Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction
and fantasy books (example pictured) and issued many of the best known
science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s. The company was founded
in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher
of mysteries and westerns. It soon branched out into other genres,
publishing its first science fiction title in 1953; this was a
successful innovation, and within a few years, such titles outnumbered
both mysteries and westerns. Ace became known for the tête-bêche
binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not
originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this
"Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres,
bound tête-bêche, until 1973. These have proved attractive to book
collectors, and some rare titles in mint condition command prices up to
$1,000. It was one of the leading science fiction publishers for its
first ten years, but its fortunes began to decline after the death of
owner A. A. Wyn in 1967. Two prominent editors, Donald A. Wollheim and
Terry Carr, left in 1971, and in 1972 Ace was sold to Grosset & Dunlap.
It is now an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Books>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Slavery in the United States was officially abolished when the
Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution>
1917:
A ship in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, carrying TNT
and picric acid caught fire after a collision with another ship and
caused the world's largest man-made accidental explosion (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion>
1928:
On the behest of the United States, the Colombian Army
violently suppressed a month-long strike by United Fruit Company
workers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre>
1982:
The Irish National Liberation Army exploded a time bomb in
Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven British Army soldiers and
six civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droppin_Well_bombing>
1988:
The Australian Capital Territory was granted self-government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Australian_Capital_Territory>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Nicholine:
Created by, in the style of, or pertaining to (any of several people
named) Nicholas.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nicholine>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The position which believers and unbelievers occupy with regard to their
various forms of faith is very much the same all over the world. The
difficulties which trouble us, have troubled the hearts and minds of men
as far back as we can trace the beginnings of religious life. The great
problems touching the relation of the Finite to the Infinite, of the
human mind as the recipient, and of the Divine Spirit as the source of
truth, are old problems indeed; and while watching their appearance in
different countries, and their treatment under varying circumstances, we
shall be able, I believe, to profit ourselves, both by the errors which
others committed before us, and by the truth which they discovered. We
shall know the rocks that threaten every religion in this changing and
shifting world of ours, and having watched many a storm of religious
controversy and many a shipwreck in distant seas, we shall face with
greater calmness and prudence the troubled waters at home.
--Max Müller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller>