Stock photo.

The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett

An often ignored key to Hammett's philosophy is contained in the anecdote of Flitcraft that Spade tells Brigid O'Shaughnessy in a seemingly tossed-off aside. According to critic Steven Marcus, in his introduction to Hammett's THE CONTEINTAL OP, the Flitcraft anecdote shows Hammett's belief that "life is inscrutable, opaque, irresponsible, and arbitrary--that human existence does not correspond in its actuality to the way we live it." Although it is not included in the movie version (done by John Huston and otherwise completely--and unusually--faithful to the book), there is reason to believe that this tale does more to explain Hammett's philosophy of life than anything else he wrote.

Available editions of The Maltese Falcon

	9781856957960, Audio Cassette, Isis Audio, 1996 $50.95 (New) Other copies of 9781856957960

	9780910457019, Book, Arion Press, 1983 None currently available

	9780893403300, Paperback, J. Curley, 1982 None currently available

	9780792735908, Compact Disc, Chivers Audio Books, 2005 None currently available

	9781597228985, Paperback, Wheeler Pub Inc, 2009 $33.13 (NEW) Other copies of 9781597228985

	9781572703643, Compact Disc, Audio Partners, 2004 $11.85 (Used - Good) Other copies of 9781572703643

	9780865471566, Hardcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1984 $10.29 (Used - Acceptable) Other copies of 9780865471566

	9780736667548, Audio Cassette, Books on Tape, 2001 None currently available

	9780553065091, Paperback, Bantam Books, 1985 $9.00 (VERY GOOD) Other copies of 9780553065091

	9780754046431, Hardcover, Thorndike Pr, 2001 £15.00 (Good ) Other copies of 9780754046431

	9780679722649, Paperback, Vintage Books, 1992 $1.00 (Used - Acceptable) Other copies of 9780679722649

	9780679740940, Paperback, Random House Inc, 1992 None currently available

	9780783894591, Hardcover, Thorndike Pr, 2001 None currently available

	9781883402150, Hardcover, Simon & Schuster, 1993 $163.00 (Fine in Fine DJ) Other copies of 9781883402150

	9780899261416, Audio Cassette, Cassette Works Audio, 1985 None currently available

	9780808575375, Prebinding, Bt Bound, 1999 $18.18 (Good) Other copies of 9780808575375

	9780753107003, Compact Disc, Isis Audio, 1999 None currently available

	9781433252495, Compact Disc, Blackstone Audio Inc, 2008 $15.05 (NEW) Other copies of 9781433252495

	9781433252501, MP3 CD, Blackstone Audio Inc, 2008 $15.51 (New ) Other copies of 9781433252501

	9781433252471, Audio Cassette, Blackstone Audio Inc, 2008 $25.27 (NEW) Other copies of 9781433252471

	9781433252488, Compact Disc, Blackstone Audio Inc, 2008 $29.31 (NEW) Other copies of 9781433252488

	9780848824365, Hardcover, Amereon Ltd, 2000 None currently available

Media Reviews

"Mr. Hammett, we understand, was once a Pinkerton operative, and he probably knows that there is very little romance about the detective business. There is none of it in his book, but there is plenty of excitement."

First Line

Sam Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, v. His yellow-grey eyes were horizontal. The v motif was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down--from high flat temples--in a point on his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan.

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