Rating: 
Summary: Clint Eastwood fans, take note
Review: The Continental Op stories are classics in the genre, and not as well known as the Maltese Falcon or the Thin Man. In fact, read them carefully, lurking in here you'll see the plotline originally 'borrowed' by Kurosawa for the movie Yojimbo, Kurosawa's plot was later 'borrowed' for Eastwoods 'A Fistful of Dollars', and most American's think it was 'an original'. It's since been remade as 'Millers Crossing' by the Coen brothers, and Bruce Willis did it as 'Last Man Standing'. Anytime a short story about playing 2 sets of bad guys against each other winds up being made into this many good shoot-em-up movies (or slice-em-up movies, in the case of Yojimbo) well, you know the story was the real thing from the get-go. There's some of the sincerest form of flattery going on here. This also reminds us how hard it is to come up with an original idea in Hollywood. If you want to see why they all copied the original, dive into these Op stories. Join those seedy grifters, tong axmen, and gunsels. Don't fall for the snappy patter from these smooth talking dames, you just know that they're all poison. Don't unload your gat, the party may turn nasty yet.
Rating:
Summary: A great writer flexes his muscles
Review: There are some great stories here. Let's discuss some of them in a minute. First, however . . .During most of the 1920s and early 1930s, Dashiell Hammett was a compulsive writer and storyteller, possibly due to a personal need to make sense of his world and experiences. Later, he lost that compulsion. Following a brief prison term in the early 1950s (for his refusal to take part in the McCarthy-era witchhunts), he began to rediscover that earlier compulsion. Hence, the fragment of "Tulip," which he apparently intended as an semi-autobiographical novel. One wishes he could have lived long enough to complete more of it, at least. Now to the meat of this short-story collection from his earlier days. Hammett's most enduring character, the anonymous first-person narrating Continental Op, is the protagonist throughout. The stories vary widely, from the old-west (but not that old at the time of its writing) atmosphere of "Corkscrew" -- which would later serve as theme material for the novel "Red Harvest" -- to the comedy of "The Gatewood Caper"; there's the sinister undertones, interspersed with more comedic touches and a superb punchline at the end, of "Dead Yellow Women" as well as the total 'shaggy dog story' feel of "The Gutting of Couffignal" (in which everything apparently is intended to lead up to yet another punchline). And then there's the title story itself, "The Big Knockover," perhaps the pre-eminent 'caper story' of all time: a carefully planned and executed bank robbery which falls awry in a trail of double-cross and deduction, yet which leaves its protagonist at the end to wryly remark (perhaps echoing Hammett's sentiments?): "What a life!" Note: Subsequent editions of this collection sometimes include "$106,000 Blood Money," which Hammett ill-advisedly wrote as a sequel to "The Big Knockover." Good as this second tale may be, I believe it could have been written just as easily -- and to better effect -- as an independent story. (There is some evidence that Hammett at one point thought of combining the two as a novel.) I much prefer to leave "Knockover" on its own and let it end there, without the more-than-slightly unsatisfactory resolution of "$106,000 Blood Money." Each story in this collection shines on its own and reveals facets of Hammett's innate genius. Oh, yeah: There's also a reminiscince by playwright Lillian Hellman, which may or may not have any bearing upon the actual Dashiell Hammett. Decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: A great writer flexes his muscles
Review: There are some great stories here. Let's discuss some of them in a minute. First, however . . . During most of the 1920s and early 1930s, Dashiell Hammett was a compulsive writer and storyteller, possibly due to a personal need to make sense of his world and experiences. Later, he lost that compulsion. Following a brief prison term in the early 1950s (for his refusal to take part in the McCarthy-era witchhunts), he began to rediscover that earlier compulsion. Hence, the fragment of "Tulip," which he apparently intended as an semi-autobiographical novel. One wishes he could have lived long enough to complete more of it, at least. Now to the meat of this short-story collection from his earlier days. Hammett's most enduring character, the anonymous first-person narrating Continental Op, is the protagonist throughout. The stories vary widely, from the old-west (but not that old at the time of its writing) atmosphere of "Corkscrew" -- which would later serve as theme material for the novel "Red Harvest" -- to the comedy of "The Gatewood Caper"; there's the sinister undertones, interspersed with more comedic touches and a superb punchline at the end, of "Dead Yellow Women" as well as the total 'shaggy dog story' feel of "The Gutting of Couffignal" (in which everything