Samuel Dashiell Hammett was born on May 27, 1894 in Manhattan, NY.
He was the author of detective novels and short stories. He wrote more
than a hundred articles, short-stories and books.
The Maltese Falcon was published in 1930. It was the second book in a trilogy
about the detective Sam Spade. The Amazon reviewer said that its ". . . sustained
tension is created by vivid scenes and by the pace and spareness of the author's style."