Philip Marlowe's Guide to Life - Tapa dura

Philip Marlowe is the quintessential American detective. His effortless masculinity, smouldering sexuality and silver tongue remain the embodiment of cool. He likes booze, women, and working alone - portrayed on film by the rougher, tougher stars of Hollywood, Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart - but, in a world defined by betrayal, mistrust, and double-dealing, Marlowe's rough exterior belies an unshakeable code of honour. Taken together, his observations and witticisms represent some of the most scathing and brilliant writing in crime fiction, and coalesce into a wonderfully alluring worldview, a vision of unswerving righteousness, accountability, and stylish conduct in a sea of turpitude and injustice. Chandler's genius transcended genre and left behind a legacy of grit and disarming beauty. Here is a brilliant and loving tribute to that legacy that's sure to delight fans old and new.

Raymond Chandler was the master practitioner of American hard-boiled crime fiction. Born in Chicago, he spent most of his boyhood and youth in England. He began writing fiction at the age of forty-five, and eventually published seven novels and one collection of stories. He died in La Jolla, California, on March 26, 1959. Martin Asher is Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Vintage/Anchor Books. He divides his time between Connecticut and New York City.