E-Book Overview
Previously only available serialized over seven issues of The Armchair Detective magazine, this examination is the single most influential book-length analysis of Dashiell Hammett’s novels. Spanning all sections of his career, the book discusses five novels: The Dain Curse, The Glass Key, The Maltese Falcon, Red Harvest, and The Thin Man. Detailed analysis shows how the author and his work changed over time. Each novel is discussed in its own chapter with comparative criticism, and there is a list of resources for further reading and research. Additionally, this compiled text includes a new chapter in which the author discusses the impact Hammett has had on his own life.
E-Book Content
Vince Emery: “If you haven’t read Thompson, you don’t know Hammett.” William F. Nolan: “Incredibly well done, beautifully researched, and displaying tremendous insight into what made Hammett tick as a writer . . . . [Thompson’s] vision is timeless.” Julian Symons: “One of the most intelligent critics of Hammett’s work.” H ammett’s Moral Vision is the single most influential fulllength investigation of Dashiell Hammett’s novels, even though it has never been available in book form—until now. Serialized in seven issues of The Armchair Detective magazine, Hammett’s Moral Vision has affected almost all subsequent analyses of Hammett’s work. But most people could read it only by digging up all seven tough-to-find issues of The Armchair Detective, and only for collector’s prices of more than $100 per set. Now Hammett’s Moral Vision is available as an affordable book. It updates and expands George J. “Rhino” Thompson’s analysis of Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man, and adds a new introduction by Edgar Award-winning author William F. Nolan. Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal: “Dashiell Hammett aficionados will be grateful for Thompson’s erudite Hammett’s Moral Vision, a work that offers fresh insights.” Michael Rogers, Library Journal: “Hammett continues to thrill and fascinate mystery readers and writers, and Thompson’s work offers deep insight into his novels.” Jon L. Breen, Mystery Scene: “Given its high quality and influ- ence on later Hammett critics, it’s surprising this pioneering study has not appeared previously in book form.” January Magazine: “One of the best books of 2007.” Kevin Burton Smith, ThrillingDetective.com: “The latest installment in Vince Emery’s Ace Performer series is subtitled The Most Influential In-Depth Investigation of Dashiell Hammett’s Novels, and he’s not kidding. It’s not only arguably the most influential but also perhaps the first and certainly one of the shrewdest, detailed, and best-written. This volume collects the long soughtafter seven-part essay that originally appeared in The Armchair Detective back in the early seventies, plus an intro by Hammett biographer/crime novelist William F. Nolan and a new chapter in which English professor-turned-cop Thompson discusses the impact Hammett has had on his own life.” “Hammett was the ace performer. . . . He did over and over again what only the best writers ever do at all.” — Raymond Chandler The Ace Performer Collection is a series of books by and about Dashiell Hammett: volume 1: Lost Stories by Dashiell Hammett volume 2: Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade edited by Richard Layman volume 3: Hammett’s Moral Vision by George J. “Rhino” Thompson volume 4: The Dashiell Hammett Tour by Don Herron forthcoming: The Crime Wave: Collected Nonfiction by Dashiell Hammett additional volumes to be announced M A H S ’ T T E M PRODUCTIONS ® S AN F R A NC I S C O ntial e u fl n i st The mo vestigation th in g n e l l l novels fu s ’ t t