The Paperback Revolution

Today, the most popular book format in the world is not a traditional hardcover book, nor an ebook, but a paperback- a format that changed the what, how, when and how much the world reads. It is history that deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #Books

[@johndufford5561]

Two quick points: when reading in bed & drifting off to sleep, paperbacks are considerably easier on the nose than are hardbound books. Second, swatting a fly with an ebook can be prohibitively expensive.

[@wendychavez5348]

I won't ask how you know ... because I know also!

[@nameinvalid69]

>swatting a fly with an ebook haahhahahhahaha that reminds me of a funny TV ad I think the victim was an iPad 😆

[@andrewburnett4931]

A tablet hitting the bridge of your nose in bed can have one of two effects it either jerks you awake with the pain or renders you unconscious

[@sarahwatts7152]

Also, there's lower stakes when you sit on a paperback. (Not that I would know what it's like to sit on an ebook......)

[@MadelonWilson]

very astute!

[@thisisscorpio6024]

I couldn't watch this without "Paperback Writer" playing in my head.

[@kitbag9033]

Wish I hadn't read that comment Scorpio, I've got the same problem now! Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write...

[@billpostscratcher2025]

@@kitbag9033 will you take a look?

[@hoodagooboy5981]

It's based on a novel by a man named Lear.

[@calekarr10]

Glad I wasn't the only one

[@cathipalmer8217]

Oh, thanks so much for that!

[@ronsparks7887]

I have to put in a word for science fiction and paperbacks. Some better known authors were published in hardback, but the genre was absolutely dependent upon paperbacks and the young people who read them.

[@jackielinde7568]

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres were all greatly increased by both the pulp magazines and paperback books of the 1940s and 1950s. Extra Credits has a wonderful series on how Science Fiction began and then grew on this very topic.

[@ronsparks7887]

@@jackielinde7568 There were several very good sci-fi "magazines", such as Galaxy, Astounding, Fantasy and Science Fiction, that were collections of short stories and novellas in paperback book format, also.

[@videolabguy]

I found Heinlein's "Red Planet" in the school library when I was 10. Up to that point, I didn't know "monster movies, as we called sci-fi in our family) came in books! I read every book Heinlein wrote and all the other great sci-fi authors along the way. 90% pulp garbage in a lot of cases, but I still became a highly skilled and fast reader! I adore Hugo Gernsback for coining the term "science fiction". Another note. I have recently tried to re read some of the classics of my youth. Sadly, time has not been kind to them. I miss the steamy jungles of Venus.

[@machintelligence]

There were also the "Ace doubles": two novella length stories bound into one paperback (with two front covers) published between 1952 and 1973.

[@ronsparks7887]

@@videolabguy I wish Mars was like Ray Bradbury's depiction of it.

[@Art65483]

Physical books forever. The feel, the sound of pages turning, the smell of fresh ink. The ability to get lost in the story as it materializes in your mind - electronic just isn't the same.

[@aaronmonette7849]

100% agree. A book has to be held and read in a quiet place with warm, dim light so you can relax and let your mind build the story as you go along. And you can't do that with an e-book.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

I don't like the smell of fresh ink, but that "old library" smell is great. Why don't they make hand soap that smells like that? One of my favorite books as a kid (I still have it at over 40) was a book I snagged at a used book sale for like 25c or something, I was like 5 or 6. It was a paperback (6x4 ish) with no front cover. Loved the book, (Zilpha Snyder) but never knew what the cover looked like until about a decade or so ago I went to a used book store and found a copy of the same book (same print run 1975 but the copyright was 1965) and it actually did have the front cover. I snagged it for 1.50$. Whoot!

[@crackiechan4432]

I spent 8 years making books. It was by far the most enjoyable job I have had.

[@budahbaba7856]

What a great service you provided! :)

[@self-transforming_machine-elf]

👉👉 *click-click*

[@matthewsmith9389]

My favorite job to date as well.

[@bushranger51]

I did it for more than that, and I have to agree with you, it's a very satisfying job, creating something physical that people will use. I especially loved the fact that the staff got the first pick of the spoiled books, ones that weren't trimmed properly, but the text was still possible to read, I amassed quite a library that way.

[@crackiechan4432]

@@bushranger51 Funny story. I was trimming the books before they got bound and in one go cut 250 of them wrong.

[@pudgydog00]

The reason I prefer physical media of electronic is that the distributor cannot delete physical media from my library quietly. I will have my books until the firemen kick in my door to burn me and them. (If you do not understand that reference, then you have not read the right books.)

[@r.blakehole932]

Yes! And, I have heard stories (no verification on my part) of books being deleted by electronic publishers and, even pulling and deleting books purchased and downloaded. So, even if the stories I heard were not true, I am sure the ability is there. Furthermore, e-books go away if there are large EMP events. Whereas hard copy books will still be around, even if you are reading them by candlelight!

[@GeeItSomeLaldy]

@@r.blakehole932 I refuse to buy any ebooks that I don't get the epub or PDF of. Narrows the choices significantly, but at least what I have are my own.

[@michaelpayton9164]

I never have to recharge my physical books either. ;)

[@51WCDodge]

Apparently the temprature isn't high enough to burn them. Much easier to crack an e reader :-)

[@51WCDodge]

@@r.blakehole932 Intrestingly a lot of archives are going back to paper for just that reason. A lot of stuff on one foremat wont read on another , and formats change quickly.

[@timtimm9199]

As a kid I would read the stacks of readers digest books at the lake house my grandparents had. So many great stories and writers I discovered in them.

[@nicholashernandez4367]

Paperback books are cheaper, but if I can, I'll go for the hardback book.

[@bradycollins5267]

Same bro

[@andyv16012]

I prefer a hardback book if its something I plan on keeping. Exception is "Uncle John's" Bathroom Reader, I have 6 volumes.

