Born "Lombino" in New York City in 1926, Evan Hunter, under that pseudonym and the further noms de plume of Hunt Collins, Richard Marsten and Ed McBain, has published upward of 60 books of fiction since 1952, which should make him one of America's most prolific authors over the past 30 years. Lately, without greatly affecting production, Marsten and Collins have dropped from the picture. But in the banner year of 1956, all four were represented, McBain weighing in with three thrillers and Hunter contributing a collection of stories as well as a novel, for a total of seven full-length works.

One could more easily accept this kind of productivity from pornographers or pulp writers, but Mr. Hunter is neither. A number of his books, notably "Last Summer" (1968), have been well received, and his 1954 novel, "The Blackboard Jungle," was turned into what has become something of a film classic. (A master of swift...