Kenneth Royce /THE FIGHTING TEMERAIRE - John Winton /ASKING FOR IT - James Mayo [MB # 97 ]
THE IMPOSSIBLE VIRGIN - Peter O'Donnell /GRAND SLAM - Derek Lambert /SCOBIE IN SEPTEMBER - Bill Craig [MB # 98 ]THE MARKSMAN - Hugh C Rae /LOVE-ALL - James Leasor /COLD WAR IN A COUNTRY GARDEN - Lindsay Gutteridge [MB # 99 ]
THE BLIND SIDE - Francis Clifford /THE FATTEST BANK IN NEW ORLEANS - Max Catto /THE SHADOW GUEST - Hillary Waugh [MB # 100 ]
BONECRACK - Dick Francis /GOSHAWK SQUADRON - Derek Robinson /THEY USED TO PLAY ON GRASS - Gordon Williams & Terry Venebles [MB # 101 ]
ONWARD VIRGIN SOLDIERS - Leslie Thomas /SLEEP IS FOR THE RICH - Donald Mackenzie /THE LAST PLACE GOD MADE - Jack Higgins [MB # 102 ]
DECLARATIONS OF WAR - Len Deighton /SCEND OF THE SEA - Geoffrey Jenkins /THE UNDERGROUND MAN - Ross Macdonald [MB # 103 ]FIRECREST - Victor Canning /THE PROFESSOR - Jack Lynn /THE RAINBOW CONSPIRACY - Dan Lees [MB # 104 ] 1973 FLIGHT INTO FEAR - Duncan Kyle /A KILLER FOR THE CHAIRMAN - Mark Hebden /ZOOM! - Peter Townend [MB # 105 ] MUTANT 59 THE PLASTIC EATER - Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis /CLIMATE OF REVOLT - Alan White /THE BODY OF A GIRL - Michael Gilbert [MB # 106 ]
THE STUD - Jackie Collins /THE EXPURGATOR - Andrew York /VILLAINS GALLORE - Gerard Bell [MB # 107 ]
NIGHT IS A TIME TO DIE - John Wainwright /THE LONG LAVENDER LOOK - John D Macdonald /THE GOLDEN VIRGIN - Alan Dipper [MB # 108 ]
AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA - Charles Williams /THE ALPHA LIST - James Anderson /CAGE UNTIL TAME - Laurence Henderson [MB # 109 ]
DEATH'S HEAD - Campbell Black /HERE LIES NANCY FRAIL - Jonathan Ross /ESCAPE A KILLER - Judson Philips [MB # 110 ]
JUST A MATTER OF TIME - James Hadley Chase /THE LONG MIDNIGHT - Alan White /FLIGHT FROM MONTEGO BAY - Alec Haig [MB # 111 ]FLIGHT INTO DANGER - John Castle & Arthur Hailey **/THE TENANT - John Gill /HAZARD OF 'HUNTRESS' - Vivian Stuart [MB # 112 ]
THE LEVANTER - Eric Ambler /REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER - James Mills /A WILD JUSTICE - Francis Clifford [MB # 113 ]
THE PLAYERS AND THE GAME - Julian Symons /FIRST BLOOD - David Morrell /SKYTRAP - George Harding [MB # 114 ]
ARTHUR McCANN AND ALL HIS WOMEN - Leslie Thomas /YOU'RE DEAD WITHOUT MONEY - James Hadley Chase /THE SOMERS MUTINY - Henry Carlisle [MB # 115 ]SMOKESCREEN - Dick Francis /A TOUGH ONE TO LOSE - Tony Kenrick /THE ESCAPISTS - Alexander Fullerton [MB # 116 ]
AFTER ME, THE DELUGE - David Forrest /LOOPHOLE - Robert Pollock /A ROPE FOR GENERAL DIETZ - John Rossiter [MB # 117 ]
BINARY - John Lange /MURGATREUD'S EMPIRE - Bamber Gascoigne /THE SHOOTING GALLERY - Hugh C Rae [MB # 118 ]
1974
SCORING - Dan Greenburg /TOWER OF STRENGTH - Spencer Dunmore /THE KID - John Seelye [MB # 119 ]
THE BLUE MOVIE MURDERS - Ellery Queen /HOT LINE: CAPRICORN - DE Mandeville /THE THIEF WHO PAINTED SUNLIGHT - Oliver Bleeck [MB # 120 ]
APPLEBY'S ANSWER - Michael Innes /THE SHREWSDALE EXIT - John Buell /AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION - Gilbert Hackforth-Jones [MB # 121 ]
NASTY PIECE OF WORK - Rupert Croft-Cooke /THE FACE OF JALANATH - Ronald Hardy /THE THREE WORLDS OF JOHNNY HANDSOME - John Godey [MB # 122 ]
INDECENT EXPOSURE - Tom Sharpe /THE WILBY CONSPIRACY - Peter Driscoll /THE SNOWBOYS - Forrest Webb [MB # 123 ]