[@Lady_Chalk]

Especially if it’s a special edition. 😉

[@stephenstevens6573]

Only breaking the spine for the first time with a hardback book, and smelling that old familiar smell...that's sums up the book experience for me

[@Lady_Chalk]

@@stephenstevens6573 And the smell of older books, like my mom’s old children’s books that were stored away.

[@richardmcgowan1651]

As with art and music, the written word is one of the most important human milestones in our long history. It should be protected even if it offends. It's our history. It shows the best of humanity and it can be the worst of humanity.

[@monkeygraborange]

Tell that to Amazon as it bans books.

[@nedludd7622]

@@monkeygraborange So does Ebay.

[@jtgd]

@@monkeygraborange free market. If there is a demand, someone will fulfill it

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

What a quaint pre-2021 notion.

[@MikinessAnalog]

"Do you read much Charity?" "As much as I am able. I've read a couple of master Shakespeare's works, the Good Book of course, and Pilgrim's Progress, but I find myself lucky to read & read again the Lord seemed fit to provide me." "Charity, I'm about to show you the next best thing to heaven on Earth." Enters library: "Merry, Peter, if I could read but one, two such volumes ..." "You can read as much as you like, through my eyes." "Merry, Peter, wouldst thou do such a thing for me?" "We'll start off with something you're familiar with, Shakespeare maybe, then work our way up to the 17th, 18th centuries." ----- "A Message From Charity" (The New Twilight Zone)

[@masterimbecile]

Paaaaaperback wriiiiiteerrr... (paaaperback wriiiiteerrr...)

[@bwake]

Please sir or madam would you read my book It took me years to write, will you take a look? It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear And I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer. Paperback writer!

[@ace1776]

Damn you guys read my mind. My dad flooded my head with the Fab Four when I was growing up in the 90s.

[@TheDirge69]

@@bwake ty Paul..

[@mariebelladonna437]

As an aspiring author myself, this is my cell phone ringtone, lol!

[@ldbarthel]

Physical books have other advantages: they don't need recharging and they aren't subject to removal from the platform by the e-publisher. Or worse, obsolescence of the hardware, OS, or file format. Project Gutenberg has been formatting public domain works in plain text for decades - a file format not subject to the whims of Microsoft or Apple. One area in which properly tagged e-book shine is Biblical studies: you can cross-reference translations with the original Greek and Hebrew. The Greek and Hebrew texts can be tagged with grammatical information and linked to lexicons and concordances. Other reference works can be tagged and linked in as well.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

I do enjoy being able to use several translations available for parallel study and having the concordances/original dictionaries.

[@michaeldougfir9807]

Hello Kevin. Greetings from California! This is to state that I appreciate what you had to offer about books. For me a good study in the Word has always started with the AV and Strongs Concordance. As I was enabled I have enjoyed the addition of the NASB and its' big concordance. Then the ASV (1901), NKJV, et al. A stack of open reference works on the desk is a blessing and a help. I can work with the Greek and even the Hebrew some. (More books.) It makes me wonder how the scolars of old were able to study so well and produce their great transations and other works. In any case the blessing is ours. And it all came down to us through Guttenberg's Bible.

[@lizj5740]

And if you have any time in which you're not reading for pleasure, you may be able to help Project Gutenberg by joining Distributed Proofreaders, who are the people from around the world who proofread and format the scanned books that eventually wind up on Project Gutenberg's pages.

[@lizj5740]

@David Single Hi, David. Footrot Flat books were part of my introduction to Australian "literature" when I moved down under. I was very puzzled for a long time. ;-)

[@dbadaddy7386]

There's no reason at all that each individual copy of a Kindle book can't have its own minor but traceable error, identifying that specific copy even if the metadata has been stripped. Indeed, it could certainly be possible to customize each copy so that, unless copies were compared, a given copy says exactly what the distributor wants it to say, even if it isn't in the original. This can also happen with POD books, but it's much harder with mass printing. You print out a page of a subversive book to anonymously distribute and the thought police show up at your door because they know whose copy was used. Books can be changed ore removed even after downloading. The irony that an early Kindle had a specific version of 1984 deleted. io9.gizmodo.com/amazon-secretly-removes-1984-from-the-kindle-5317703

[@RayPendergast]

Definitely, there is nothing like actually HOLDING a book while reading it. Maybe it's generational and time will tell but, there is nothing like curling up with a good book wherever you feel comfortable and diving into a great story!

[@Oldfaithful61]

The feel of the paper, the smell of the ink ... :)

[@mjrussell414]

Agreed.

[@Junyo]

The weight, the cramped fingers...the sound of a book falling in your bathtub. No, I'm glad that I switched to reading mostly audiobooks about 20 years ago. Reading with your eyes closed, not needing a light that prevents your brain from falling asleep (and keeps your partner awake) and the sheer lack-of-weight that means I can now bring hundreds of books with me on my daily commute or a trip...ahhhh...progress... 😅

[@dbadaddy7386]

The paper copy boots up every time, doesn't need charged, and if you drop it, even in water, it doesn't break.

[@loganholmberg2295]

@@Junyo Yeah neverminded the convivence that an ereader offers , it lasts weeks or months on a charge, and I was able to reduce my book collection which was getting completely out of hand. I converted allot of my books using a drm scrubber called calibre to convert and backup my ebooks and donated allot to my local library. I though about selling them but used book prices are a joke. I'd rather donate to my local library.

[@joelb8653]

"When Books Went to War" is a great book which goes into great detail about the WWII pocket books. They made a number of authors careers.

[@floydvaughn836]

Samuel Fuller for one. Read and watch The Big Red One.

[@beansfriend7033]

That's a great book - I loved reading about the effect they had on soldiers' morale during the slower periods between battles and such. It was really cool to find out about how the books were tailored with the soldiers, their transport needs, the size of uniform pockets, etc. I particularly remember enjoying the reaction of other Allied forces when they learned of the books the U.S. forces were being provided, how envious the other Allies were. It did my book-loving heart good.

