I bought this book a few years ago after happening across it on the internet. What a beautiful book. The selections are well-chosen and the photos are unreal. Buy it. You won't regret it.

A goldmine for any fan of Chandler's Marlowe novels and short stories, I couldn't put this book down. It finally gave context to the vistas I had only been able to imagine previously, and I'll never be able to pick up any hard boiled detective story set in Los Angeles without flashing on the images painstakingly chosen to be included in this volume by Ward and Silver. An invaluable asset to any Chandler and noir fan.

He is back. Philop Marlowe the crime fighting gumshoe has returned to fight evil and champion the right and true. Raymond Chandler has written another spine tingling thriller that will surely blow your mind and emerse you in the ongoing plot and lead you to the exciting conclusion of this wonderful book.

It doesn't matter if the private eye's name is John Dalmas, it's still Phillip Marlowe and Phillip Marlowe fans won't be disappointed. Dalmas' life is saved by a beautiful woman who he initially tried to save. I won't say anymore than that because the intrigue, the classic Chandler characters and the atmosphere is all there intact. Elliott Gould is the perfect reader for this type of literature, his reading is cool and crisp and just understated enough for the listeners to lose themselves in the escapist world that is Chandler's.

This would make a useful text for classes centering on film/literature: six short stories by noir writers are juxtaposed with the shooting scripts for film adaptations commissioned by Showtime cable TV. The book holds particular value for James Ellroy fans: Ellroy supplies the introduction, and his short story, "Since I Don't Have You," is among the adaptations. Stills from the various episodes of the cable series, "Fallen Angels" are also incorporated in the book. Worth a look for fans of noir and especially for the self-dubbed Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction.

I was dubious. Not of the quality of Chandler's writings, but of the veracity of this book's claim to collect ALL of his short fiction. But it does. From Blackmailers Don't Shoot to The Pencil, with everything in between, this has them all. This also includes three that are available nowhere else: Professor Bingo's Snuff, The Bronze Door and English Summer. These last three really do not really qualify as pulpy mysteries (or even as typical Chandler, although his imprint in them is still distinct), but I had been seeking them for a while and bought the book for them alone anyway. And because, well, Chandler could write a grocery list and I'd buy it to read. He's that good.

For those who already know Chandler, that will not come as any surprise. He took up the torch which Hammett lit, toward making detective fiction respectable literature. And no one outside of Hemingway has been more influential or distinctive, in any style, anywhere, ever. And no one has ever been more entertaining. Chandler wrote in an extremely visceral, visual, atmospheric way, and made the language sit up, salute and perform pirouettes. His cynical California Gothic prose defined postwar America and combined intelligentsia with slang and squalor with romanticism into a new form that has not been exceeded. I could ramble on indefinitely, but I hope this paragraph has been some small yet clear indication of the fact that I happen to like Raymond Chandler's writing.

The three previously unpublished stories were treats, to see Chandler working in ways I was unaccustomed to. One was even subtitled 'A Gothic Romance'; that made me a little nervous, but is only a romance in the sense that The Big Sleep is a romance. All three deal with murder- one at a quaint but decaying English manor, one via a magical door to nowhere, and one by an invisible man. You read that last part correctly. Chandler delves into fantasy in these pages; and I was delighted. But for those of you passionately inclined to LA noir, don't worry: as unconventional as these stories are, they still retain most of the basic elements found in his other crime stories.

In Chandler's first Black Mask story, Blackmailers Don't Shoot, his style was present, but it was somewhat forced and imitative; he wore the attitude like a coat, keeping it a separate and distant thing. By just a couple of stories later, the attitude had become a second skin. Chandler had cemented his voice and begun to truly inhabit the world of his creations. Thereby we too are liberated, and transported, into his rich, dark, slinky and dangerous territory. By the late 30's everything was in place: atmosphere, language, attitude, et al. Raymond Chandler was combining (cannibalizing, he called it) two of the stories in this volume with new material to become his first and most famous novel, The Big Sleep. And we can all be thankful for that.

