Dashiell Hammett's writing career began with the publication of "The Parthian Shot," a tiny short story in The Smart Set in 1922, and virtually ended when he published 3 outstanding stories in Collier's in 1934. During this brief period, he published 60 short stories, 5 novels--including The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man--a few poems, some nonfiction, and several book reviews. Though he published little from 1934 until his death in 1961, his influence continues to this day. This book presents alphabetically arranged entries for Hammett's works, characters, family members, and acquaintances, along with a chronology, a brief general bibliography, and end-of-entry bibliographies for especially detailed entries.