At last, the brilliant successor to Hammett and Chandler in a
definitive collector's edition: Revered by such contemporary masters
as Sue Grafton, George Pelecanos, and James Ellroy, Ross Macdonald (the
pseudonym of Kenneth Millar) brought to the crime novel new levels of
social realism and psychological depth, while honing a unique gift for
intricately involving mystery narratives. For his centennial year, The
Library of America inaugurates its Macdonald edition with four novels
from the 1950s, all featuring his incomparable protagonist, private
investigator Lew Archer. Here are The Way Some People Die, a twisted
journey through Los Angeles high and low, The Barbarous Coast, an
exploration of crime and corruption in the movie business, The
Doomsters, a breakthrough novel of madness and self-destruction, and
The Galton Case, the mythically charged and deeply personal book that
Macdonald considered a turning point in his career. As a special
feature, this volume also includes five pieces in which Macdonald
reveals the autobiographical background of his books and describes his
distinctive approach to crime writing.
LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization
founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by
publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most
significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than
300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in
length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are
printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.