HOST OF EXTRAS - James Leasor /ROTTEN WITH HONOUR - Derek Robinson /SEVEN DAYS TO A KILLING - Clive Egleton [MB # 124 ]
THE BERIA PAPERS - Alan Williams /THE DARK SIDE OF THE ISLAND * - Mark Hebden /THE NINETY SECOND TIGER - Michael Gilbert [MB # 125 ]SOFTLY SOFTLY CASEBOOK - Arnold Yarrow /KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S THERE? - James Hadley Chase /THE MANIPULATORS - John Rossiter [MB # 126 ]THE CASE OF THE QUEENLY CONTESTANT - Earle Stanley Gardner /ONE MAN'S WAR - Paul Strathen /THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE - John Godey [MB # 127 ]THE WAY TO DUSTY DEATH - Alistair Maclean /A SMELL OF BROKEN GLASS - Sean Treacy /ORDER OF BATTLE - Ib Melchior [MB # 128 ]
SLAY-RIDE - Dick Francis /THE SILVER MISTRESS - Peter O'Donnell /A REPORT FROM GROUP 17 - Robert C O'Brien [MB # 129 ]
THE MAN WITH THE POWER - Leslie Thomas /ARMSTRONG - Alan White /AMIGO, AMIGO - Francis Clifford [MB # 130]
1975
HAIL TO THE CHIEF - Ed McBain /THE LAST HEROES - John Gill /THE EIGER SANCTION - Trevanian [MB # 131 ]
THE LAST COP OUT - Mickey Spillane /SOMETHING WORTH FIGHTING FOR - Reg Gadney /A CLEFT OF STARS - Geoffrey Jenkins [MB # 132 ]
NEVER LEAVE ME - Harold Robbins /THE CAPTIVATOR - Andrew York /MEMOIRS OF A FEMALE THIEF - Dacia Maraini [MB # 133 ]
SO WHAT HAPPENS TO ME? - James Hadley Chase /BRAINRACK - Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis /THE RESIDENT - Warren Tute [MB # 134 ]ALICE AND ME - William Judson /BERGMAN'S BLITZ - Tom Barling /THE KILLER ELITE - Robert Rostand [MB # 135 ]
PERUVIAN PRINTOUT - Alec Haig /LUCK AND PLUCK - Glendon Swarthout /THE POISON ORACLE - Peter Dickinson [MB # 136 ]
THE FLY BOYS - Stanley Morgan /LION IN THE EVENING - Alan Scholefield /THE COMEBACK - Barnaby Williams [MB # 137 ]
LOVEHEAD - Jackie Collins /A RAFT OF SWORDS - Duncan Kyle /PLEASE PASS THE GUILT - Rex Stout [MB # 138 ]LAST TANGO IN PARIS - Robert Alley /THE JUDAS SHEEP - Jan Roberts /THE FEAR DEALERS - Robert Cade [MB # 139 ]
YORIS - Richard Ingham /THE GROSVENOR SQUARE GOODBYE - Francis Clifford /THE ABOLITION OF DEATH - James Anderson [MB # 140 ] LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE LONG-LEGGED WOMEN - Paul du Feu /THE KILLINGS - Howard Clark /BARLOW COMES TO JUDGEMENT - Elwyn Jones [MB # 141 ]KNOCK DOWN - Dick Francis /HANGING ON - Dean R Koontz /AUNTS AREN'T GENTLEMEN - PG Wodehouse [MB # 142 ]
THE KIDNAP KID - Tony Catling /BEST SUMMER JOB - Patrick Skene /THE CAVIAR CRUISE - Forrest Webb [MB # 143 ]
1976 SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR - James Grady /THE PRIME MINISTER'S BOAT IS MISSING - John Dyson /PALOMINO BLONDE - Ted Allbeury [MB # 144 ]
THE MYSTERIOUS COMMISSION - John Stephen /THE GOLDEN VIRGIN - John Rossiter /I LIKE IT THAT WAY - Michael Innes [MB # 145 ]
JUDAS COUNTRY - Gavin Lyall /THE VILLAINS - John Rossiter /SWITCH BITCH - Roald Dahl [MB # 146 ]
EMMANUELLE - Emmanuelle Arsan /SOUND THE SILENT TRUMPETS - Frank A Smith /THE LEAVENWORTH IRREGULARS - William D Blankenship [MB # 147 ]
THE HAPPY HOOKER - Xaviera Hollander /THE VIRTUES OF HELL - Pierre Boulle /THE FASCINATOR - Andrew York [MB # 148 ]
THE INNOCENCE HAS GONE, DADDY - Andre Lounay /OPENING ACCOUNT - Michael Geare /BARCA - Lou Cameron [MB # 149 ]
BLACK SUNDAY - Thomas Harris /THE WANDERERS - Richard Price /FRATRICIDE IS A GAS - Lindsay Gutteridge [MB # 150 ]
