Though he is celebrated for his fiction, Dashiell Hammett was also an investigative journalist whose nonfiction is anthologized for the first time in this collection. All the pieces that ran in Hammett's syndicated newspaper column 'The Crime Wave' are included, along with additional essays on writing well, politics, good and bad mysteries, effective advertising, and the World War II Battle of the Aleutians. Dozens of illustrations, advertisements, and photographs that have never before appeared in book form are included, along with an introduction for each selection and notes that provide insight into Hammett's career, the evolution of detective fiction, and American popular culture of the time.