Learning to Kill: Stories

by Ed McBain

Ed McBain made his debut in 1956. In 2004, more than a hundred books later, he personally collected twenty-five of his stories written before that time. All but five of them were first published in the detective magazine Manhunt and none of them appeared under the Ed McBain byline.Here are kids in trouble and women in jeopardy. Here are private eyes and gangs. Here are loose cannons and innocent bystanders. Here, too, are cops and robbers. These are the stories that prepared Ed McBain to write the beloved 87th Precinct novels. In individual introductions, McBain tells how and why he wrote these stories that were the start of his legendary career.

Indhold: Kids (First offense --
Kid kill --
See him die). Women in jeopardy (The molested --
Carrera's woman --
Dummy). Private eyes (Good and dead --
Death flight --
Kiss me, Dudley). Cops and robbers (Small homicide --
Still life --
Accident report --
Chinese puzzle --
The big day). Innocent bystanders (Runaway --
Downpour --
Eye witness --
Every morning --
The innocent one). Loose cannons (Chalk --
Association test --
Bedbug --
The merry merry Christmas). Gangs (On the sidewalk, bleeding --
The last spin)

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Crime, Fiction

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

"Ed McBain" is one of the pen names of American author and screenwriter Salvatore Albert Lombino (1926-2005), who legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952.

While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In those early years [ca. 1952-56] I was trying my hand at every type of crime story . . . here were the kids in trouble and the women in jeopardy, here were the private eyes and the gangs. Here were the loose cannons and the innocent bystanders . . . the cops and the robbers." -- Ed McBain, in his introduction

Prior to his success with the long-running 87th Precinct series (or his concurrent success with the alternate pen-name of 'Evan Hunter,' a screenwriter and author of the Matthew Hope series) McBain first made his bones as a freelance writer of short stories. Under the pseudonyms 'Richard Marsten' and/or 'Hunt Collins' he penned dozens of crime-related tales for a few now-defunct magazines.

Learning to Kill assembles 25 of those stories under one cover. While I didn't particularly enjoy 'See Him Die' - it seemed needlessly sadistic - the majority of the selections are very good, while also refreshingly free of four-letter words, gratuitous violence or overblown love scenes in keeping with the censorship restrictions of the mid-50's. (It's a reminder of what a talented writer can accomplish within certain parameters.) The handful of police-procedural efforts included show McBain was ready to branch out into novel-length 87th Precinct adventures, while a few of the other selections ('Chalk,' 'The Association Test,' and 'Bedbug') rival the work of Richard Matheson - whom I personally consider the king of short stories from that time period - in terms of concise effectiveness. Possibly my favorite was the hilariously offbeat 'Kiss Me Dudley,' in which McBain is extremely spot-on in his parodying / skewering of the era's popular but crudely violent private eyes like Mike Hammer.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these short stories. Ed McBain gives us a peek into his early years as a writer, & we learn about some of his aliases & why he first changed his name. Before each short story, he gives us a brief introduction, letting us know when they were published & where. All of these stories were published in the 1950s, so the stories are quite different from stories we might read now. There are no computers, and the police must rely on legwork. The stories seem simpler, &, as such, are very appealing. I like how he starts & ends the book: the first story is "First Offense," & the last story is "The Last Spin." I liked how the stories are grouped together by categories, which gives the reader some idea of the general theme. Some stories are better than others, of course, but, overall, the book is very good. I'd love to find more short stories by Ed McBain, Evan Hunter, and so on.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recorded version of 25 early Ed McBain short stories. During the period that ended just as he was starting his celebrated 87th Precinct mysteries, McBain penned these varied shorts. They were a great accompaniment to a long commute.

Short Stories - Recorded - 25 stories written between 1952 and 1957 display in embryo the style and techniques he would later hone. McBain's introduction points to his subject matter: "Here were the kids in trouble and the women in jeopardy, here were the private eyes and the gangs. Here were the loose cannons and the innocent bystanders. And here, too, were the cops and robbers."

