The Bachman Books

Infobox Book
name = The Bachman Books


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Stephen King
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
genre = Horror, Speculative fiction novel
publisher = New American Library
release_date = October 4, 1985
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 692
isbn = ISBN 0453005071

"The Bachman Books" is a collection of short novels by Stephen King written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman between 1977 and 1982.

The book was published in 1985 after the publication of the first hardcover Bachman novel "Thinner" in order to introduce Bachman to fans who did not know about King's work under this pseudonym (little of which was still in circulation at the time). This omnibus also collected these early novels in hardcover for the first time, as they were all originally published in paperback. It opens with an introduction by King called "Why I Was Bachman", explaining how and why he took on the persona of Richard Bachman, as well as how it was found out by the public. Another version with a new introduction "The Importance of Being Bachman" was published in 1996 to coincide with the release of a new Bachman novel "The Regulators".

Books

These are the novels collected in "The Bachman Books":

*"Rage" (1977)
*"The Long Walk" (1979)
*"Roadwork" (1981)
*"The Running Man" (1982)

Going out of print

The US editions of this collection and the novel "Rage" were allowed to go out of print by the author and publisher because of a school shooting incident involving Michael Carneal. The remaining three novels are still in print and are published as separate books.

"The Bachman Books" is still in print in the United Kingdom [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/045039249X] and can still be found at some used book stores in the United States.

Editions

* ISBN 0-451-14736-7 (paperback, 1991)
* ISBN 0-452-27775-2 (paperback, 1996)
* ISBN 0-451-19193-5 (paperback, 1996)
* ISBN 0-606-03722-5 (turtleback, 1996)