Hardboiled America: Lurid Paperbacks And The Masters Of Noir [Paperback]

Geoffrey O'brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1997

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 America—lavishly illustrated with 135 paperback covers, and expanded with new material on Thompson, Goodis, and others—Geoffrey O'Brien masterfully explores the art, history, and ideas of the American paperback.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Geoffrey O'Brien is the author of Floating City: Selected Poems 1978-1995, The Phantom Empire, Dream Time, and other books. Executive editor of The Library of America, he also edited The Reader's Catalog.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Exp Sub edition (March 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807734
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807732
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #693,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb review of the genre by an excellent writer., November 10, 1998

By 

JSR,MD (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hardboiled America: Lurid Paperbacks And The Masters Of Noir (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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book is back in print, November 8, 2001

By 

K. Brubaker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hardboiled America: Lurid Paperbacks And The Masters Of Noir (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.

14 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rip Off Version - Buyer Beware!, July 30, 2006

By 

jeff (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hardboiled America: Lurid Paperbacks And The Masters Of Noir (Paperback)

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.