But it begins here. Some of these stories don't use the ingenious metaphors he later became renowned for, some are overly confusing, some aren't even great mysteries. (Chandler himself would tell you he was not the best plotter, giving that acclaim to Woolrich, but plots were secondary to Chandler anyway.) Still, these are all great stories, of the coolest era in history and of the last great rugged individualist. In some stories he is called Dalmas. In some Carmady. In some he is no one in particular. And yet they are all his lasting creation Marlowe under the surface, all *Chandler* himself in fact, using the crime story form to express his own philosophies of life. While never failing to blow your socks off with his skill.

For those who don't know Chandler this may not be the place to start. For that I recommend Farewell, My Lovely or The Little Sister, both among Chandler's most atmospheric and funny novels. But I do recommend starting down these mean streets which Marlowe himself prowled. You will (or should) become hooked, and may eventually wind up back at this collection anyway, where you can see the writer- and his characters- develop, and see grains of the novels his stories would become.

If you have never read Chandler before, you have a vast world newly open to you. Lucky you.

If you have read him before, welcome back. Curl up and stay awhile.

P.S. The introduction to this volume breaks no new ground. Don't get me wrong, it's OK. But this is An Historic Publishing Event, so I was expecting something a little more official and substantive. A small gripe.

Somewhere between the harshness of Frank McShane's biography and the apologetics of Tom Hiney's later work lies the true essence of Raymond Chandler. Wolfe's "Something Darker Than Night: The Case of Raymond Chandler" seeks to fill that gap, and -- I believe -- largely succeeds.

Wolfe's approach to Chandler is to dissect his writings, which he does with all the analytical skills and precision of an English teacher (at the time of this book, Wolfe was associate professor of English at University of Missouri - St. Louis). Doing this, and unlike most other Chandler scholars, he refuses to take a single word or phrase at face value.

He additionally resists the fairly common assumption that Chandler and Phillip Marlowe were "one and the same," or that Marlowe was at all times merely an alter-ego or "projection" of Chandler. As a result of both factors, both writer and creation emerge into the light as more fully rounded individuals.

Wolfe does occasionally fall astray: In discussing "The Long Goodbye," for example, he notes that Marlowe, having relocated to a small house on Yucca Avenue, has "taken part in the 50s 'white flight to the suburbs'." In this -- which he subsequently conceded in correspondence -- Wolfe is victimized by an ignorance of Los Angeles history and demographics of that era. Likewise, in his otherwise excellent synopsis of "Double Indemnity" he neglects to distinguish between the original screenplay and the finished film version, a failing which can cause more than a moment's confusion for the reader who has seen the movie.

Such flaws are minor considerations.

Wolfe's study is refreshingly devoid of "personal agenda:" he neither excoriates nor excuses Chandler's personal failings. The result -- and Wolfe's great contribution -- is a volume which (whether or not you agree with all of his conclusions) will deepen your understanding of Chandler (and Marlowe) without dampening your enjoyment of either.

Raymond Chandler's creation, Philip Marlowe, is a character that has influenced modern fiction greatly. Without Marlowe the archetype of "private dick" would not carry the cultural weight that it does today. It is true that the plot lines of many Chandler works are contorted to the point of no return, but it is not the plot that counts. The reason why these books are so successful is because we the reader become enthralled by Marlowe and his immediate knowledge of all things that surround him. Because Chandler made Marlowe such a carefully wrought character, Farewell, My Lovely becomes an examination of the human character rather than a list of dastardly deeds committed by crooks without depth. Every scene is an interaction between fully developed characters. He defines himself in relation to the people and actions that whirl in and out of his life. Marlowe offers us plenty of insight into his opinion of his relations. Because he is such an endearing person we want to believe every word he says. He is a product of the LA scene where he works. We the reader build confidence in our hero because he is capable of sizing up any situation immediately. Slowly we learn to trust Marlowe's way of navigating the underbelly of LA. I truly enjoyed Farewell, My Lovely because Chandler forces through Marlowe an undeniable wit and charm. He will make you laugh and draw you into his brand of thinking about other characters. I wonder sometimes when reading Chandler about how Marlowe would size me up. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about interesting characters and loves a wry wit and dark charm.

