In 1919 the eccentric publisher Bernarr Macfadden began publication of True Story Magazine. According to Macfadden the magazine was inspired by personal letters of "confession" sent to him in his capacity as the editor/founder of Physical Culture. Sensing a widespread interest in the changing social/sexual codes of modern America, Macfadden put out a new magazine filled with first-hand accounts of social problems such as pre-marital sex, illegitimacy, adultery, unemployment, social relations, and crime (alongside ever-so slightly risque movie-stills of each story's most dramatic moments—the kiss, the temptation, the horrible realization). The magazine personalized issues that were hotly debated in Jazz Age America (dancing, drinking, partying, petting) and offered a unique working-class perspective on issues that were not necessarily unique to the working class. Sensational, emotional, and controversial, True Story disseminated tales of sex, sin, and redemption that seemingly revealed the ubiquity of...