The Revolutionary Effect of the Paperback Book

This simple innovation transformed the reading habits of an entire nation

30 is the number of trees, in millions, cut down annually to produce books in the U.S. (Alanna Cavanagh)

The iPhone became the worlds best-selling smartphone partly because Steve Jobs was obsessed with the ergonomics of everyday life. If you want people to carry a computer, it had to hit the sweet spot where it was big enough to display detailed, legible graphics, but small enough to fit comfortably in the hand and pocket. Seventy-five years ago, another American innovator had the same epiphany: Robert Fair de Graff realized he could change the way people read by making books radically smaller. Back then, it was surprisingly hard for ordinary Americans to get good novels and nonfiction. The country only had about 500 bookstores, all clustered in the biggest 12 cities, and hardcovers cost $2.50 (about $40 in todays currency). De Graff revolutionized that market when he got backing from Simon & Schuster to launch Pocket Books in May 1939. A petite 4 by 6 inches and priced at a mere 25 cents, the Pocket Book changed everything about who could read and where. Suddenly people read all the time, much as we now peek at e-mail and Twitter on our phones. And by working with the often gangster-riddled magazine-distribution industry, De Graff sold books where they had never been available beforegrocery stores, drugstores and airport terminals. Within two years hed sold 17 million. They literally couldnt keep up with demand, says historian Kenneth C. Davis, who documented De Graffs triumph in his book Two-Bit Culture. They tapped into a huge reservoir of Americans who nobody realized wanted to read. Other publishers rushed into the business. And, like all forms of new media, pocket-size books panicked the elites. Sure, some books were quality literature, but the biggest sellers were mysteries, westerns, thinly veiled smuta potential flood of trash that threatened to debase farther the popular taste, as the social critic Harvey Swados worried. But the tumult also gave birth to new and distinctly American literary genres, from Mickey Spillanes gritty detective stories to Ray Bradburys cerebral science fiction. The financial success of the paperback became its cultural downfall. Media conglomerates bought the upstart pocket-book firms and began hiking prices and chasing after quick-money best-sellers, including jokey fare like 101 Uses for a Dead Cat. And while paperbacks remain commonplace, theyre no longer dizzingly cheaper than hardcovers. Instead, theres a new reading format thats shifting the terrain. Mini-tablets and e-readers not only fit in your pocket; they allow your entire library to fit in your pocket. And, as with De Graffs invention, e-readers are producing new forms, prices and publishers. The upshot, says Mike ShatzkinCEO of the Idea Logical Company, a consultancy for publishersis that more reading is taking place, as we tuck it into ever more stray moments. But he also worries that as e-

book consumers shift more to multifunctional tablets, reading might take a back seat to other portable entertainment: more Angry Birds, less Jennifer Egan. Still, whatever the outcome, the true revolution in portable publishing began not with e-books but with De Graff, whose paperback made reading into an activity that travels everywhere.

The History of the Short-Lived Independent Republic of Florida

For a brief period in 1810, Florida was truly a country of its own
Revolutions come in all shapes and sizes, but the West Florida Rebellion holds the record as the shortest. (Peter Strain)

In the predawn fog of September 23, 1810, about 50 men, led by Revolutionary War veteran Philemon Thomas, walked in the open gate of Fort San Carlos in Baton Rouge. An additional 25 men on horseback rode through a gap in the forts wall. Spanish soldiers discharged a handful of muskets before Thomas men let go a single volley that killed or wounded five Spaniards. The remaining soldados surrendered or fled. Revolutions come in all shapes and sizes, but the West Florida Rebellion holds the record as the shortest. In less than one minute it was over, setting in motion a chain of events that would transform the United States into a continental and, eventually, world power. The nations expansion had begun seven years earlier, when President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. But Spain, which had ceded the territory to Napoleon, maintained that it did not include the area known as West Florida, which stretched from the Perdido River across southern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to the Mississippi River. For its part, the United States believed West Florida was its own, but rather than risk confrontation and war, Jefferson and his successor James Madison allowed Spain to administer it until an opportunity arose. Things were peaceful until 1808, when Spain appointed Col. Charles Delassus as governor. The inefficiency and corruption of officials under him threatened the prosperity of American colonists in West Florida, who presented demands for political reform. Delassus pretended to go along, while secretly plotting to arrest the ringleaders. Learning of Delassus duplicity, the Americanos struck first. After capturing Fort San Carlos, they declared the Republic of West Florida, replacing the Spanish flag with their bannera white star on a field of blue. Some derided what one U.S. newspaper editor called the little mimick Revolution, but President Madison knew that his strategy of passive expansionism had evicted Spain at no expense to the United States. On December 10, 1810, the Republic of West Floridas lone star came down and the Stars and Stripes took its place. For the first time, the United States had acquired significant territory from another sovereignty without war or compensation.