Seeing as how "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" are the first two Philip Marlowe detective novels that Raymond Chandler wrote (published in 1939 and 1940, respectively), this is a grand place for a Chandler novice to begin pursuing the morally decrepit alleys and boulevards of the rich and not-so-rich in Los Angeles.

One thing you should note is that Chandler held the conventional detective stories (think: Agatha Christie) in disdain. Ergo, any attempt of mine to barf back the plots to you is a waste of time. They are so complex that you often forget exactly what happened shortly after you finish reading the books themselves...which doesn't detract from their quality whatsoever mind you. It's been told often enough that after their publication, Chandler often didn't even know what was going on in his own novels!

Suffice to say that both books concern murder among the wealthy elites in L.A. during Chandler's life--a time when the city was a lot smaller than its present size, and more hostile to outsiders--particularly to people of color. "The Big Sleep" concerns a disappearance and a reclusive millionaire and his two daughters (one is a mentally deranged nymphomaniac; the other is a bit more sensible, but no less shady) and the lengths he'll go to protect them. While this isn't the best Marlowe novel, this is probably the best place to start. Plus, it got made into a pretty good movie starring Bogie and Bacall.

"Farewell, My Lovely" is perhaps the most politically incorrect of the Marlowe books. It starts off with a murder at a bar in South Central L.A. and extends its tentacles into jewel heists and gambling rings where it is difficult to ascertain exactly who is doing what to whom. In Chandler's L.A., nothing is what it seems.

The story itself is engrossing, however, you must prepare yourself for Marlowe dropping the "N" word at least once, and his mockery of an American Indian for speaking in pidgeon English. Remember that this was 1940 and was 25 years before the Watts riots began to put an end to the white-dominated old boys network that used to rule L.A. That in itself makes it an interesting look at the mentality of the powers at be (the wealthy, the LAPD) and see how much has changed since Chandler's day...and how much hasn't.

My personal favorite of Chandler's books is "The Long Goodbye"--the second-to-last Marlowe novel that was published in 1954. I would rank both of these books below that one, but "Farewell, My Lovely" is a close second, while "The Big Sleep" is an auspicious debut for the hard-boiled, cynical, yet romantic ...

For those who are willing to take more than a passive interest in the works of Raymond Chandler, this two-book set is an excellent place to start. Furthermore, for those who are merely casual Chandler fans, this set is great because these two books are among his best (and it looks nice on your bookshelf too!)

I've always believed that Chandler was one of the great prose stylists of the 20th century. Read these two novels and try to disagree with me.

Don't get me wrong from that summary up there. I liked The Big Sleep, it was one of the great novels of any type, mystery or otherwise. But there is something about The Long Goodbye that really gets you. Something about it that's beautiful and dark and all around wonderful.

"Beautiful" is not a term often applied to hardboiled novels like this, but this book is. The story of Philip Marlowe finally confronting his age, finally finding someone he might spend the second half of his life with, The Long Goodbye takes you into Marlowe's mind and soul the way no other of Chandler's seven Marlowe novels does.

This novel, the sixth in the series, is so good that most people overlook the fact that there was a seventh (many people, when they mention Chandler, leave out "Playback"). Although "Playback" was a good novel, The Long Goodbye is, in a sense, Chandler's long goodbye to his readers, giving them one very memorable classic before he died.

I can't possibly gush about this novel anymore. All I can say is that you should read it.

My second Raymond Chandler novel has elevated my opinion of him even higher than I thought possible. Chandler is an absolute master of the noir genre. His grittiness, dialogue and characters are matched by almost no one else. This book just flies by and is such a page turner that I had it finished in less than two days. Too bad Chandler wasn't more prolific; I'll have all of his stuff read by the end of the year.

The Long Goodbye brings Marlowe into constant conflict with lowlifes almost immediately after the book starts. Marlowe befriends a drunk who happens to be married to a beautiful, rich heiress. The only problem with this is she's a nymphomaniac and ends up dead. Marlowe helps her hubby escape and ends up in trouble with the law (of course). The rest of the book sees Marlowe hired to keep a famous author sober so he can finish his novel. Marlowe ends up entwined with the author's wife and their crazy butler, Candy. Needless to say, all of these threads wind together in the end. Even revealing this much to you in no way spoils the book. There's so much going on here that you'll be constantly wondering how Chandler is going to bring it all to a head. He does, and he does it beautifully.

