Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade: The Evolution of Dashiell Hammett's Masterpiece, Including John Huston's Movie with Humphrey Bogart »

Richard Layman is the author of several books on Dashiell Hammett, including American Masterpieces: The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett: A Descriptive Bibliography, and Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett. He has been nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for editing Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett, 1921–1960. He is also vice president of the publishing company Bruccoli Clark Layman Inc., which produces reference works in literary and social history, and is the editorial director for the Dictionary of Literary Biography series. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

Named by Mystery Writers of America as the 2006 Edgar Award finalist for Best Critical/Biographical Book of the Year The Maltese Falcon has been widely lauded since its original publication in 1930. In its movie adaptation, it not only birthed American film noir but also ranks as one of the 100 greatest movies of all time, as selected by the American Film Institute. Now this treasury of memorabilia on Sam Spade and his creator, Dashiell Hammett, uncovers a wealth of documents and photos about the book and movie from institutional and private archives, many of which are previously unpublished and are available nowhere else. Providing far more information than any resource before it, the book delves deeply into the tale of the jeweled avian statue, including a full account of Hammett's detective career, a chronology of his life and publications, sources and notes the author used in constructing the book, and never-before-seen documents from the book's film, stage, and radio adaptations. This version has been updated to include additional contents, color photos, and an index. Available now for any audience, it will be a joy for fans of Sam Spade, Hammett, film noir, and the history of cinema and literature.

Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

A treasure beyond price for fans of both the classic Hammett novel and the three film versions of the doomed quest for a black bird. An incredible amalgam of photos, memos, letters, reviews, whatever, this will make fans of the book or the film gasp as one unexpected delight succeeds another. With this book, wonders really do never cease.