apparently is intended to lead up to yet another punchline). And then there's the title story itself, "The Big Knockover," perhaps the pre-eminent 'caper story' of all time: a carefully planned and executed bank robbery which falls awry in a trail of double-cross and deduction, yet which leaves its protagonist at the end to wryly remark (perhaps echoing Hammett's sentiments?): "What a life!" Note: Subsequent editions of this collection sometimes include "$106,000 Blood Money," which Hammett ill-advisedly wrote as a sequel to "The Big Knockover." Good as this second tale may be, I believe it could have been written just as easily -- and to better effect -- as an independent story. (There is some evidence that Hammett at one point thought of combining the two as a novel.) I much prefer to leave "Knockover" on its own and let it end there, without the more-than-slightly unsatisfactory resolution of "$106,000 Blood Money." Each story in this collection shines on its own and reveals facets of Hammett's innate genius. Oh, yeah: There's also a reminiscince by playwright Lillian Hellman, which may or may not have any bearing upon the actual Dashiell Hammett. Decide for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Novellas from a Private Detective
Review: These stories were written in the 1920s. If you liked his short stories and novels, you will want to read this book. "Corkscrew" is a short version of "Red Harvest" - get one gang to attack another in order to eliminate both and benefit a third group. "Dead Yellow Women" is about a scheme to provide cover for smuggling. Some things never change! "Tulip" was written in the 1950s, is partly autobiographical, and different from the other stories; not as good, in my opinion. The monetary figures from 80 years ago are way out of date! Some of these stories appear to be similar to the turmoil in early 16th Century Italy. Could a Cesare Borgia have planned the "The Big Knockover"? In "$106,000 Blood Money" the Continental Op arranges the death of a traitorous detective, and then the bounty hunter who would claim this reward (leading to a nice bonus later?). Why have detective stories gone out of fashion after the 1950s? Could a form of censorship be responsible for this (to hide the actions of these secret agents of the rich and powerful)? Are the "James Bond" stories an updated version of the private detective stories? Or have none-fiction writings become more popular since then ("The Invisible Government")?
Rating:
Summary: Novellas from a Private Detective
Review: These stories were written in the 1920s. If you liked his short stories and novels, you will want to read this book. "Corkscrew" is a short version of "Red Harvest" - get one gang to attack another in order to eliminate both and benefit a third group. "Dead Yellow Women" is about a scheme to provide cover for smuggling. Some things never change! "Tulip" was written in the 1950s, is partly autobiographical, and different from the other stories; not as good, in my opinion. The monetary figures from 80 years ago are way out of date! Some of these stories appear to be similar to the turmoil in early 16th Century Italy. Could a Cesare Borgia have planned the "The Big Knockover"? In "$106,000 Blood Money" the Continental Op arranges the death of a traitorous detective, and then the bounty hunter who would claim this reward (leading to a nice bonus later?). Why have detective stories gone out of fashion after the 1950s? Could a form of censorship be responsible for this (to hide the actions of these secret agents of the rich and powerful)? Are the "James Bond" stories an updated version of the private detective stories? Or have none-fiction writings become more popular since then ("The Invisible Government")?
Rating:
Summary: Novellas from a Private Detective
Review: These stories were written in the 1920s. If you liked his short stories and novels, you will want to read this book. "Corkscrew" is a short version of "Red Harvest" - get one gang to attack another in order to eliminate both and benefit a third group. "Dead Yellow Women" is about a scheme to provide cover for smuggling. Some things never change! "Tulip" was written in the 1950s, is partly autobiographical, and different from the other stories; not as good, in my opinion. The monetary figures from 80 years ago are way out of date! Some of these stories appear to be similar to the turmoil in early 16th Century Italy. Could a Cesare Borgia have planned the "The Big Knockover"? In "$106,000 Blood Money" the Continental Op arranges the death of a traitorous detective, and then the bounty hunter who would claim this reward (leading to a nice bonus later?). Why have detective stories gone out of fashion after the 1950s? Could a form of censorship be responsible for this (to hide the actions of these secret agents of the rich and powerful)? Are the "James Bond" stories an updated version of the private detective stories? Or have none-fiction writings become more popular since then ("The Invisible Government")?
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