[@lindycorgey2743]

When Martin Milner is killed in THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA. The last shot of him shows the paperback he was reading.

[@eliscanfield3913]

I remember when people were so sure ebooks would replace paper books. Most of the big readers I know doubted it. We like the feel and smell and the fact that if you accidentally drop it in a puddle or the bathtub, you could probably still read it, and certainly less money to replace. Not that I've ever accidentally dropped my book. Nope, never.

[@abbofun9022]

And you actually do OWN the book after buying it this in contrast to e-books.

[@SeanBZA]

@@abbofun9022 I buy eBooks from Baen, where you do get the ebook with no DRM, so that you can actually read it wherever and on whatever device you have, plus as a bonus no need to have a working connection to unlock it. The free library of theirs is also amazing, plus you get samplers of all the works as well. Only thing against eBooks is they are ephemeral, and you will not be able to find one that has been sitting in an attic for a century, sit down one afternoon and discover authors you never heard of before. Book viewing devices change, formats change, DRM servers get turned off, and your digital library vanished into less than nothing. Plus no libraries where you can lend a book and read it any more.

[@jackpayne4658]

That reminds me of 'the paperless office' - another popular 1990s fantasy.

[@51WCDodge]

@@SeanBZA Have you heard of Project Gutenberg? Lots of old books on line for free.

[@tygrkhat4087]

So, when you've dropped a book, you've done it on purpose?

[@larrywest8046]

Ironically, my time spent reading has decreased while my time watching KZbin channels of the same interests has increased.

[@WalkaCrookedLine]

I bought a kindle years ago and was initially very pleased with it, but in the intervening years I have become deeply wary of e-books. The trouble with e-books is you don't own them. With a paperback you can lend it to a friend or sell it to a used bookstore but you can't do that with an e-book. You aren't even guaranteed the ability to re-read it. E-book companies have developed the habit of editing the files without warning leaving readers puzzled about details they remember that aren't in the book anymore. At least one major e-book distributor has gone out of business, leaving their customers with no access to the servers the books they "bought" are stored on. I have gone back to my beloved paperbacks, which I have a lot more confidence I can do what I please with.

[@monkeygraborange]

When I was a kid I had literally hundreds of Penguin books. I loved those things!

[@yeahitskimmel]

I just had my first kid and have gotten a ton of those

[@51WCDodge]

@@yeahitskimmel A lot of the earlier editions are now collectors picies in there own right.

[@jackielinde7568]

Yeah, when he said Penguin Books, my heart leaped back four decades to when I was a kid. Sadly, I think I may have ONE book by Penguin. I don't think I have any books by Pocket. :(

[@wendychavez5348]

I bought "The Devil in the Shape of a Woman" in 5th grade from a Penguin catalog. Parents and teachers all advised against it cuz it was so advanced, and I didn't actually finish it until a couple of years ago (let's say 40 years after I bought it?), but it's always been a treasured part of my collection.

[@51WCDodge]

@David Single I'm am really frustrated at the moment. I have friends who live in Wales(UK) as part of the route I go through Hay On Wye, World famous for second hand books. Perfect place for me to take a breack. :-)

[@williamalexander497]

As an author, myself, I am a big fan of knowing my books are on paperback. Even more fun, they're all available on Kindle as well. But say what you will about the technological advances, seeing my work on a shelf with other author's works that I admire, makes me feel good whenever I catch a glimpse of them.

[@ct8764]

Okay, since you put the commercial up there I have to go look up your work!

[@deanmoore1752]

The physical version of my book, has outsold the e-book version 100 to 1. My publisher does no marketing, so I'm always impressed when people find it.

[@sandrataylor2323]

I love to read no matter what kind of format it is, whether hard back, paper back, e-book, etc. Every time I read something I learn something new.

[@johnstevenson9956]

Another bit of forgotten history, was that Charles Dickens' books were originally sold a chapter at a time and public reaction sometimes influenced the direction the stories might take. I myself, have a small library of books and I can point to each one and say, "I read that". I can't point to an E-book and say I read it.

[@machintelligence]

As a voracious reader of science fiction for the last 60 years, my problem is somewhat the opposite. My paperback collection now stretches over 150 feet of bookshelf. I need to start culling my collection.

[@johnstevenson9956]

@@machintelligence Same problem, although I'm not sure how many feet of shelf space I have covered, but my reaction was more along the lines of, I need a bigger library!

[@SeanBZA]

@@machintelligence Find a local library, who in general will love to get new books to add to the shelves. Especially true for small libraries, where the budget is being stretched a lot of ways, and books are in general bottom of the budget pile. I did do a few libraries that way, as I used to go into the bookstore every few weeks and buy a few dozen softcover pulps to read, and after reading them I would generally give to the library, as the entire SF collection they had was an empty shelf. I at least got that shelf full.

[@matthewbadley5063]

@@machintelligence No, you need more bookcases

[@stephensoltau2823]

@@SeanBZA In my city we have a number of free newstand style machines that you can deposit books into or take books from.Unfortunetly they have been forgotten about though.But some food pantries allow books to be dropped off for clients to take.

[@dbadaddy7386]

One genre can lead to another. In reading about the making of Star Trek, I read that Kirk was supposed to be similar to Horatio Hornblower. I didn't know who that was, so I looked it up, and began reading the novels. That led me to the Aubrey and Maturin novels, and they in turn led me to the Sharpe books. Thanks to a TV show set hundreds of years in the future, I've enjoyed reading books set hundreds of years in the past. Even video games can generate interest - thanks to the latest Assassin's Creed video games, I've learned a great deal about Egyptian, Greek, and English and Viking history, not so much from the games themselves (although both Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey has an entirely separate game that is essential a museum tour through the cultures), but because I was spurred on to learn more about the people, places, and events in the games. So video games can be educational, even the ones that don't intend it.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

Star Wars are just old fashioned pirate swashbucklers.

