With Lund's passing, the decision was made to close the business rather than continue it without its visionary leader. Paladin Press took its final orders on November 29, 2017, and officially ended its 47-year run on January 31, 2018. This closure sent a shockwave through its dedicated community and instantly turned its back catalog from active inventory into collectible history.
The single greatest driver of Paladin's infamy—and the collectibility of its books—is the publication of Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors in 1983. This 130-page how-to guide was allegedly written under the pseudonym Rex Feral, but in reality, was the creation of a Florida housewife. The book gained horrifying real-world notoriety when it was used as a blueprint for multiple murders in the 1990s, including a triple murder in Maryland. paladin press collection hot
Whether you are looking to secure a few vintage Ragnar Benson books for your bug-out bag or want to assemble a complete library of 20th-century tactical history, the Paladin Press collection remains one of the hottest, most fascinating niches in book collecting today. Treat the hunt as a historical expedition, verify your sources, and enjoy owning a piece of unfiltered publishing history. With Lund's passing, the decision was made to
was a controversial publishing house known for distributing books on survivalism, martial arts, self-defense, firearms, and other "action library" topics. Because the company went out of business in 2018, their physical books have become highly collectible, and digital archives of their catalogs are widely sought after. The single greatest driver of Paladin's infamy—and the
Some open-source libraries host digital scans of these books for research purposes.