{"product_id":"the-big-book-of-the-continental-op-9780525432951","title":"The Big Book of the Continental Op","description":"\u003cb\u003eNow for the first time ever in one volume, all twenty-eight stories and two serialized novels starring the Continental Op--one of the greatest characters in storied history of detective fiction. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDashiell Hammett is the father of modern hard-boiled detective stories. His legendary works have been lauded for almost one hundred years by fans, and his novel \u003ci\u003eThe Maltese Falcon\u003c\/i\u003e was adapted into a classic film starring Humphrey Bogart. One of Dashiell Hammett's most memorable characters, the Continental Op made his debut in \u003ci\u003eBlack Mask \u003c\/i\u003emagazine on October 1, 1923, narrating the first of twenty-eight stories and two novels that would change forever the face of detective fiction. The Op is a tough, wry, unglamorous gumshoe who has inspired a following that is both global and enduring. He has been published in periodicals, paperback digests, and short story collections, but until now, he has never, in all his ninety-two years, had the whole of his exploits contained in one book. The book features all twenty-eight of the original standalone Continental Op stories, the original serialized versions of \u003ci\u003eRed Harvest\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Dain Curse\u003c\/i\u003e, and previously unpublished material. This anthology of Continental Op stories is the only complete, one-volume work of its kind.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDashiell Hammett was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and grew up in Baltimore. Hammett left school at the age of fourteen and held a variety of jobs thereafter--messenger boy, newsboy, clerk, operator, and stevedore, finally becoming an operative for Pinkerton's Detective Agency. He served as a sergeant in the Army in World War I and World War II. In the late 1920s Hammett became the unquestioned master of hard-boiled detective fiction in America. In \u003ci\u003eThe Maltese Falcon\u003c\/i\u003e (1930) he first introduced his famous private eye, Sam Spade. \u003ci\u003eThe Thin Man\u003c\/i\u003e (1934) offered another immortal sleuth, Nick Charles. \u003ci\u003eRed Harvest \u003c\/i\u003e(1929), \u003ci\u003eThe Dain Curse\u003c\/i\u003e (1929), and \u003ci\u003eThe Glass Key\u003c\/i\u003e (1931) are among his most celebrated novels.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage Crime\/Black Lizard","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50527066095890,"sku":"9780525432951","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_44fc2ba7-f66a-49f9-a3db-66fd0307abea.jpg?v=1731291484","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-big-book-of-the-continental-op-9780525432951","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}