ON WINGS OF WAR - Jean Zumbach /HAVE IT YOUR WAY - Stephan John /HIGH CRYSTAL - Martin Caidin [MB # 151 ]
BLOTT ON THE LANDSCAPE - Tom Sharpe /THE POWER KILLERS - Judson Philips /HENRY GOLIGHTLY - Geoff Pike [MB # 152 ]SOFTLY SOFTLY MURDER CASEBOOK - Arnold Yarrow /CHALKY - Matthew Vaughan /THE FLY BOYS IN LONDON - Stanley Morgan [MB # 153 ]VENUS IN INDIA - Charles Devereaux /THE MASTERPIECE MERCHANT - Leslie Charteris /THE SEMONOV IMPULSE - James Meldrum [MB # 154 ]COCKPIT - Jerzy Kosinski /THE FLIGHT OF THE RAVEN - Robert Charles /ACQUITTAL - John Wainwright [MB # 155 ]
DO ME A FAVOUR DROP DEAD - James Hadley Chase /BETTER LUCK ELSEWHERE - Yvonne MacManus /DOORS - Ezra Hannon [MB # 156 ]
1977 MARCH BATTALION - Sven Hassel/PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT - Philip Roth/GOING DOWN WITH JANIS - Peggy Caserta [MB # 157]
TESTAMENT - David Morrell/COMING AGAIN - Jean Francis/OPERATION NIGHTFALL - John Miles & Tom Morris [MB # 158]
THE SEVEN DAY SOLDIERS - Tony Kenrick/ACES AND EIGHTS - Philip Garlington/DOING WHAT WE DO BEST - Jan Kendrick [MB # 159]
TWO MUCH - Donald E Westlake/LOVE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT - Paula Christian/SLAUGHTER AT CRUCIFIX CANYON - JL Bouma [MB # 160]
LAST DAY IN LIMBO - Peter O Donnell/THE NIGHT OF THE TWELFTH - Michael Gilbert/THE SWAPPING GAME - Peter Roberts [MB # 161]
DANGEROUS DAVIES - Leslie Thomas/TALLANT FOR TROUBLE - Andrew York/WILT - Tom Sharpe [MB # 162]
* Despite sharing the same title this is a different book from the one listed under 1964. It is not a reprint of the earlier issue under one of Patterson's numerous pseudonyms. ** This is a reprint of the title first issued in 1959. b This denotes the inclusion of bonus material
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Post by franklinmarsh on Dec 12, 2016 23:44:14 GMT
Sterling stuff, CMM. Was intrigued by one volume containing both Modesty Blaise and The Long Day's Dying. Some very intriguing stuff in there - do you have the one with Two Hours To Doom by Peter Bryant ( a pseudonym for Peter George) - the serious novel that inspired Stanley Kubrick (with George's assistance) to make Dr Strangelove (there's couple of original hardbacks on Amazon - from£1,200.00!). Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers as well as Psycho....
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 13, 2016 1:58:45 GMT
Sterling stuff, CMM. Was intrigued by one volume containing both Modesty Blaise and The Long Day's Dying. Some very intriguing stuff in there - do you have the one with Two Hours To Doom by Peter Bryant ( a pseudonym for Peter George) - the serious novel that inspired Stanley Kubrick (with George's assistance) to make Dr Strangelove (there's couple of original hardbacks on Amazon - from£1,200.00!). Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers as well as Psycho.... Regrettably not, but its certainly on the priority list for acquisition insofar as this series goes. It baffles and bemuses me that there seems to be so little interest invested by anyone in this set. Its a cracking resource for all manner of highly collectable and otherwise expensive to acquire books. And there are quite a number of film association titles which, as you've identified, invariably attract a special premium; just think of what you'd be expected to shell out for first editions of things like JACK'S RETURN HOME and THE IPCRESS FILE.
