Lately, I’ve developed a strange fascination with autobiographies and biographies, especially those chronicling the lives of pulp-era authors. It’s like my aging mind is reaching back to the frontier of literature, drawn to old stories of grit and creativity. Among those who pique my interest is the Western author Ben Haas, born Benjamin Leopold Haas (1926 - 1977). A prolific writer, he churned out the first sixteen books in the Sundance series, as well as the Fargo and Culter series, under the pen name John Benteen. His 1968 Double D Western, Big Bend, written under Richard Meade, sits proudly on my shelf in hardcover.
Recently, I stumbled upon A Hack's Notebook: An Autobiography by Ben Haas, published as an eBook by Piccadilly Publishing for a mere $1.99. This autobiography was originally released in paperback back in 2020 by Lulu Press. “Wait a minute,” I hear you saying, “Didn’t you mention that Ben Haas passed away in 1977?” Rest assured, you’re not losing your grip on sanity. Tragically, Ben did indeed pass away at the age of 51. However, his family unearthed an unfinished autobiography that contained six chapters. After rummaging through his papers, they couldn’t find the rest of it, leaving us with a patchwork of his life. They decided to publish those fragments alongside Jim Henderson's memoir—Henderson being Ben’s long-time friend—and a scrapbook filled with samples of Ben's artwork, family photographs, and a bibliography. The 2026 edition is lovingly edited by Joel Haas, Ben’s son, who added a nostalgic touch with his personal introduction, Remembering My Father.
Now, let’s talk about the word “hack.” In the literary world, it once referred to a writer of pulp fiction. Those who churned out true crime novels, steamy romances, and Wild West tales under the relentless tick-tock of deadlines. Ben Haas freely embraced this label. He was a remarkably skilled storyteller whose oeuvre includes about 120 books in just sixteen years. His Western series, Fargo, Sundance, John Cutler, and Rancho Bravo, have become revered classics in the genre. Yet, he was also a serious novelist, gaining recognition with works like The Foragers (1962), The Last Valley (1966), and The House of Christina (1977), among others.
A Hack’s Notebook isn’t merely a chronicle of Ben Haas’s writing journey; it delves into his upbringing and the events that propelled him into storytelling. At just eighteen, he submitted his first Western tale, Who'll Die for Poverty Range, to the .44 Western pulp magazine, marking the beginning of his career. But first, he had to serve in the Army, enduring a stint in the Philippines before returning home. Life then swept him up: he took on various jobs, navigated the challenges of adulthood, and married Douglas Thornton Taylor, with whom he had three sons.
As fate would have it, achieving publication was a daunting task. Rejection letters piled up as he toiled to find an agent or publisher. Like many aspiring writers, he faced the harsh realities of life, bills to pay and dreams to pursue. In a moment of desperation, he set a personal deadline: if he didn’t find success by his 35th birthday, he would put away his typewriter for good. At long last, a long-awaited response came from Beacon, accepting his novel The Steel Mistress and offering him a contract for five more novels. Ben dove headfirst into the world of full-time writing, shedding his day job to chase the dream.
It wasn’t long before he teamed up with a reputable agency, which reignited his career and led him to dust off his old manuscript, The Foragers, for publication in 1962. From there, it was as if the floodgates opened—offers from paperback publishers poured in, resulting in titles like The Executive Suite Girls under the pen name Sam Webster. To keep the lights on, Ben wrote novelizations of Western films such as Cimarron Strip (1967) and Rough Night in Jericho (1967), eventually branching out into his signature Westerns, including Sundance and Fargo. Yet, just as his tale began to flourish, A Hack's Notebook ends abruptly; those missing pages leave a haunting void where Ben’s later years ought to be explored.
Jim Henderson’s memoir fills some gaps, adding depth to Ben’s childhood and writing life, but it doesn’t answer every question. A later section, infused with Joel Haas’s reflections, adds a touch of bittersweet nostalgia. In an intriguing twist, Joel reveals that he had to edit his father’s final novel, The House of Christina, after Ben suffered his second heart attack. In a poignant conversation with his father’s chief editor at Simon & Schuster, Joel mentioned his need to quickly write Westerns to support his mother and brothers. Now, curiosity gnaws at me: what Westerns did Joel write? Did he adopt a pen name? Did he have a hand in any later Sundance stories?
In essence, A Hack's Notebook was an engaging read, a vortex of nostalgia wrapped in 169 pages of Kindle glory. Was it perfect? Yes and no—and maybe yes again. Technically, Ben Haas’s autobiography feels incomplete, leaving us readers pondering how he would have concluded his saga. I longed for insights into his Fargo and Sundance years, yet now I can only guess at what might reside within those missing chapters. Still, it was a fascinating niche read, a glimpse into a world where grit, loss, and triumph shape a writer’s legacy in the rugged terrain of pulp fiction. ╌★★★★★
Please consider supporting future reviews on this blog by purchasing A Hack's Notebook: An Autobiography on Amazon Kindle [*].
〜B.J. Burgess
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“The plot thickens… especially when you comment.” 〜B.J. Burgess