[@susanwahl6322]

I have all types. Hard cover, paper backs, as well as e-books.

[@wendychavez5348]

Me too, and my favorites are definitely the paperbacks. After I've cloaked them with clear contact paper, they lady longer even than hardcover books do--in college i worked for a while in the Book Repair section of the campus library and learned tricks like that. I have an e-reader that won't connect so I can't get new books, one that just quit working, and one that got stolen from a locked car by the neighborhood homeless guy because he wanted the backpack it was in. I'm afraid to get another.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

I will always think about the episode of Star Trek when they meet this man with a huge collection of books. One of them asks him why he has all the books, 'when all the information is on the computer'? He says that he has a computer but that 'there is nothing like sitting down with a real good book'. As a kid, I didn't understand that exactly. As an adult, I couldn't agree with that more. Take Care and never stop reading, on whatever format works for you, John

[@alanjameson8664]

I remember when, back around the early 1960's, the glue used for holding paperbacks together improved dramatically, making them more durable, and making much thicker ones practical.

[@baldeagle5297]

As I get older and my vision deteriorates, I find myself listening to audiobooks almost exclusively. They also have the advantage of allowing me to multitask and still enjoy a good story.

[@frannyfranfrancis]

We are so blessed to have all these sources of knowledge and history at our finger tips! Thank you and keep up the great work! History's Mr. Rodgers, you are global treasure!

[@thedreadpiratewesley2301]

"Oh no! The children are reading! This will corrupt them and destroy society !!" ... Odd this sounds vaguely familiar ..

[@kathyastrom1315]

To quote Meredith Wilson: Mothers of River City! Heed the warning before it's too late! Watch for the tell-tale signs of corruption! The moment your son leaves the house Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee? Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime novel hidden in the corn crib? Is he starting to memorize jokes from Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang?

[@thedreadpiratewesley2301]

@@kathyastrom1315 not captain billy's whiz bang ?!? The horror ...the horror .. 😂

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@kathyastrom1315 The mention of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang in The Music Man is an anachronism, the play/movie takes place before World War I, the book wasn't published until after the war. The publisher of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang was Wilford Hamilton, founder of Fawcett Publications. When they got into putting out comic books, their premier character was Captain Marvel, who was really Billy Batson, who starred in Whiz Comics and there was a large bang when he became Captain Marvel.

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

It's a universal constant. Our great-grandkids will be saying the same about quantum-nano-holo-cubes in 2143, just like the ancient Greeks were saying it about lutes and poetry, in the bronze age. The present/future is always horrible and scary, and the perfect, golden age is always 40 years before the complaint is being made...

[@HYDRAdude]

Looking at the state of society now.... turns out they were right.

[@martinm3474]

While living in a small town, my Mother had more books than the local library.

[@maryerb6062]

Go Mom!!

[@horrido666]

The biggest impact of video games is it reduces reading among young adults. I've never held the storytelling in video games on par with that of literature, but its getting better. For me, my childhood was filled with John Carter, Warlord of Mars, and tales of soccer teams surviving plane crashes in mountains thanks to paperbacks. My mom didn't like buying so many of them, I'm sure of that.

[@davidkugel]

I read Edger Rice Burrough's paperback books as a kid in the early 1960s. My favorites were the Pellucidar series at the earth's core. I believe they were 95 cents apiece. I like Burrough's Martian and Tarzan books too. When my mother died, I mailed 60 old paperbacks to the Edgar Rice Burrough's museum in Tarzana, CA.

[@philippointon8651]

I do not understand dislikes for the history guy. For me personally, it is an automatic like when an episode comes up.

[@thomasmcgraw6629]

It's a good indicator to not extend or accept a friend request in my book.

[@MrBelmont79]

The author that comes to my mind is Louis L’Amoure. I used to read one of his paperback westerns once a week. They costed about a dollar in my time, but I could get them cheaper in garage sales or any bookstore that sold used books too. I miss them 🙂

[@Otisthelesser]

You should try his “Last of the Breed” if you haven’t already. Good yarn in a modern setting.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

My parents read alot of Louis L'amour

[@davidraybon1615]

No mention of Scholastic Book Club or TAB? They had as much influence in my life as the Bookmobile or indeed the Public Library itself. Honorable mention to encyclopedias in the home.

[@thechancellor3715]

Thanks for bringing up the Scholastic Book Club. Ordering the paperbacks through my school formed the foundation of my youthful library. Lots of excitement when the books arrived in cardboard cartons and distributed to us. Rather like another Christmas but without the giftwrapping.

[@djmccathran]

Hands down, this is the best channel on KZbin. Thank you, History Guy, for sharing history with us. 😊

[@fredricunderhill204]

Ink on paper has a huge advantage, it is permanent and not manipulated with a few strokes of a keyboard. No Twitter or FB can lock you out.

[@matthewbadley5063]

Twitter and facebook don't publish books.

[@dirtcop11]

A lot of 'hardcover' books actually are glued to a spine and not stitched. They also use a different grade of paper. If I want a classic book for my personal library, I will buy a bound book with a stitched spine. If I am curious about an author but have not read their work, I will usually buy it in paperback so I don't invest too much to find out if I like the style and quality of work. I have yet to buy an 'e-book'.

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

I bought a few ebooks with some google rewards money I earned from answering surveys. Mostly I've bought books written in Swedish since I'm learning that language and they can be fairly expensive to get in physical form here in the US. I also like that I can bring my entire library with me on a plane without the added bulk.

[@wendychavez5348]

The well-made ones are stitched in bundles(I think 20 double-sided pages per but couldbe mistaken) which are then glued together with a cheesecloth binding. I learned how to do that in college.

[@dirtcop11]

@@wendychavez5348 I just wonder if they sell signatures anymore.