Still, why should we worry when such universal disinterest makes them so cheap to acquire.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Dec 13, 2016 12:40:05 GMT
Just had a quick flick through those titles again. Quite remarkable. The books are complete aren't they? I have a vague feeling my dad or my uncle may have had few of them back in the day.
Flight Into Danger - I think we had this at home - possibly the inspiration for Airplane!? The Hustler - can't watch the film (although I have seen The Color Of Money) - wonder if the book is more accesible? Fear Is The Key - good ol' Alistair Maclean - pretty good film too. Death Of A Snout - just love that title. I see the author also came up with Death Of A Tom and Death Of A Bogey too - I'm assuming prostitute and policeman? The Angry Silence - John Burke. The John Burke? About strikes? The Ipcress File and Body Snatchers in one volume? Yeah! Good to see Ross MacDonald (Lew Archer?) James Mayo (the Charles Hood series)John D Macdonald (Travis McGee) about. What will Craig make of E C Tubb being in there? Some further SF with The Andromeda Strain, Pendulum (?) and the name Kit Pedlar later on. The Berlin Memorandum and Dark Of The Sun hit the big screen as The Quiller Memorandum and The Mercenaries, I think. An American Dream by Norman Mailer?!!?!
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Post by pulphack on Dec 13, 2016 15:33:53 GMT
That is one hell of an impressive list, sir. I saw one of these volumes in the summer and passed it up as I thought they were condensed volumes like the Readers Digest trios. Now I have been disabused of that notion, I'm annoyed I passed it up. I think I got the impression from Robin Ince's Bad Book Club where he talks about these volumes, but as I no longer have it I can't swear to him actually saying that, or if it was just an impression I got.
As anyone daft enough to take note of what I'm rambled on about here over the years will realise, these are really right up my street and it was a bit sobering to realise how much of my half-century has been spent on this rubbish since I was a kid as I recognised many of these titles as books I have read, either at the time or since. Skirrow, Mayo, Gardener, Lyall, Elleston Trevor (and as Adam Hall)... and that's just the ones that leapt out at me!
I could ramble on interminably, but for now will content myself to two observations. First, it's a little odd to note the occasional library-imprint writer in there amongst the prestige hardbackers - John Newton Chance? Another Robert Hale regular in there is Michael Cronin, who I only discovered the other week via 1973's 'The Big C', which is strangely anti-climactic and perfunctory despite some set pieces that are taut and thrilling - as with Newton Chance, he reads like a writer who was on a contract to send in a chapter a week, pinging from book to book on word limit alone and so ending quicker than he had wanted when he realised his time was up!(I can find bugger all about Cronin except that he seems to have started writing for Hale at the start of the sixties and stopped at the end of the seventies, and this only via the span of titles for sale on ebay!).
Secondly, I see Alan White in there. A serious middle-brow novelist, he also had a second string as a library thriller writer for Herbert Jenkins under the name James Fraser, writing police procedurals set in a less than bucolic countryside. I have 'A Cockpit Of Roses' and 'Deadly Nightshade', from the mid to late sixties, which are really very good and a cut above the average library hardback of the period.
Some time back on a Sweeney thread myself and Ripper were wondering who Joe Balham really was, as it was claimed it was the pseudonym of a famous crime writer. Well, researching Fraser and discovering him to be Whitehead, I also found out that he was Joe Balham - so 'famous crime writer' is a bit misleading, as he was a famous name as White, but not for his crime novels as Fraser, which never had the same chachet!
One little mystery solved. The next one is how I explain it to Mrs PH when I start picking up these volumes as well...
Oh, and I also have to add - Maurice Procter! The ex-copper who gave us Hell Is A City! I love the book, and also the Hammer movie with Stanley Baker and Donald Pleasance as a northern bookie whose wife sells him out. Northern noir!
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 14, 2016 11:54:16 GMT
Well firstly may I say just how pleased and gratified I am by the level of interest that this thread appears to have aroused. Also how grateful I am to FM and Pulphack for their insights and additional info which were all an education to me.
