The Big Knock- Over
by Hammett, Dashiell
- Used
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Good- Very Good
- Seller
-
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Dashiell Samuel Hammett was born in St. Mary’s County. He grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Hammett left school at the age of fourteen and held several kinds of jobs thereafter—messenger boy, newsboy, clerk, operator, and stevedore, finally becoming an operative for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency. Sleuthing suited young Hammett, but World War I intervened, interrupting his work and injuring his health. When Sergeant Hammett was discharged from the last of several hospitals, he resumed detective work. He soon turned to writing, and in the late 1920s Hammett became the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America. In The Maltese Falcon (1930) he first introduced his famous private eye, Sam Spade. The Thin Man (1932) offered another immortal sleuth, Nick Charles. Red Harvest (1929), The Dain Curse (1929), and The Glass Key (1931) are among his most successful novels. During World War II, Hammett again served as sergeant in the Army, this time for more than two years, most of which he spent in the Aleutians. Hammett’s later life was marked in part by ill health, alcoholism, a period of imprisonment related to his alleged membership in the Communist Party, and by his long-time companion, the author Lillian Hellman, with whom he had a very volatile relationship. His attempt at autobiographical fiction survives in the story “Tulip,” which is contained in the posthumous collection The Big Knockover (1966, edited by Lillian Hellman). Another volume of his stories, The Continental Op (1974, edited by Stephen Marcus), introduced the final Hammett character: the “Op,” a nameless detective (or “operative”) who displays little of his personality, making him a classic tough guy in the hard-boiled mold—a bit like Hammett himself.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- John Thompson (CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 305
- Title
- The Big Knock- Over
- Author
- Hammett, Dashiell
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Good- Very Good
- Edition
- 1st Printing
- Publisher
- Jonathan Press Mystery J36
- Place of Publication
- U.S.
- Date Published
- 1945
- Keywords
- Mystery, crime, vintage paperbacks, Suspense Detective Continental Op
- Bookseller catalogs
- Vintage Paperbacks;
- Size
- 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall
Terms of Sale
John Thompson
If you wish to order directly from me, payment can be made by cheque, money order, VISA or Master Card. Cheques and money orders should be made payable to John Thompson, and U.S. cheques or money orders are no problem for my bank. Please note: Postal Money orders from the U.S. must be marked as International Money Orders (orange color). My bank will no longer accept those marked cashable in U.S. and possessions only (green color)! Please make sure you put sufficient postage on your letter, as the U.S. Postal Service does charge more for letters mailed to Canada. For credit card orders I need your card number, its expiry date and your name as it appears on the card. Credit card orders can then be shipped right away. Books may be returned for up to four weeks after purchase, if returned in the condition sent. Orders are usually sent no later than the next day after receiving payment, unless I'm unusually busy. Orders on the weekend are sent on Monday. Phone calls: If I am unavailable the answering machine will pick up on the 4th ring. I'm usually available from 6 to 9 PM central time, weekends included. The number is my home number as I have a home based business. I do check my email at least once a day, and I confirm all orders.
Tracking on orders is available, but within North America will cost anywhere from $15 to $25 for postage, and I rarely use it because I find buyers are reluctant to pay that.
About the Seller
John Thompson
About John Thompson
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Trade Paperback
- Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...