[@wendychavez5348]

Not sure i understand your question, @@dirtcop11, though usually to get a book signed you need to buy it, and some used book stores sell signed copies at a premium (as in $5 rather than $2). I don't think signatures are as valuable anymore 🤔

[@dirtcop11]

@@wendychavez5348 The book on bookbinding called the folded pages 'signatures'.After you stitch and glue them, you trim the folds off of them.

[@davidcronan4072]

When the first Penguin paperbacks were published in the 1930's, they had separate paper dust -jackets. This practice was discontinued in WW2 to save paper.

[@joebykaeby]

Thank goodness. Dust jackets are nothing but trouble!

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@joebykaeby Oh, they served a purpose! In grade school during the 1950's, we had to pay for any wear and tear of our textbooks in school. So it was almost a tradition that as soon as we received our textbooks for the year, we made dust covers from the old heavy brown shopping bags of the time to protect and hopefully eliminate any book fee. Those old brown paper bags not only got the groceries safely home from the grocery store, but did a great job of protecting school books.

[@wendychavez5348]

I've taken to covering all mt books with clear contact paper as soon as I get them home. It's easiest with paperbacks; much nicer than dust jackets and they last longer than hardback if I do it properly.

[@georgemaragos2378]

@@ronfullerton3162 Hi - we had to do that in the 60's in primary school and early 70's, usually the cover had the books title and your name and school grade and year in case you lost it

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@georgemaragos2378 The school system I attended had an official looking ruled page glued inside the front cover that had the school's name and grade at the top. Then every line under that had the student it was assigned to and the date assigned, followed by the date turned in along with the shape it came back in and if a fee was levied. That was, of course, after they tore off the shopping bag cover that I had labored over to get just right. I remembered getting a book one year that had been new the previous year and had been turned in as excellent condition. It looked like it had been to hell and back. I asked the teacher how she would grade the book, and she repeated "fair". So I showed her the assigned sticker. She regraded it before assigning it to me. I wonder if anyone ever wondered how that book dropped three grades over the summer!?

[@isaacwilson5284]

One of my favorite things is my library; I've found that I can combat fake facts by using it!

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Seems like there is a correlation between America is low literacy (17:45), and it’s love of fake news. 🙄

[@isaacwilson5284]

@@AlphaGeekgirl ....first of all: ow. Secondly, your Grammer is ABYSMAL. Finally, you're a racist. Have a great day.

[@stephensoltau2823]

That or common sense.

[@davidbaulch3223]

I agree with most those who have ventured forth to proclaim the greatness of holding a physical book. There are books I have from years before that are no longer being produced (double novels by Ace among others) where two stories were one price. That plus getting books from second hand and third hand and however many hand book shops let me get books no longer in print but still of great wealth to me. Reading is a luxury I cannot do without AND my children always ask do you want a book or an e-book. E-book is never the answer.

[@avnrulz8587]

"Outright pirating..." because every good story includes 'pirates'!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Pirated stories about pirates.

[@vylbird8014]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Could actually be a good subject for a video - the history of (copyright) piracy. There's a lot of interesting history there, and it all took place at high speed compared to most historical subjects - revolution after revolution, all crammed into just fourty years. From the days of tape- and disk-trading to the BBS era, the rise of the Scene, the destruction of the BBS culture as the internet displaced it. How the introduction of a publically available MP3 encoder made music piracy possible, and the music ripping groups with their race for leaked early releases. The industry fight back, the rise of Napster, the fall of Napster, the successors as the technology was refined. The political culture that formed from piracy, the eventual decline of what some regarded as the golden age of piracy as legal services became widely available. There's a lot of story in there - and unusually for history, still lots of living witnesses around. I could even suggest a few books that will give you a starting point, if you wish?

[@vet-7174]

Aye !!

[@quester09]

yaar!

[@51WCDodge]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel And! The most famous of them all, was first published in a serial form in the magazine Young Folks,

[@americaneclectic]

I have bought a few "print on demand" paperbacks online. Works well for rare and out of print books.

[@adrianwebster6923]

A key element to this story is the rise of public education during this same time period and the related surge in literacy that helped create the demand for more reading material. P.S. I know I am a reader when I can recognize the paperback of Tigana in your had just by seeing the back cover.

[@otpyrcralphpierre1742]

My "formative" reading years were composed of paper-back science fiction by the likes of Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, Clarke, Huxley, and the like. Now I rarely read...mostly in bed, to put me to sleep.

[@Doc_Tar]

Glad to hear that the paperback isn't going away. I like shutting the computer down and sitting with a good novel.

[@stevedietrich8936]

Think about how many monks Gutenberg put out of work . . . the carnage. E-books extracted some revenge in the name of those monks.

[@kludgeaudio]

I am sure they quickly found employment in making beer and liqueurs.

[@kathyastrom1315]

Gutenberg was responding to the big shortage of scribes post-Black Death, so the number of monks forced to retrain wasn’t nearly as big as it would have been around 1340.

[@stevedietrich8936]

@@kathyastrom1315 Interesting and makes sense. Thanks.

[@aletheiai]

@@kathyastrom1315 Gutenberg invented his printing press 90 years (3 generations) after the Great Pestilence swept through Europe. If there was a shortage of monks and scribes, it could not have been directly attributable to the highest-mortality outbreak of Yersinia pestis. Although other plagues struck after 1349, there must have been some other imperative.

[@matthewbadley5063]

​@@aletheiai Well back then when literacy rates were very low, any hit to the literate population would sharply constrain the amount of people able to teach. You would need time for the few remaining literate monks to teach a new cadre of monks (which would also be in short supply since there was a general labor shortage). It took time for the population to bounce back to pre-black death levels. So yeah it would take at least 2 generations or maybe 3 to begin to recover from that. This is definitely not unprecedented either as large scale social collapse has resulted in steep declines of literacy before. The bronze age collapse for example led to the death of writing altogether in many societies for a few hundred years.