The book is top heavy with all sorts of clever dialogue. Marlowe's putdowns lead to endless howls of laughter (at one point, he describes a guy with as having a "face like a collapsed lung"). My favorite part of the book is when Marlowe confronts the three quack doctors while trying to track down the alcoholic author. Marlowe is the man!!

This book should be required reading for anyone interested in noir. I'd recommend it to anyone who just likes to read. I can't wait to read more of Chandler's novels. I'll try and space his books out so they last a long time. Too bad Raymond Chandler didn't start writing at an earlier age.

This epic Raymond Chandler novel is his most finely crafted and perhaps the best ever of its genre. Featuring Chandler's world-weary private detective, it mixes an intriguing plot with fascinating social comment. The plot concerns Marlowe's dealings with a drunk named Terry Lennox and his role in an escape from a murder charge to Mexico. Most of the novel, however is taken up in the rich suburbs of L.A. It has everything that all the best Chandler/Marlowe books have, clever, poetic, often humourous dialogue, cynicism, characters who seem tired of life and yet so full of it, and the sun-drenched L.A. setting. Those used to the more pacy narrative writings such as 'The Big Sleep' and 'The Lady in the Lake' may be a tad cool on this book as it spends as much time dissecting the lives of its downtrodden characters as it does unfold the plot. The later film version, brilliant though it is, does not even do this book justice. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!!

"The Big Sleep" opens with private eye Philip Marlowe being summoned to the expansive estate of the aged and wealthy General Sternwood. Sternwood hires Marlowe to investigate a blackmailer who has been involving Sternwood's wildly misbehaving younger daughter in some embarrassing indiscretions. Marlowe's trail leads him through a labyrinth of murder and deceit, and it is impossible for the reader to guess the real story behind Sternwood's daughter's trouble until Marlowe analyzes and reveals the scheme at the end of the book.

As he explains in his essay "The Simple Art of Murder," Raymond Chandler disdained the linear "whodunit" style of mystery and set about to turn the genre upside down with this, his first Marlowe novel. Chandler's style of designing a complex plot and inserting the detective somewhere in the middle to put the pieces together was to be a big influence on many crime writers to follow and particularly on a TV show like "The Rockford Files." (Jim Rockford was not unlike a '70s version of Marlowe, and many of the episodes featured similarly complex plot structures.) While some of Chandler's dialogue, situations, and props may seem a bit dated, his mindbending plot concept seems as fresh and exciting today as it must have sixty years ago.

Another book in my quest to read the classics - A great addition to the list! I am a big fan of mystery books such as Sue Grafton's alphabet series...now I see how the genre began. Raymond Chandler sets the bar for other PI novels to follow.

THE BIG SLEEP introduces us to Phillip Marlowe - a sarcastic PI with a unique perspective on things. Marlowe is hired by an aging rich man to find out who is blackmailing one of his daughters. Marlowe finds out the blackmailing is only the beginning of a tangled web of intrigue. There are two murders that seem unrelated at first, however as the book progresses Chandler does a wonderful job of weaving them together.

Chandler's writing style is pure joy to read....each scene is described in great detail, you feel like you are there. I love Marlowe's dialogue - tough, sarcastic and to the point. The BIG SLEEP is a classic mystery any fan of mystery novels should read.

When "The Big Sleep" was first released it was dismissed by those in the literary community as a worthless, pop-culture, dime-store novel. Now, If a book is compared to a Chandler novel, it is a bigger compliment than a Hemmingway comparison (Ernest's "Machismo" theme has fallen flat). Aside from the fact that Chandler's novels are just SO DAMNED FUN, they also set the bar for what a good detective novel should be. Chandler's protagonist in this and all of his major works, Philip Marlowe, Private Eye, is by far one of the most memorable in ALL 20th century literature. He has come to embody what the cool-headed, quick-witted, tough-guy detective is supposed to be in Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction (in both Books and Film). To define an entire genre is no small feat and happens once in a blue moon, thus "The Big Sleep" has become an importaint book for those who are mystery-lovers and those who are not. Looking back at what America has produced in the last 100 years, it would be safe to say that "The Big Sleep" is one of the most importaint and influential works to be published.