It didnt take long for other territories to follow West Floridas example. In 1835-36, Texas rose in revolt against Mexico, fighting under West Floridas lone star flag and voluntarily submitting to U.S. annexation in 1845. (The five-point star had emerged as a symbol of enlightenment and defiance against tyrannyand would remain a motif for the flag of the Texas Republic.) A year later at Sonoma, a small band of American and Mexican settlers declared the California Republic. The subsequent revolt against local authorities lasted 26 days before the United States took over. In the ensuing war with Mexico, the United States acquired all of California and most or all of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah and Oklahoma. While much has been written about the U.S.-Mexican War, the event that started it all, the 1810 revolution, has largely been viewed as a footnote. As a historian, it became clear to me that there was more at work here than a small band of unruly, land-hungry American colonists. West Florida became the template for Manifest Destinya near-perfect embodiment of the men and forces that would propel Americans across their continent.

What is Causing Irans Spike in MS Cases?

Vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunlight could be an unexpected long-term consequence of the Iranian revolution
Scientists have long recognized a link between lack of sunlight and multiple sclerosis. (Edel Rodriguez)

Multiple sclerosis has skyrocketed in Tehran, increasing almost sevenfold between 1989 and 2005. In Irans central province of Isfahan, the incidence nearly tripled from 2005 to 2009. Now Oxford University researchers suggest, for the first time, that the 1979 Iranian Revolution may deserve some of the blame for the extraordinary jump. They say the revolutionary mandate for modest dress and head coverings for women may have inadvertently fueled the increase by limiting their exposure to sunlight. Scientists have long recognized a link between lack of sunlight and multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurological disease that typically first strikes people in their 20s and 30s, and women more often than men. The disease, in which the immune system attacks the protective coverings on nerve fibers, is known to be more common among people at higher latitudes, possibly because of less vitamin D, which the body manufactures when skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency might even come into play in the womb . Studies conducted in the United States and Europe, for example, show that babies born in April, whose mothers were pregnant during cold, dark months, have a higher risk of MS than babies born in October, whose mothers had spring and summer pregnancies. The Oxford researchersJulia Pakpoor and Sreeram Ramagopalan, who both study genetics are careful to make clear that they arent telling women to abandon the hijab any more than they would tell New Englanders to move to Florida . Instead, the researchers encourage Iranians to supplement their diets with

vitamin D pills. That advice goes for women and men in other cultures, too. Data show, for instance, that modestly dressed Orthodox Jewish mothers in Israel have lower vitamin D levels than women with more exposed skin. The duos revolution-MS theory is consistent with studies published as recently as 2011 showing that Iranians do have low levels of vitamin D. But Pakpoor acknowledges that the theory is speculative. For one thing, MS rates are also going up in many other places, including parts of southern Italy, Norway, Kuwait and Japan. Theres no data showing exactly when MS rates started to rise in Iran, she says, and its unclear how much of the increase may be the result of better diagnoses. Still, the change is dramatic, with yearly diagnoses in Tehran rising from 0.68 per 100,000 people in 1989 to 4.58 per 100,000 in 2005. Though MS data are sparse for much of the world, Irans rates now appear comparable to those in some European countries. In order to explain such a rapid rise, youre looking for something that is specific to Iran, Pakpoor says. But Iranian researcher Amir-Hadi Maghzi is cautious . Maghzi, who at age 26 has published more than 40 studies on MS and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco, believes that clothing may be just one of many factors acting in combination with a genetic predisposition among Iranians. Increased sunscreen use, as well as a move toward apartment living and better hygiene, might also contribute, he says. Maghzi agrees that Iranians should take vitamin D supplements. He does. After getting his own blood tested, he discovered that despite moving to California for his fellowship, he doesnt have enough D.