Dashiell Hammett

Now for the first time ever in one volume, all twenty-eight stories and two serialized novels starring the Continental Op--one of the greatest characters in storied history of detective fiction. Dashiell Hammett is the father of modern hard-boiled detective stories. His legendary works have been lauded for almost one hundred years by fans, and his novel The Maltese Falcon was adapted into a classic film starring Humphrey Bogart. One of Dashiell Hammett's most memorable characters, the Continental Op made his debut in Black Mask magazine on October 1, 1923, narrating the first of twenty-eight stories and two novels that would change forever the face of detective fiction. The Op is a tough, wry, unglamorous gumshoe who has inspired a following that is both global and enduring. He has been published in periodicals, paperback digests, and short story collections, but until now, he has never, in all his ninety-two years, had the whole of his exploits contained in one book. The book features all twenty-eight of the original standalone Continental Op stories, the original serialized versions of Red Harvest and The Dain Curse, and previously unpublished material. This anthology of Continental Op stories is the only complete, one-volume work of its kind.

A unique publication from one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, The Hunter and Other Stories includes new Hammett stories gleaned from his personal archives along with screen treatments long buried in film-industry files, screen stories, and intriguing unfinished narratives. Hammett is regarded as both a pioneer and master of hard-boiled detective fiction, but these dozen-and-a-half pieces, which explore failed romance, courage in the face of conflict, hypocrisy, and crass opportunism, show him in a different light. The title story concerns a dogged PI unwilling to let go of a seemingly trivial case, and the collection also includes an unfinished Sam Spade story and two full-length screen treatments: "On the Make," about a corrupt detective, and "The Kiss-Off," the basis for City Streets (1931), in which Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sydney are caught in a romance complicated by racketeering's obligations and temptations. Rich in both story and character, this is a volume no Hammett fan should do without.

A new collection of crime stories from the legendary hard-boiled writer Dashiell Hammett. The author of classic novels The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon, Hammett has been called 'a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer' (The Boston Globe), while Raymond Chandler raved that Hammett...

Here, for the first time in a deluxe collector's box, is the most comprehensive edition of the hard-boiled crime fiction of Dashiell Hammett ever published. Complete Novels, the first of two volumes gathered here, presents the five groundbreaking books whose gritty, lean prose won admiration from such contemporaries as Stein, Hemingway, and Faulkner: Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, , and The Thin Man. In the stories he wrote for Black Mask and other pulp magazines in the 1920s and 1930s, Hammett used the vernacular adventure tale to register the jarring textures and revved-up cadences of modern America. Crime Stories & Other Writings presents 24 of these classic tales, along with revealing essays and an early, unfinished version of his novel The Thin Man. The texts, reprinted here for the first time, are those that appeared originally in the pulps, without the revisions introduced by later editors. "An invaluable collection." --Kirkus Reviews LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Blodig høst er Dashiell Hammets første roman, og er av mange regnet som den beste To kriminelle grupper står mot hverandre i Personville, ofte kalt Poisonville av folk som kjenner stedet. Redaktøren i den korrupte byens avis, Donald Willsson, blir skutt ned på åpen gate. Men før han dør, rekker han å kontakte en detektiv, som straks etter sin ankomst begynner å spille gangsterne opp mot hverandre. Volden i byen tiltar. Til slutt handler det ikke om rettferdighet lenger, men hvem som står levende igjen etter at røyken har lagt seg. Forgiftet blod er Dashiell Hammetts andre roman, og kanskje hans mest originale Gabrielle Dain Leggett er ung og rik, med en svakhet for narkotika og besynderlige sekter. Og hun har en uhellsvanger virkning på menneskene omkring henne. De dør – voldelig. Gabrielle vet ikke hvorfor – hun tror hennes liv er styrt av en grusom familieforbannelse. En alt annet enn overtroisk detektiv blir satt på saken. Hennes familie faller under mistanke, hennes kjæreste, hennes venner … Flere av dem er rede til å drepe for å nå sine mål. ”Dashiell Hammett har skapt forbildet til hver eneste hardkokte detektiv i krimlitteraturen.” – Time Magazine”Scenene i Hammetts bøker virker som om de aldri tidligere kunne vært skrevet.” – Raymond Chandler, forfatter

'An acknowledged literary landmark' [Robert Graves] from 'The dean of the school of hard-boiled fiction' [New York Times]

