Literary masters : Dashiell Hammett

Literary Masters is one series of the trio that makes up the Gale Study Guides to Great Literature (the others are Literary Masterpieces and Literary Topics). Each Literary Masters volume introduces a significant author and covers basic biographical information. Dashiell Hammett popularized the hard-boiled detective in American crime fiction to an art form and drew on his experiences as a private eye to create believable characters in realistic situations.