One of the better collections of hard-boiled detective stories in general, and one of the very best examinations of the Black Mask phenomenon in particular. In this case, less is more: rather than trying to cram dozens of stories into one volume, William F. Nolan wisely focused on eight major authors, prefacing each story with a biographical essay. There's also a lengthy but fascinating introduction that details the magazine's publication history (1920-1951) and explains the cultural and social conditions that gave birth to the popularity of the hard-boiled crime subgenre.

It all began with Carroll John Daly--and, while the vast majority of Daly's work is unreadable (you can take it from someone who's tackled three of his novels), "Three Gun Terry" is one of his more tolerable stories. Private eye Terry Mack resides in New York City but sounds suspiciously like a cowboy from the Western pulps ("Of course, there wasn't nothing so terrible strange about that") and likes to brag about his shooting ability. Ludicrous in both premise and execution, the story is nonetheless a good example of the violent, action-oriented material that made Black Mask a hit with readers in the first place. Daly was enormously popular in his day, and influenced later authors as diverse as Raymond Chandler (Terry Mack's tendency toward white knight syndrome, and the mutual antipathy between him and the police, were reflected in the exploits of Chandler's own PI character Philip Marlowe) and Mickey Spillane (who acknowledged his debt to Daly in the form of a fan letter).

Close on Carroll John Daly's heels was Dashiell Hammett, who had actually worked as a private investigator, and whose writing was everything Daly's wasn't. "Three Gun Terry" rambles on for nearly thirty pages; in "Bodies Piled Up," Hammett's Continental Op closes an equally action-packed case in just under eleven pages, and the story is of infinitely higher literary quality. Other stories include "Sal the Dude" by Hammett's buddy Raoul Whitfield, Paul Cain's "Gundown" (also known as "Murder Done in Blue" or simply "Murder in Blue"; whatever the title, it's one of Cain's best), and Raymond Chandler's very Hammett-esque debut "Blackmailers Don't Shoot."

Nolan was a fan, but he was also perceptive--making him the ideal figure to select and present this material. He was honest enough to admit that many of Black Mask's star writers were men of limited literary ability, yet sympathetic enough to choose a Whitfield story like "Sal the Dude." Whitfield wasn't very good in general, but he did excel at tales of aviation--and, in the high-flying conclusion of "Sal," it's a pleasant surprise when Whitfield's clunky prose becomes suddenly assured and almost graceful. Nolan allows the reader to see Whitfield shine, however briefly, and that's a nice touch. For the newcomer, The Black Mask Boys is a great introduction to the subject matter. ( )

Great collection of pulp/noir writers pulled together by a very good word wrangler himself (with some interesting things to say in introductions et al). ( )

The Black Mask Boys contains eight stories published in Black Mask by some of the great pulp mystery writiers: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Earl Stanley Gardner and more. One or two stories are 'less than stellar' but those by the masters, Hammett and Chandler, are great.

But more than the stories, Nolan wrote brief biographies of these authors and these stories are almost as good as the mysteries. Many of the authors were lusting for adventure, had a myriad of jobs from working on trains to flying airplanes to living overseas. They were, by and large, an unstable group of people. Some got into writing at young ages and some old. Some drank to excess. Some plowed through substantial amounts of money in short periods of time. Many had short lived and multiple marriages. It is a far cry from the mystery writers of today, Michael Connelly, Robert Parker, Ed McBain who seem so 'tame' by comparison. But then, many of them don't write with the grit of the pulp masters.

As I read the stories and bios, I wondered whether it was the times these pulp authors lived in that impacted both their lives and their writings? Whatever it was, the authors in this anthology are considered masters of their trade, and with few exceptions, it is evident in their work. ( )