VERDICT: Man of Mystery delivers the goods on Hammett, in brief. . . . Keeping her subject squarely in focus, [Cline] offers a fairly succinct overview of his personality and career. Her analyses of his novels including The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, are lean. . . . What is found in abundance are salacious details, presented in standard linear narrative, as Hammettlifetime consumptive, philander, and inebriate extraordinairetreats people badly against an endless backdrop of crummy apartments, hotel penthouses, jail cells, army barracks, and Hollywood locales. . . . An entertaining and informative read.”Library Journal
Extremely well-written, it provides the best account thus far of Hammett’s view of life.”National Review
Sally Cline has captured the essence of Dashiell Hammett in a fast-paced and entertaining exploration of his life and his work. In pages filled with absorbing detail, Cline provides a scholarly reinterpretation with which future writers will have to grapple. This is an important achievement!"
Alice Kessler-Harris, R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of History, Columbia University, and author of A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman
Sympathetically written and scrupulously researched, Sally Cline’s Dashiell Hammett corrects the record and offers new insights into this complex and enigmatic man, giving us a vivid portrait not only of Hammett but also of his world and circle." Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, author of Mencken: the American Iconoclast
Sally Cline's Dashiell Hammett is incisive and authoritative, and especially good at seeing Hammett in the context of his times.” Diane Johnson, author of Flyover Lives: A Memoir, Le Mariage, and Dashiell Hammett: A Life
"In Dashiell Hammett: Man of Mystery, Cline brilliantly captures the life and times of this often private, enigmatic, and talented man. . . . Five out of five stars for her first-rate, well-researched, and compelling biography on Dashiell Hammett. It is a gem of a book, very entertaining, and it belongs in the library of all lovers of American literature.” Baltimore Post-Examiner
VERDICT: Man of Mystery delivers the goods on Hammett, in brief. . . . Keeping her subject squarely in focus, [Cline] offers a fairly succinct overview of his personality and career. Her analyses of his novels including The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, are lean. . . . What is found in abundance are salacious details, presented in standard linear narrative, as Hammettlifetime consumptive, philander, and inebriate extraordinairetreats people badly against an endless backdrop of crummy apartments, hotel penthouses, jail cells, army barracks, and Hollywood locales. . . . An entertaining and informative read.”Library Journal
Extremely well-written, it provides the best account thus far of Hammett’s view of life.”National Review
Sally Cline has captured the essence of Dashiell Hammett in a fast-paced and entertaining exploration of his life and his work. In pages filled with absorbing detail, Cline provides a scholarly reinterpretation with which future writers will have to grapple. This is an important achievement!"
Alice Kessler-Harris, R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of History, Columbia University, and author of A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman
Sympathetically written and scrupulously researched, Sally Cline’s Dashiell Hammett corrects the record and offers new insights into this complex and enigmatic man, giving us a vivid portrait not only of Hammett but also of his world and circle." Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, author of Mencken: the American Iconoclast
Sally Cline's Dashiell Hammett is incisive and authoritative, and especially good at seeing Hammett in the context of his times.” Diane Johnson, author of Flyover Lives: A Memoir, Le Mariage, and Dashiell Hammett: A Life
"In Dashiell Hammett: Man of Mystery, Cline brilliantly captures the life and times of this often private, enigmatic, and talented man. . . . Five out of five stars for her first-rate, well-researched, and compelling biography on Dashiell Hammett. It is a gem of a book, very entertaining, and it belongs in the library of all lovers of American literature.” Baltimore Post-Examiner