The list does appear to afford fresh and rewarding insights with each new perusal, doesn't it; be it in recognising the presence there of a pre Callan James Mitchell, or in seeing names more commonly associated with William Hartnell era Doctor Who like Bill Strutton and Ian Stuart Black.
It seems as if almost anyone who was ever anyone in the thriller writing game of the second half of the 20th century was represented in the series at some point. The fun lies not just in seeing already established names like McClean and Canning (with even dear old Eric Ambler sneaking in there towards the end) but in appreciating how perceptive that "all male editorial board" was in identifying talent whose world wide reputation had yet to be established: such as with Wilbur Smith, Dick Francis and Harry Patterson. They were also pretty adept at conscripting less celebrated writers who would nevertheless go on to become stalwarts of the genre for decades to come, like Duncan Kyle, Colin Forbes and John Gardner.
Yes indeed, the books are all complete and unabridged; a fact the books themselves make great capital of. Even so I have seen one dealer at least on Abe describing them as condensed. It is an understandable error I guess when so many copies lack their dust wrappers and the faux leather bindings can make them seem disarmingly similar to Readers Digest volumes of contemporary vintage. The problem is compounded by the fact that Odhams did indeed release a series of omnibus volumes of their own comprising of condensed books. In fact I'm investigating a couple a titles currently which I am unable to add to the list until I am able to satisfy myself as to which series they belong to: (includes one very interesting new name if it should prove to be ours).
I especially enjoyed learning about all the film associations on the list FM. To this might be added Edmund Naughton's McCABE, which was the basis of the Warren Beatty/Julie Christie flick McCabe and Mrs Miller. Also William Mulvihill's THE SANDS OF KALAHARI which I saw as a kid and whose fight scene between Stuart Whitman and a troop of baboons haunted me for years afterwards. And then there is Larry Forrester's A GIRL CALLED FATHOM which starred Raquel Welch and Richard Briers (surely cinema's most unlikely pairing until that teaming of titans Marlon Brando and Thora Hird in The Nightcomers).
Yes, that is the John Burke on THE ANGRY SILENCE, but I think you'll find that its just his novelisation of the Bryan Forbes film which, I believe, was produced from an original screenplay.
Since posting the list I have added a few additional titles to it. One which was omitted in error and some subsequent discoveries. You'll find them as the final submissions at years 1959, 1962, 1967, 1968 and 1972.
I also have several titles currently in transit to me, including the one with both THE IPCRESS FILE and THE BODY SNATCHERS, and I'll be sure to post scans just as soon as they arrive.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Dec 14, 2016 12:44:16 GMT
You're welcome CMM. It's like gazing into the window of an excellent second hand bookshop. Thanks for the tip on McCabe & Mrs Miller - love that film with it's snowbound setting and poignant use of Leonard Cohen's songs. On the Western front (ho ho) I see 1968 offers The Ballad Of Dingus McGee - didn't Frank Sinatra appear in a film called Dirty Dingus McGee? Also The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome - can't help wondering if that inspired the film of Johnny Handsome. By John Godey who gave us the brilliant The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3 and an odd tome called The Snake (which Dem gave me a copy of - damn good it was too). If I ever get around to seeking any of them out, the volume containing A Taste For Death/The Striker Portfolio/The Siege Of Trencher's Farm would be a priority. Although the middle book is an average Quiller thriller from Adam Hall, the former is one of Peter O'Donnell's classic Modesty Blaise stories (the fourth?) which my fading adolescent memory tells me contains an (ulp!) topless fencing scene - that's swordfighting, not putting up a boundary, and the latter Gordon M Williams classic inspiration for Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs - covered in depth hereabouts.