The Battle of the Aleutians: A Graphic History, 1942-1943 is a book written by Dashiell Hammett that recounts the little-known battle that took place in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. The book is presented in a graphic novel format, with illustrations by Paul Mavrides and a foreword by Nathan Ward. The Aleutian Islands, located in the northern Pacific Ocean, were a strategic location for both the Japanese and American forces during the war. The book details the events that unfolded in the region, including the Japanese invasion of the islands of Attu and Kiska, and the subsequent American counterattack. Through vivid illustrations and detailed descriptions, the book brings to life the harsh conditions faced by both sides during the battle, including extreme weather, difficult terrain, and limited resources. The book also examines the political and military strategies that led to the conflict, as well as the impact it had on the local Aleutian population. Overall, The Battle of the Aleutians provides a fascinating and engaging account of a little-known chapter in World War II history, offering readers a unique perspective on the conflict through its graphic novel format. In Honor And Memory Of The Men Of The North Pacific Theater Who Died So That A Continent Might Be Free. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

'Dashiell Hammett is an original. He is a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer' BOSTON GLOBE

'Not just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best' THE TIMES

Ex-detective Nick Charles attracts trouble like a magnet. He thinks his sleuthing days are over, but when Julia Wolf, a former acquaintance, is found dead, her body riddled with bullets, Nick - along with his glamorous wife, Nora - can't resist making a few enquiries.

Corruption, murder, beauty and innocence . . . 'Great crime fiction started with Hammett' James Ellroy

'Not just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best' THE TIMES

Introduced by Colin Dexter, one of England’s greatest writers of detective fiction, here are twenty long-unavailable stories by Dashiell Hammett, the author of The Maltese Falcon and one of the finest writers of the twentieth century. In the title story, a man on a bender enters a small town end ends up unravelling the dark mystery at its heart. A woman confronts the brutal truth about her husband in the chilling story ‘Ruffian’s Wife’. ‘His Brother’s Keeper’ is a half-wit boxer’s eulogy to the brother who betrayed him. ‘The Second-Story Angel’ recounts one of the most novel cons ever devised. In seven stories, the tough and taciturn Continental Op takes on a motley collection of the deceitful, the duped, and the dead, and once again shows his uncanny ability to get at the truth. In three stories, Sam Spade confronts the darkness in the human soul while rolling his own cigarettes. And the first study for The Thin Man sends John Guild on a murder investigation in which almost every witness may be lying. In Nightmare Town, Dashiell Hammett, America’s poet laureate of the dispossessed, shows us a world where people confront a multitude of evils. Whether they are trying to right wrongs or just trying to survive, all of them are rendered with Hammett’s signature gifts for sharp-edge characters and blunt dialogue. Hammett said that his ambition was to elevate mystery fiction to the level of art. This collection of masterful stories clearly illustrates Hammett’s success, and shows the remarkable range and variety of the fiction he produced.

The last novel from the unsurpassed master of American detective fiction, Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man is a genre-defining mystery novel, published in Penguin Modern Classics. Ex-detective Nick Charles plans to spend a quiet Christmas holed up in a hotel suite with his glamorous wife Nora, their pet Schnauzer and a case of good Scotch. But then a bullet-riddled corpse and a missing inventor (not to mention the attentions of a beautiful young woman) force him out of retirement and back into business. Trying to make sense of false leads, suspicious alibis and mistaken identities, Nick and Nora are thrown into a world of gangsters, hoodlums and speakeasies, where no-one can be trusted. Dashiell Hammett was credited with inventing the hardboiled crime novel, and this story of murder and mayhem in Manhattan, with its breakneck plot, snappy dialogue - and the hard-drinking, wisecracking couple Nick and Nora - is one of his most thrillingly enjoyable mysteries. Dashiel Samuel Hammett (1894-1961) was born on a farm in southern Maryland, and grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore. He left school at the age of fourteen, and after various jobs became an operative for Pinkerton's Detective Agency. The First World War intervened, and Hammett soon turned to writing, becoming, during the 1920s, the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America. The Maltese Falcon (1930), The Thin Man (1932) and The Glass Key (1931) are among his most famous novels. If you enjoyed The Thin Man, you might like Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and Other Novels, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'The ace performer'Raymond Chandler, author of The Big Sleep'The exuberance of language, the relish with which seediness is described ... it's a pleasure to imagine Hammett cutting loose with whatever rascally high jinks he could cook up' Margaret Atwood, author of The Blind Assassin