Raymond Chander's second novel is both more and less successful than his first. THE BIG SLEEP suffered from a plot that fell apart in midstream; FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, however, is much more consistent throughout. On the other hand, for all its twists and turns, THE BIG SLEEP was quite plausible; FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, however, is about as farfetched as you can get. But once again, such criticisms are almost beside the point: the great attraction is still Chandler's knock-you-flat prose, his tone of voice, his often imitated but seldom equaled style, and it is so powerful that it keeps you turning page after page after page.

In general, FAREWELL, MY LOVELY once more finds street-smart and super-savvy California P.I. Philip Marlowe sticking his nose where it has no business being--and when curiosity leads him to follow a massively built white man into a black nightclub he finds himself embroiled in a murder no one cares about solving... at least not until it begins to figure in what seems to be a completely different case with a high-society spin. And encounters with stolen jewels, a spiritualist racket, police corruption, and a gambling ship quickly follow.

Along the way Chandler again paints a gritty portrait of the seamy side of life. On this occasion, he takes a passing look at race, and makes the point that from a police point of view two standards apply: the authorities care nothing about the murder of a black man, but they treat a white man's murder very differently indeed. This portion of the novel is intrinsically controversial, for Chandler uses the slang and racial slurs common to the mean streets of his era--but it is worth noting that although Marlowe uses the same language, his attitude toward the blacks who appear in the novel is considerably different from that of the authorities, who could not care less about the murder of a black man who don't much care who knows it. And once again, Chandler graces his pages with dames and dandies, broads and bums--and he makes them live with remarkable vitality. The famous prose is as rich as ever, although noticeably less witty and quite a bit darker than that found in THE BIG SLEEP. We've stepped off the curb and into the gutter, Chandler seems to be saying, and we're walking in it all the way. Impressive stuff and a very entertaining read.

I recently listened to the unabridged version of this book narrated by Elliott Gould, and while Chandler's glimpse of 1940's era Los Angeles was surely entertaining, I still like Dashiell Hammett's "Continental Op" novels better. In Farewell, My Lovely, private dick Philip Marlowe starts out working for a barber on a minor job and unrealistically stumbles onto a murder by a hulk of an ex-con, looking for his old girl Velma in a club where she used to work. Marlowe then is mysteriously contacted out of the blue to provide security for a shady jewel transaction, in which a rich dandy is to attempt to buy back some precious jade from the thieves who stole it.

The novel moves at a brisk pace, and while some of the plot twists seem a little forced, they are entertaining nonetheless. One of my main problems with the story is that Marlowe seems to spend most of the novel putting his life in danger, getting knocked out, shot at or drugged, without much of an incentive to get involved. He often seems to be acting on his own, without a paying client, despite warnings from the police to stay away coupled with the obvious dangers. Hammett's continental op, in novels like The Dain Curse, at least had a paying client ordering him to snoop into the multi-layered mysteries, with significant insurance money at stake.

Ultimately, without giving away too much of the story, Chandler does a pretty good job of throwing a lot of balls in the air and wrapping up most of the loose ends by story's end. Some threads are left unresolved, like the whereabouts and motives of the mysterious doctor and psychic in Bay City, but most of the rest of the plot makes sense. LIke another reviewer said, at the end of the novel, while you may have enjoyed the ride, you are left with somewhat of an empty feeling.

As for the narration, I expected a little more from Mr. Gould, an accomplished stage and screen actor who seems to sleepwalk his way through the beginning of the book as if he was handed a copy of the novel, a microphone, and told to read. He later changes pace a little, adopting different voices for different characters, but I found the voices ill-suited to the characters and sometimes caricatures of policemen or gangsters, as if the novel was a scene from a "Bowery Boys" episode.

Farewell My Lovely, Raymond Chandler's second novel in the Philip Marlowe series, transcends the genre it helped to create, and is now (deservedly) viewed by many as literature and as social criticism.

