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Product Description
Product Description
Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, Jim Thompson, David Goodis these are a few of the masters of noir responsible for the great lurid paperbacks of the thirties, forties, and fifties. With titles like The Big Sleep, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, and Street of the Lost, with racy cover lines like "My gun-butt smashed his skull!" and "Ruthless terror ripped away the mask that hid cold fear," and with some of the most extraordinary cover illustrations ever to grace American literature, these paperbacks held the ingredients of American nightmares. In Harboiled Americalavishly illustrated with 135 paperback covers, and expanded with new material on Thompson, Goodis, and othersGeoffrey O'Brien masterfully explores the art, history, and ideas of the American paperback.
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First Sentence
Melancholy men lean over dark drinks in yet darker barrooms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Melancholy men lean over dark drinks in yet darker barrooms. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I agree that this is a very good book, and extremely well-written, but I have to say that I was disappointed to find that the illustrations of the book covers are in black and white and appear to be of the quality of rather poor photocopies. The art-work of the novels under discussion is such a huge part of the appeal of the genre that I would have liked to see it better represented; for me that would have enhanced the pleasure of reading Mr. O'Brien's work.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read O'Brien's book several years ago (in an earlier edition) on the recommendation from a collector who is also a fan of Jim Thompson. O'Brien is insightful, informative, engaging and right on in his assessment of an era of paperbacks and pulp noir that will never be truly recreated. What a wonderful work of literary criticism, beautifully illustrated and classically rendered. A treasure for the noir lover! I have it right next to my first edition original of The Killer Inside Me.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
A great book is back in print
8 Nov 2001
Format:Paperback
Hardboiled America is a key book for both mystery fans and paperback collectors. As a collector I first purchased the book for its reproductions of classic paperback covers. Hardboiled America's strong point, though, is its provocative and detailed coverage of niche authors. I credit O'Brian for introducing me to many of my favorite books and writers.
When first published, few of the authors discussed in O'Brien's book were in print. Thankfully, with the resergence of interest in noir fiction in the past decade and a half, books by the likes of Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and many others are easy to find. This is a relief, as readers of Hardboiled America will be inspired to seek out the work of numerous authors discussed within.
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Superb review of the genre by an excellent writer.
11 Nov 1998
Format:Paperback
I first read O'Brien's book several years ago (in an earlier edition) on the recommendation from a collector who is also a fan of Jim Thompson. O'Brien is insightful, informative, engaging and right on in his assessment of an era of paperbacks and pulp noir that will never be truly recreated. What a wonderful work of literary criticism, beautifully illustrated and classically rendered. A treasure for the noir lover! I have it right next to my first edition original of The Killer Inside Me.
17 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Rip Off Version - Buyer Beware!
31 July 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm Pi$$ed off coz I like this book but my friend's copy (which came out the printing b/f this one) has the exact same cover, etc. but has a section filled w/ Color Renditions off all the pulp covers! THIS RIP OFF version has those pages in Lame B&W and is even MORE EXPENSIVE! What the hell? Refund me.
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