Hammett’s “Red Harvest” is an autocratic fantasy that has little basis in reality—but it still guides some people who support Trump.
Tag Archives: Dashiell Hammett
Hammett’s Autocratic Fantasy
Hammett on Boomeranging Power Plays
Hammett’s “Red Harvest,” with its tale of corruption rebounding on the corrupt, seems particularly relevant today.
The Bridge on the Black Sea
The damaging of the Russian bridge to Crimea brings to mind “Bridge on the River Kwai”–although it’s closer to the movie than to the novel.
Doubling Down on Trump’s Lies
Defending Trump’s lies is like covering for Sam Spade’s implausible story in “Maltese Falcon.”
Sherlock: Hard-Boiled or Soft-Boiled?
Tuesday I share today an Alexis Hall essay I encountered in CrimeReads arguing that Sherlock Holmes is a hard-boiled detective. (Thanks to Literary Hub for the alert.) For those who study detective fiction, the thesis is startling because Holmes is generally grouped with the soft-boiled or puzzle-solving detectives, more like Dupin, Poirot, Miss Marple, Nero […]
Will “The Fat Man” Sell Out Jared?
Sounding like a character in “The Maltese Falcon,” Rudy Giuliani declared that Jared Kushner is “disposable.”
American Politics, Dashiell Hammett Style
Dashiell Hammett’s rough and tumble novels catch some of the spirit of today’s political battles.

