Well, maybe I should stop now. Nah. I’ve been collecting out of date non-fiction second hand for some time now, and above is my current collection of Penguin Pelican books displayed atop my recently acquired terrifying duvet cover.
What makes me so fascinated with these? you might ask. To an extent I’ve bought more as I’ve worked out why, but turning back to the first I bought reveals a few reasons.
Firstly the cover designs are sharp, simple and interesting.
Secondly there’s usually some interesting illustrated content inside them which, quite simply, would not get published in the same form today, for good or ill. (look at that map!)
But lastly and most importantly there ‘s the fascination of the road not taken. I’m a big fan of alternate histories in fiction and that’s translated into being a fan of alternate futures in non-fiction.
Anyway, I’ve decided I’m going to stop buying them for a bit and start blogging about a few more of them instead. There seems to be little else online on them bar this gallery of covers and a bare listing of the early works so I figure it’s a collection worth sharing.