[@abchaplin]

As a Canadian soldier on UN operations in Egypt, Cyprus, El Salvador, Israel, and Lebanon, I benefited from a programme run by the Royal Canadian Legion during the '70s, '80s and '90s. They asked their members to donate paperbacks, boxed the donations up, and shipped them to Trenton, Ontario, whence Air Command flew them all over the world. They often included classics; I first met Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, Robertson Davies, the Mitfords and the like as a result. (I also encountered Ayn Rand--enough said.) They were not treated as throw-aways; books would stay in mission for years and detachment "libraries" grew, with books only beig discarded once they could not hold together. In international missions, such as in Lebanon and El Salvador, the boxes of books would set upon by soldiers from Europe and Asia who often had not had access to North American (especially Canadian) literature. The books provided lots of fodder for discussions among us.

[@siliconpenguin]

If this isn't my favorite History Guy episode, it's right up there(and it may be my fav!)! Thank you so much kind sir! I remember when I was a youngster, living on the University of Chicago campus, I lived above a great used book store. And I had 2 more used book stores within about 5 blocks. I keep lamenting the fact that I bought so many paperbacks and 'magazines', read them, and then sold them back to buy yet more... Oh, all those 1970's Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact magazines, and Conan Novels!

[@nastybastardatlive]

There's guy selling used paperbacks on the street all over Manhattan. Usually a buck each.

[@katiekofemug]

Fascinating look at book history!!! Ebooks enable those of us visually challenged to keep on reading. I haven't been able to read a paperback or hard back for the last five years. I wouldn't want to have lived those years, or contemplate my future, without books. For those concerned about ebooks "vanishing" all you have to do is download them to calibre reading program, back the files up on a hard drive or stick; and they are yours forever. Calibre will import all formats of books, converting them to whatever mobile reading device you use requires, and once they're in the program,, you don't have to be connected to anything to read them. The savings of space is also worth mentioning, considering the cost of housing and moving these days.

[@Music-lx1tf]

I've been an avid reader all my life. One of the first books I bought was the Two Towers by JRR Tolkien. It was so good I begged my mother for a advance of my allowance to order the other 2 books. This was 1966. Loved the story HG, THANKS.

[@Badger13x]

A very interesting video the invention that stays with us today and allowed us to leap forward.

[@tap0019]

Paperback books allowed me to mass consume books by Clive Cussler, Louis L' Amore, and Tom Clancy. I really love to read books!

[@jontallman3878]

I love the feel and smell of old books. I still have my mom's eight grade reader. During the cold snap here in Austin, I read three books until the electricity came back on. They were the Andromeda Strain, A brief history of time and my mom's eight grade reader. The written word will never go out of style!!

[@aimeepotts2137]

I work in a library, and have always loved books. I love to read ABOUT books and libraries. Thank you, History Guy, for this video. I leaned even more about how important paperback books have been in spreading literacy and democracy. ❤

[@donaldcook3314]

Books. No batteries, No power cords, No harsh glare, No constant upgrades, No subscription fees you buy it you own it. Can be taken on planes, trains, boats and cars with ease. They can be read again and again, be stored, given to a friend or love one. Donated. And recycled.

[@fredbloggs5902]

Many people have been put off e-books by ridiculous pricing and the remote deletion of works paid for, following a rights dispute or other cancellation.

[@randybentley2633]

The book, a paperback no less, that started my lifelong addiction to reading was a novel detailing the grand exploits and daring do of the Flying Tigers.

[@DavidHBurkart]

Reading a real book is similar to listening to vinyls on a real turntable. It is indescibably satisfying, uplifting, reassuring and decidedly a more personal experience.

[@e3IZrZ]

Gooooooood Morning, history peoples!

[@bobross8786]

Good morning to you

[@catjudo1]

Now THAT was a great episode among great episodes! I tend to be obsessive about my books, reading with care to the point that I can return them to the store or finding used treasures and touching up the covers with marker and colored pencil. I also collect them, and have to soon build a new bookshelf as I've run out of room (again) to put them. Most of my books are paperbacks; everything from Homer and Xenophon to Louis L'Amour and Isaac Asimov line the shelves. My entire life has been books, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

You I thoroughly understand. /;~). Edit: Do you find sadness in finding excellent HCs in secondhand stores that have been inscribed, lovingly? I do. I always wonder why a book can be so easily discarded in such a way.

[@catjudo1]

@@mynamedoesntmatter8652 Sometimes a person's possessions mean little to the family when they die, sometimes love dies and the object only causes pain. Such a find brings mild pangs of emotion in me too. And none of us will know the reason why it's there.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

@@catjudo1 “And none of us will ever know the reason why it’s there.” Adds so much to the mystery,; certainly more to the not knowing. Happy reading, book friend ~~~~~

[@kroberts8866]

This episode reminded me of the PS booklets the Army Corps of Engineers made to keep attention and educate young soldiers to care for their equipment for decades.

[@killrmillr]

I think a great subject for a video would be Frederick Faust. He is an American author better known as Max Brand, the name he wrote westerns under. He is possibly the most prolific American writer of all time and still remains in obscurity. He wrote somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 to 500 novels under several names, and not just westerns. This is all the more incredible when you consider that he only lived to 51. He was killed in WWII while working as a war correspondent.

[@janeyockey3660]

To hold a book in your hand. To know where the part you want to reference is by the look, touch and knowledge of the book. Hidden in the text is a feeling or a bond. Like many I just don't get this magic from an e-read.

[@trumpetmom8924]

One advantage ebooks have over print books is dynamic font size. For people with diminishing eyesight due to age or disease and those with dyslexia, being able to change the font size can mean the difference between actually reading and either having to listen to and audio book or other person read to them ir simoly not reading at all. But despite my own (mild) dyslexia, most of the time I prefer a printed paper book, whether hard or soft cover.

