Dashiell Hammett by Jo Hammett

Dashiell Hammett by Jo Hammett

For more than forty years, since the day her illustrious father died, Jo Hammett has kept her silence. Now, for the first time, with uncompromising candor and profound admiration, she tells the story of Dashiell HammettHollywood screenwriter and high-flying author of The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Manas she knew him. In Jo Hammett's earliest recollections, although her already famous father exists outside the sphere of the daily life she shares with her mother and sister, he writes to Jo frequently and visits when he can. Jo's memories of him are golden: She recalls a trip to the Santa Anita racetrack in a chauffeur-driven limousine, where Hammett plays more on the horses than he can afford; she recalls a Depression-era excursion to Beverly Hills and a splurge that would have supported an entire family for a monthon a riding outfit. With more ambivalence, she remembers the 1950s, when she assumes her responsibility as the sole designated correspondent with her blacklisted, imprisoned father and her role as go-between for him and Lillian Hellman. The notorious Hammett-Hellman romance, Dash's rude flirtations, his heavy drinking, his attraction to Communism, his quirks and betrayals and paternal loveJo Hammett neither blinks at her father's faults nor diminishes his humanity. In straightforward prose, with unaffected charm, she offers in this generously illustrated volume a revealing personal reminiscence that contributes immeasurably to Hammett biography.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780786708925
ISBN 10	0786708921
Title	Dashiell Hammett
Author	Jo Hammett
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc
Year published	2001-10-14
Number of pages	192
Prizes	Short-listed for Anthony Awards (Critical Nonfiction) 2002, Short-listed for Edgar Allan Poe Awards (Critical/Biographical) 2002
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.