Chandler creates moods and telegraphs emotions via the poetic ramblings and outrageous similes from the mind of Philip Marlowe, the protagonist/detective/narrator who is picked up by the collar and dragged into a murder mystery that exposes not only the hypocrisy beneath the surface in the lifestyles of the rich and beautiful, but ultimately, the depravity of the human condition. And all of this is delivered with a caustic sense of humor, a wry wit, and a hypersensitivity to the visual world and it's translation into the language of the mean streets.

Although Chandler died shortly before I was born, I grew up in L.A., and I can say that the L.A. Chandler wrote of is in many ways the city of my childhood memories, so well did he capture the ambiance and ambivalence of the 'city of angels'.

Some have criticized his plotting and plausability, but emotion, action, and detail were what interested him the most, and in these he excelled. FAREWELL MY LOVELY must be viewed within the context of it's era (published in 1940) to be fully appreciated, but the flow of action, the visual aspect of it's language, and the insights into the very human conflict of corruption verses conscience are timeless.

This book, like the first in the Marlowe series (THE BIG SLEEP) was written at the height of Chandler's creative career, and exemplifies the style that has made him a writer's writer, possibly the most imitated author of the past century.

This biography reads very well, but it's almost impossible to understand, as other reviewers have noted, how Mr. Hiney could have made such egregious errors recounting the plot of Farewell, My Lovely. It calls into question the possible accuracy of his research into biographical details. On pages 116-117 of the paperback edition, there are three key errors. First, Hiney indicates Marriott was killed by his cronies, but it was Velma/Mrs. Grayle who killed him. Next Hiney claims Jules Amthor was a pyschiatrist, but Amthor was a psychic consultant. Hiney then uses Marlowe's sarcastic portrayal of the people who call on Amthor as a veiled reference to Chandler's views on psychiatrists, whom Chandler had consulted during his bouts with alcoholism during his oil industry days. The leap taken by here by Hiney on wrong information is just mind-boggling. On a far less egregious error he quotes Anne Riordan as saying to Marlowe "Do you have to say things like that?" because, according to Mr. Hiney, "Anne is fond of Marlowe, but doesn't like the swear words he uses." But Anne's response isn't to a swear word, instead it comes after this line from Marlowe: "The Mayor is doing all this, changing his pants hourly while the crisis lasts." This error is minor compared to confusing who killed Marriott and the psychiatrist/psychic consultant problem, but as a third mistake within justs two pages, any reader who's familiar with Marlowe's books may be ready to throw Hiney's biography out the window. And that's a shame because it's a very readable bio.

Tom Hiney brings no new material to this biography and no startling new approach to the previous and very enjoyable biography by Frank MacShane. This is however a more contemporary book, written with a breezy journalistic style which makes it hard to put down, indeed compulsive. Not least in its charms is the snap and crackle of nearly everything Chandler himself wrote, not least the letters, which Hiney is wise enough to quote from liberally.

My main complaint is that I came away from this book with a sense of the author's disgust at his subject's decline into chaotic behaviour and helplessness after the death of his wife. My recollection of the MacShane book is of a certain tragic sympathy in the treatment of Chandler's last, disasterous years. Here one feels Hiney is disappointed with Chandler, that somehow the hero he has been peddling let him down. It is somehow the reader of the biography who is let down, suddenly finding the author whose wit he has grown rather fond of, dismissed as a sad old drunk. A readable book, but skip the ending if you like your Chandler, and go to the letters - which do not fail to show this sad, witty man at his droll best.

While other reviewers apparently fault the author for daring to depict the rather ordinary demise of the "great man", Chandler's life was more devoted to his isolation and misogyny than it was to his novels. Hiney's triumph is showing what an interesting life it was, nonetheless. Chandler was just a writer who loved words more than he loved people, who loaded up his cynicism in neat little rounds and fired at humanity with some precision. That same cynicism drove him to view life through the bottom of a shot glass, at no little cost to his art (or I suppose as some might argue to enhance his art). Mostly he wanted to get it right - mostly he did, especially in "The Long Goodbye". I like that Hiney doesn't let the extraordinary Mr. Marlowe overshadow the strains of ordinariness in Chandler's character. I certainly enjoy Chandler's fiction the greater for this very good life.