An excellent review of the pulp fiction writers and their literary aims. There are important short chapters on Raymond Chandler, the themes of the gangster novel and the Hollywood novel (from different authors). I have a hobby interest in writers about the city of Los Angeles, so this is a valuable book to add to my collection. This collection of essays was written in the late 60s but is unique for its focus on a writing style now thought to be antique. I really was impressed by the deft writers who contributed to this volume. ( )

Despite its academic origins, this is a useful guide to some of the most interesting writing of the 1930s. Includes the ones you would expect--Hammett, Chandler, and Cain--and provides good insight into other works such as "You Play the Black and the Red Comes Up" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They." The authors of the pieces in this book seem to appreciate the hard-boiled genre and not feel like they are slumming in an inferior genre. ( )