To mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon,” literary scholar and Hammett specialist Richard Layman presented an informal talk, “The Maltese Falcon at 75,” on Feb 15, 2005. The event was organized by the LC’s Center for the Book and cosponsored by the Mystery Writers of America.

"The Maltese Falcon,” published in 1930, featured detective Sam Spade. The reviewer for the “Times Literary Supplement” said that “The Maltese Falcon” was “not only probably the best detective story we have ever read, it is an exceedingly well-written novel.”

In the introduction to his documentary volume, Layman states: “‘The Maltese Falcon’ has endured because it rewards so many types of readers. It is a novel about honor, duty, professionalism, the philosophy of perception, the nature of authority, the power of lust, greed, betrayal and the falsity of the American dream.”

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