the Big Read's The Maltese Falcon

(Reprinted from the neabigread.org website)

Some people were surprised when The Maltese Falcon, a detective novel, appeared on the Big Read list. Yes, it is a detective novel—one of the best ever written. It's also a brilliant literary work, as well as a thriller, a love story, and a dark, dry comedy. The only criticism I would offer Hammett's private-eye classic is that it is so much fun to read, it might be hard the first time through to realize how deeply observed and morally serious it is.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 NEA report, identified a critical decline in reading for pleasure among American adults. The Big Read aims to address this issue directly by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities.

A great book combines enlightenment with enchantment. It awakens our imagination and enlarges our humanity. It can even offer harrowing insights that somehow console and comfort us. Whether you're a regular reader already or a nonreader making up for lost time, thank you for joining the Big Read.

Dana Gioia
Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The concerned citizen in search of good news about American literary culture would study the pages of this report in vain.

The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, an ambitious national publicity campaign, and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors and their works. (Reprinted from the neabigread.org website)

The Friends hope you will join us in reading this classic detective novel. It is the standard against which all others of its genre are judged. The Maltese Falcon introduced audiences to the "hardboiled" detective, a man true to his own moral code, a man's man, honest but not soft, a man to be depended on when in trouble. Please refer to the links below to learn more about Dashiell Hammett, his early life as Pinkerton Detective, his insistence at joining the army at 48 years old during WWII, his troubles with the House Un-American Committe and subsequent stint in prison, and his other books, notably the witty, fast paced "The Thin Man."

Dashiell Hammett only wrote a few novels, most during the short time between 1930-40, but his work endures and continues to influence writers and film-makers even today.

Here (left) is the trailer from the best of the films based on his work, The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. Perhaps the best adaptation of any of his books, since director John Huston used the book's snappy patter dialogue almost word for word.