[@Cydonia2020]

To me, there is nothing better than a fresh new science fiction paperback. The smell of the glue, the subtle crack of the spine as you open the pages- so much potential for the imagination! Make an ebook do that!

[@MichaelSHartman]

Reading "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" (paperback), he spoke of returning a rowboat load of loaned books to the owner's ship, being terrified that if something happened he would never able to pay for them. The full impact didn't reach me until a visit to Colonial Williamsburg when I learned a single book was worth a years earnings. Imagine paying $20,000 to $40,000 for a single book. Something the older set may remember that might have impacted as much as paperbacks was the library card. The poorest child might have an entire library at his/her fingertips. I believe Thomas Sowell was one such person.

[@Lady_Chalk]

I definitely prefer holding a book than reading from a tablet, (unless it’s a comic book). Same goes for writing; putting pen or pencil to paper feels more.... well, if it’s my journal, it’s like I truly spilled my feelings and such in a more relieving way. Blogging just isn’t as satisfying.

[@steveschainost7590]

It is more difficult to 'cancel' a physical book.

[@Squossifrage]

Can you name a book that has been “canceled”?

[@Squossifrage]

The estate of “Dr Seuss” decided, on its own, without political pressure, to stop printing or licensing six of his lesser-known works. The Cat in the Hat is not among them, nor are The Lorax or How the Grinch Stole Christmas or any of the books he is remembered for today. As for Andy Ngo, his book is getting backlash because it is a string of lies from cover to cover. He calls himself a journalist, but he is in fact an activist who has marched with the Proud Boys and participated in and even initiated violent attacks, including the Cider Riot attack.

[@matthewbadley5063]

@David Single lmao those books weren't cancelled you people still on with your outrage machine looking to get upset about anything you can find.

[@drzarkov39]

During the '60s, I loved reading Classic Comics. All my book reports for school came from them.

[@greggi47]

Those were well-done and led me toread the books they dereived from. The growth of Graphic Novels has been a boon to reading on their own.

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

Thanks THG! 💜 Indeed, there's something about the feel of a book in your hands.🙂 Add to that, 'how-to' books are ones you can pull off the shelf if/when you need them and with or without power or internet.

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

I still buy physical books when I can, but ebooks have increased my library of foreign language books. Some books can be almost impossible to buy in the US in certain languages, but you can find them online in ebook form for a reasonable price. Moreover, most e-reader platforms will allow translation and note taking right in the app. It's easy to just highlight a word you might not know and have the translation instantly available.

[@michaelberry950]

Ah, my moms' words ring in my ears: "Torn bodice crotch novel" ( - :

[@floydvaughn836]

Back in the Day, there were these Special books. They were pure porn, with no pretense about them. In the back of your seedier news stand or truck stop.

[@michaelberry950]

@@floydvaughn836 Hell I'm old enough to remember these purulent theaters whos exclusive patrons were all these old guys with derby hats... ( - : so I heard.

[@floydvaughn836]

@@michaelberry950 and raincoats.

[@ChristianWDegn]

Great story. As with many children growing up, I usually had a novel on my bed stand. Most of the time it was a paperback. Now I have a e-book or audio recording.

[@lancehymers4674]

I have a BA in English and own thousands of paperbacks and hardcover books, but I’ll admit that I’ve gone full electronic - I use the Gerty scrolling reader on my iPad and can read at exactly the right speed for me, no matter what I’m doing. As much as I love paper books, with my iPad I can read a book while I wash dishes or sand a project in my shop. I also constantly have an audiobook on the go. Sadly, the last time I picked up one of my paperbacks, I found myself trying to expand the font size and stroke up to go to the next page, but I will never forget walking into a post as a kid because I had a paperback in my hand, and I was reading as I walked. Good times.

[@BlueBaron3339]

Yes, you had multiple pulps for every genre and you'd get glimpses of up-and-coming authors in each. But when it was time to move...oh my 😂 🤣

[@whatshisfacemcwhatnot9550]

So that's where the term "dime novel" came from.

[@milos.8131]

The history of publishing and books is so interesting! I'd love to hear more about these subjects.

[@frogmantoad8110]

Great history. And I’m glad you mentioned the importance of FREE SPEACH in the free world.

[@stevedietrich8936]

THG, you mentioned Kit Carson. He lived an interesting life. He wasn't just a frontiersman, but had a role in the Civil War battles in New Mexico and was intimately involved in the dislocation of the Navajo Nation from their traditional lands in the Four Corners area to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico.

[@wendychavez5348]

One of my best friends at ENMU was named after Kit Carson. Are you from NM too?

[@DawnOldham]

I’m 100% Audible or my library’s “audible” books, but I miss my paperbacks and reading at the speed of light! After a car crash I was left in chronic pain and it’s difficult for me to sit up to hold a book. I was trying to read Kindle or Library ebooks, but my left eye became dominant at such a close reading position! Weird, huh? Even as I type this message my eyes ache from the left eye “taking over”. By the way, I LOVED this video since I have LOVED reading ever since I was a little girl!

[@Harv72b]

It's more than just the feel of holding a physical book in your hands. It's the knowledge that you will have those words on hand to read or re-read as often as you like, even if the publisher goes out of business somewhere down the road or if the power goes out. Of being able to pass those words on to your children or your children's children. And, yes--of being able to display them all in your home to impress friends and family with how well-read you are as well as the personal feeling of accomplishment that comes with sliding one more title onto the shelf. Books never really stopped being luxury items, even as they became more and more affordable to the masses.

[@floydvaughn836]

I feel the same about my C D s and D V Ds. They're MINE.

