There are few modern authors commanding a greater influence on American literature than Dashiell Hammett. Hammett invented the “hard-boiled detective” – a genre of storytelling used in books and film up to the present day. More than that, Hammett lived the life of one.
Born in 1894, Hammett’s life started out as a typical American story – but by the time of his death in 1961 Hammett had lived a life with a uniqueness matched only by the tragedy that it ended in.
Hammett served honorably in both world wars, a disillusioned former Pinkerton, and a political activist ruined in the anti-red witch hunts of the 1950s – in the end, he was a hero ostracized by society, yet still buried at with full military honors at Arlington. His life showed the best and worst of American culture.
His real life inspired fiction, which was both extensive and broad in scope. One of his earliest creations, the Continental Op, blunt and realistic and blunt look at detective work.
The unnamed protagonist is balding and pudgy in the midsection. His associates are at best incompetent, or outright traitors. No situation is exactly what it seems on the surface. The Continental Op was the hard-boiled detective – based on Hammett’s own experiences as a Pinkerton detective, and the Continental Op character himself was based on James Wright, Hammett’s mentor in his early days as a private eye (SF Gate).
The world described by Hammett is as violent and dark as the hearts of the characters who inhabit it. Is this a gloom that came naturally to Hammett, or is it inspired by life experiences exacerbated by heavy drinking? Possibly both – but whatever cynicism he felt early in life could only be compounded by the secession of disappointments ahead of him. He quit the Pinkertons after they started cracking down on workers and ordered him to murder union boss Frank Little. Little was killed anyways. (Note: many recent historians dispute this story).
Hammett’s life and death was in a sense a demonstration of irony not unlike the stories he told the world – an irony. After years of service in war and peacetime Hammett’s own nation turned on him. Only at his death did he receive the honors due him – full military honors and a gravesite at Arlington.
Ian Kummer
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I wish the Hammett article was longer, more detailed.
Hello Carlos!
He is one of my favorite authors, and I absolutely agree, I should write a whole book about him here. But for now, that’s what I got. Actually, funny enough, this is a random blurb I wrote for some random class I took a few years back, I just edited it and posted, so I’d have something for Saturday night.
But I 1,000% agree. He’s a fascinating guy and all-around American hero.
I wish the Hammett article was longer, more detailed.
Hello Carlos! He is one of my favorite authors, and I absolutely agree, I should write a whole book about him here. But for now, that's what I got. Actually, funny enough, this is a random blurb I wrote for some random class I took a few years back, I just edited it and posted, so I'd have something for Saturday night. But I 1,000% agree. He's a fascinating guy and all-around American hero.
I didn’t really understand the importance of Hammet until I read Red Harvest, and realized that while it had never been turned into a movie, the basic plot had been mined by Hollywood many times. Nor did I understand that my favorite author of spy fiction, Len Deighton, had started out writing what amounted to Continental Op style stories with a Cold War espionage background. The man really does cast a long shadow, and I think he was one of the great American authors of the 20th Century
Absolutely, and the thing about that is there will never be a day when Hammett *won’t* matter, since future authors always to some extent or another build upon precedents established by previous generations. So Hammett can’t not matter, any more than the foundation of a building stops mattering when you get to the roof tiles.
I didn't really understand the importance of Hammet until I read Red Harvest, and realized that while it had never been turned into a movie, the basic plot had been mined by Hollywood many times. Nor did I understand that my favorite author of spy fiction, Len Deighton, had started out writing what amounted to Continental Op style stories with a Cold War espionage background. The man really does cast a long shadow, and I think he was one of the great American authors of the 20th Century
Absolutely, and the thing about that is there will never be a day when Hammett *won't* matter, since future authors always to some extent or another build upon precedents established by previous generations. So Hammett can't not matter, any more than the foundation of a building stops mattering when you get to the roof tiles.
That’s a great point