October 1983 Issue [Palpitations] Hammett’s long goodbye Download PDF Adjust Share A deferential biography of literature's Marlboro man by James Wolcott, Subscribe or log in to continue reading. Tags 20th century American authors Biography Dashiell Hammett Diane Johnson More from James Wolcott Philip Larkin’s enormous yes A connoisseur of doom whose wit refuses to die The prince of finesse Nine hundred pages of criticism prove that John Updike is no air-dancing dandy Mooing in the meadows of love Confessional novels that give real life a bad name Adjust Share