From the very beginning, Hit Man was a different kind of publication. The book was not a dry technical manual; it was a chillingly detailed, 130-page guide that read like a primer for professional assassination. Its chapters covered every aspect of a killer's craft, including:

Paladin Press was founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown, initially operating under the name “Panther Publications”. Their very first publication, 150 Questions for a Guerrilla by General Alberto Bayo (a mentor to Fidel Castro), set the company’s tone by delving into complex and often-subversive subjects.

Researchers and collectors often look for digital versions of these texts to study the history of underground publishing and survivalist culture.

The families of the victims sued Paladin Press in a landmark civil case ( Rice v. Paladin Enterprises , 1997).