Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers

edited by Lesley Henderson

St James Press, 3rd edition, 1991 (1st ed 1980, 2nd ed 1985). Oversized hardcover,  1,294 pages. First two editions were issued with dust jackets. I'm not sure about this one. This is a HUGE, detailed compendium of authors. Arranged alphabetically, each entry contains a short biography, a critical synopsis, and a list of each of the author's major works. Some magazines are listed, but most notations list books only. For example, Hammett's entry lists each of the books of collected short stories, but doesn't list the specific Black Mask editions in which the stories first appeared. Obviously, it lists modern mystery authors up to the year of printing as well as those from the vintage paperback era and earlier. A great reference. Either there weren't that many copies printed, or there just aren't many people selling, but this book is relatively hard to come by.

The second picture is of the 1st edition (in dust jacket).