[@wyominghome4857]

Our children bought us ebook readers a decade or so ago. We both used them for awhile, but gradually drifted back to books we could hold in hand. Lately I've been buying up old histories, travel books, cookbooks, novels, and personal accounts on eBay that were published prior to 1950. So many wonderful discoveries. And I'm not ashamed to say that as a child Classic Comics introduced me to many titles I later read in full. I love to read.

[@freesk8]

"Dear sir or madam will you read my book it took me years to write, won't you take a look?" :)

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

9:50 Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys are back?!? I want it that way!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYO0dmubnKlkr5I

[@FerretPirate]

Thank you for this episode. I don't know why it affected me so much, but I a was deeply moved by your presentation by the growth of the love of reading. Thank you.

[@orno8906]

Thank you sir, for the continuous joy you bring to those who follow THG. Books are a necessity and essential to freedom. As has been famously said, I cannot live without books.

[@bobwehner7881]

"E-books increased access..." Access, however =/ use

[@blip1]

I keep sharing this channel on my Facebook, to a friends list that is several thousand people deep. Is there a Facebook page I can tag? I subscribe to multiple KZbin channels. This one is number 1 or 2, in terms of quality, so I spread the word.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Facebook.com/TheHistoryGuyYT

[@blip1]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel thank you for this reply. Tagged. Excellent content. A+

[@SisterShirley]

Thank you THG For reminding us about something we simply take for granted.

[@fasteddy9505]

You should look into the Granite Mountain mine disaster that occurred in Butte MT in 1918. Over 160 men lost their lives in the worst hard-rock mining disaster in US history. The story is full of drama and heroism and is history that deserves to be remembered. Thank you History Guy for all you do!

[@jorisvanoeffel4721]

Hardback gang where you at

[@frannyfranfrancis]

Busy reading a good book! LOL!

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Penguin Press and Penguin Ball point opens are from the same company 🌈🌈🌈🌠 The More You Know!

[@harrysharp3838]

I self-published a short paperback novel a few years ago and because I was not skilled at promoting it even with a lot of help from my publisher, I ended up spending more money publishing it than I made in royalties. But the fun of seeing the first run I was entitled to as I opened the box for the first time made the cost well worth it. And friends that read it and told me they enjoyed it was priceless. KZbin etiquette, of course, prevents me from saying the title. Buy if you find it from my name, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I appreciate the History Guy for everything he does, and that now includes reinvigorating interest in paperbacks!

[@jasholden9741]

I am 70 and grew up loving books. Now I carry a phone with a Kindle app that contains several hundred books and access to lots more when I am connected via Wifi. I love the E Books.

[@michaelpayton9164]

I still buy a few paperbacks every month. I prefer physical print and they can never be taken from me like a digital rental.

[@airfrere]

Except by fire, flood, tornado, hurricane or thief.

[@lizj5740]

@@airfrere Especially fire. I have a friend who only shelved hardbacks in her library. She had books from long-gone relatives by such authors as Louisa May Alcott and L. Frank Baum, as well as her favorite contemporary authors. She lived in Paradise, CA. All 1,500 books burned to ash.

[@constitutionalqrf1713]

With dozens of classics being removed from electronic circulation by the liberal cancel culture, it pays to have actual paper books in your library. Fahrenheit 451 being a prime example of both..

[@robcohen7678]

what the hell are you talking about? provide an example of liberals trying to remove books. It's always conservatives who are doing this with the fear that the youth will be corrupted. Liberals want people to read as much as possible about anything they want, that's like..;. the most liberal idea one could have.

[@constitutionalqrf1713]

@@robcohen7678 Harry Potter, Dr Seuss, Huck Finn, to kill a mockingbird are all examples of books hit by cancel culture. The last time I checked, liberals were driving that crazy train.

[@robcohen7678]

@@constitutionalqrf1713 Bullshit, those were not Liberals. Explain how those people are liberals? It's always Conservative Religious nutjobs wanting to ban books, not Liberals. Show where they were actually removed at the behest of Liberals, not just the fact that some crazy ass people are whining on Twitter.

[@constitutionalqrf1713]

@@robcohen7678 those "crazy ass people" you are referencing..... Are the "woke left" that represent 0.05% of the population, yet seem to get their way.... because they wine on social media... then those same "woke agenda" people, write fictional stories and imaginary enemies to inspire people to believe the "alt right" is responsible for their actions. people like you , that drink the cool-aid believe the made up articles and become "woke" agenda fodder, defending the left regardless of actual proof.... personally, I think no book should be banned.... ever, period.... and I represent the "right-wing voting base" to a tee...

[@hard2getitrightagain314]

This is possibly the best thing History Guy has ever produced! An amazing illustration of the intelligence and depth of the American and other publics when quality material is offered at a workable price. The revolution continues through podcasts, KZbin, Audible, et al. Long live the literature revolution!

[@MrBitflipper]

Paperbacks had a profound effect on me. I read my first one in 1958, at age 7. It was a children's novel called "Danny and the Dinosaur", and it was my first experience with a page-turner I couldn't put down. At age 10 I walked into a grocery store where I discovered a rotating wire rack of paperbacks. They were 25 or 35 cents each, cheap enough that I could afford 2 or 3 of them out of my $1 weekly allowance. Initially drawn to familiar authors I'd known from the library, the low cost encouraged me to branch out and explore many genres, including non-fiction. That love of reading continues to this day, although now I read only e-books due to my failing eyesight.

[@brett4264]

We're a nation of book readers no longer. Attention spans have dwindled.

[@frogandspanner]

I dislike the way that "Consume" has become a general verb, used where a more appropriate word would have been used in decades past. I have never eaten or knowingly destroyed a book: I read them.

[@SargeIzzard]

Dude, you are an inspiration. I love how much you care. Literally crying at how beautiful you see the world.

[@SargeIzzard]

Like, actual tears

[@bobm549]

The Alton Library system has kept us sane during the last year. The History Guy should also get a thumbs up for his work too. Thanks for another peek into the past . Keep up the good work .