SOURCE: An introduction to The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett, edited by Steven Marcus, Random House, 1974, pp. ix-xxix.
In this excerpt Marcus discusses the philosophical underpinnings of Hammett's work; he also finds that Hammett's protagonists are often involved in a "fiction-making" activity that establishes them as unique figures in the crime fiction genre. For a rebuttal to Marcus's assertions, see Roger Sale's essay dated 1975.
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