Alphabetically arranged entries for characters, works, family members, and acquaintances detail Macdonald's life and writings. Kenneth Millar, better known as Ross Macdonald, was born in California and grew up in an unstable family. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and published his first novel, The Dark Tunnel (1944), during his stint as a teaching fellow there. Today he is best known as the creator of private detective Lew Archer and as the author of such works as The Drowning Pool (1950), The Name is Archer (1955), The Blue Hammer (1976), and Lew Archer, Private Detective (1977). He is often compared to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, two authors from whom he borrowed literary techniques. In light of his background, his fiction often considers dysfunctional families in academic settings, and he is generally considered more serious and complex than Chandler and Hammett. A convenient guide to Macdonald's life and writings, this reference includes numerous alphabetically arranged entries for individual works, characters, family members, and professional acquaintances. Entries for novels provide plot summaries and lists of characters, often accompanied by brief critical commentary. Longer entries generally cite works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Entries are cross-referenced, and the book includes a chronology and detailed index.