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 14, 2016 16:33:36 GMT
You're welcome CMM. It's like gazing into the window of an excellent second hand bookshop. Thanks for the tip on McCabe & Mrs Miller - love that film with it's snowbound setting and poignant use of Leonard Cohen's songs. On the Western front (ho ho) I see 1968 offers The Ballad Of Dingus McGee - didn't Frank Sinatra appear in a film called Dirty Dingus McGee? Also The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome - can't help wondering if that inspired the film of Johnny Handsome. By John Godey who gave us the brilliant The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3 and an odd tome called The Snake (which Dem gave me a copy of - damn good it was too). If I ever get around to seeking any of them out, the volume containing A Taste For Death/The Striker Portfolio/The Siege Of Trencher's Farm would be a priority. Although the middle book is an average Quiller thriller from Adam Hall, the former is one of Peter O'Donnell's classic Modesty Blaise stories (the fourth?) which my fading adolescent memory tells me contains an (ulp!) topless fencing scene - that's swordfighting, not putting up a boundary, and the latter Gordon M Williams classic inspiration for Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs - covered in depth hereabouts. Would I be right in presuming the pleasure of the presence of a fellow Modesty Blaise fan, FM? Yes, you're quite correct, A TASTE FOR DEATH is indeed the fourth in the series and the best in many people's estimation. Although I've heard of equal numbers making the case for LAST DAY IN LIMBO. Me? I just love them all. And no, your memory hasn't failed you, as Modesty (by name if not by nature) does strip to her knickers for her duel with the swordsmaster Wenczel. Images like that do tend to leave an indelible impression don't they. Just as in THE SILVER MISTRESS she not only does the full monty but furthermore smears herself in grease for her fight with the unbeatable Mr Sexton. And on that note I feel an attack of the vapours coming on.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Dec 15, 2016 13:18:24 GMT
Have some smelling salts. I did have a small collection of the Modesty paperbacks. The first in a film tie-in, Sabre-Tooth and A Taste For Death with brown covers and a bee-hived heroine, I, Lucifer and Pieces Of Modesty with white covers with a girl I was a little in love with, plus silver covered Last Day In Limbo and The Silver Mistress. The only one I currently have is a rather lacklustre version of the original novel. I have Joe Losey's film on DVD too - now I'm old enough to understand it's a camp, arch parody.
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 16, 2016 22:13:49 GMT
Here are some scans of the latest additions to my burgeoning Odhams collection including, as promised, THE IPCRESS FILE/BODY SNATCHERS volume. There's no identifying credit for the illustrator on that one but ALIEN VIRUS boasts the signature of one J Canning. This is a name more commonly associated with the infamous John & Gillian period from the William Hartnell era of Dr Who comic strips: (am fast becoming concerned by the extent of useless trivia relating to William Hartnell era Who that I appear to have retained: it is not an active interest and hasn't been for years). Regular browsers of this thread might like to be advised that I've added a few further titles to the list which may be found as the last entries at years 1962, 1964, 1967 and 1970. This takes the current total to over a hundred titles in the series. Furthermore I have another baker's dozen of books under investigation. If proved they will extend the duration of the series into 1976. As things stand its really anyone's guess as to how many individual volumes the Man's Book series eventually ran to. These later style issues dont have anywhere near the visual impact of the earlier ones. But I've posted this because I thought there might be some interest somewhere in seeing what Charles Hood creator James Mayo looked like.
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Post by pulphack on Dec 17, 2016 10:27:16 GMT
That'll be me, then... he's not quite as dessicated as I imagined from what I'd read about him, but not far off! Appreciate that. Also, I find I have much trivia I can draw to mind about football in the seasons 1976-83, which are long gone. Is it a man thing, y'think?
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 18, 2016 23:39:46 GMT
That'll be me, then... he's not quite as dessicated as I imagined from what I'd read about him, but not far off! Do tell. The gorier the details the better. A couple of further film associations have arisen, both found under 1964. Richard Unekis's THE CHASE was filmed as Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. While THE CAREFUL MAN was the basis for a Tony Curtis comedy called Drop Dead Darling *. * Featuring Zsa Zsa Gabor spookily enough. One new title added to 1971.
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Post by cromagnonman on Dec 20, 2016 11:47:43 GMT
In researching these books one of the things that has most struck me has been the cover artists' methods for emphasizing the masculine nature of the material and hammering home the commitment of the blurbs to "Action! Suspense! Thrills!"One of these methods was to focus on the perils of plunging from great heights. There seem to be any number of examples depicting hapless chaps plummeting from precipices, accidentally or otherwise. The other more brazen means to this end was an obsession with stocking tops and/or generous flashes of female thigh. Am therefore delighted to discover THE CAREFUL MAN which does a wonderful job of combining both approaches in one arresting image. Sometimes in the process of acquiring these books its possible to strike lucky and find them with their promotional literature still included. This can be a good source of informative and, unintentionally, amusing reading. This one is notable for another CAREFUL MAN illustration which is striking in all senses of the word. The humour though comes courtesy of the application form which states, in no uncertain terms, that a parent or guardian's signature is required for all subscribers under the age of 21. When Odhams stated that these books were for men they meant MEN.
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