[Mxyzptlk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection that starts with "First Offense" and ends with "Last Kill," and has something for every fan of Evan Hunter, Ed McBain, Richard Marsten, etc. in between including a long lost Matt Cordell story, yes, of Hard Case Crime's "Gutter and the Grave" fame. I was not all that impressed with the narrator for this one (reminded me too much of Jerry Seinfeld, which doesn't work other than for some of the dialogue,) but this anthology will surely not dissapoint!

[Guy Riessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Ed McBain's writing in general, but his short stories are exemplary! Some of the 87th Precinct books get bogged down in details that are neither important nor interesting in a character-building sense. His short stories though are fantastic--tightly plotted with his signature spare prose and clipped dialog. Great stuff!

[David Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good collection of early McBain stories. they are very pulpy and fun. Not PC, but that is the joy of 1950s pulp. My only complaint was that the story ended with a bunch of stories labeled "loose cannons" meaning crazy people. I just didn't care for these stories and it was kind of a slog having them at the end of a pretty big book. Other than that, a great collection.

[Mendel Chernack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short crime stories. I used a selection of these to teach irony. "The Last Spin" and "On the Sidewalk Bleeding," look thoughtfully at teenagers searching for identity while being constrained by their involvement in gangs.

[Norman Birnbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting early noir stories by a master. I liked the stories but had hoped for more insight and context from his introductions. You don’t have to be a big fan of Evan Hunter/Ed McBain to enjoy his early work.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Ed Mcbain you will enjoy these short stories. They are pre 87th Precinct. They are quality mystery shortstory reads.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A posthumous collection of pulp crime fiction, prepared by the author for publication in 2004, and finally brought out in 2006, featuring stories originally published between 1952-57. The stories are grouped thematically (private eye stories, police procedural stories, gang stories etc.), and contain prefatory reflections on the various stories throughout the collection. This is an expanded version of the 1980s collection, The McBain Brief, published by Arbor House. An enjoyable collection overall.

[Judith Gunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of some of Ed McBain's early short stories, many of which appeared under earlier pen names. Great stuff!

[Regan MacArthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many great stories it makes me wish there were fewer 87th Precinct books. Evan Hunter could write almost anything extremely well. Too bad he was so successful at police procedurals that he didn't feel much compulsion to write different sorts of crime novels very often (Don't miss out on Doors or Guns if you get a chance. They're both great.) It would save time to list the stories in this book I didn't like but that's too negative. Here are the ones I especially enjoyed: "First Offense," (classic crime story that deserves immortality) "Kid Kill," (harder-boiled version of the 87th Precinct) "Carrera's Woman," (fun adventure yarn) "Death Flight," (private eye story) "Small Homicide," "Still Life," "Chalk," "The Merry Merry Christmas," (worthy of comparisons to Poe/Bloch/Hitchcock) "The Big Day," (marvelous heist story) "Downpour," (Hemingwayesque thriller) "On the Sidewalk, Bleeding," (like "First Offense", this is another immortal tale) and "The Last Spin." Soooo, practically the entire book, I guess. What sticks with me about this collection was how reliably good Hunter was at delivering strong, emotional endings. For example, "Downpour" would have been a middling apprentice effort but it was elevated in my estimation by that nice, sweet exiting line that would have made a soft-hearted wimp softly mutter, "Awwwww," after he had finished reading it. All right, yes, I was that soft-hearted wimp. Now leave me alone.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty five early crime stories by Ed McBain aka Evan Hunter, among other names, real name S.A. Lombino. The stories are grouped in categories about kids, women in jeopardy, private eyes, cops and robbers, innocent bystanders, loose cannons, and gangs. They’re gritty, hard boiled, and often offered with a slice of humanity. Most of the stories first appeared in the magazine Manhunt. I love story collections with introductions by the author explaining how the stories came about and this collection has plenty of them. Overall it’s an excellent look at an author’s early career, at a time when he was concentrating on short stories before progressing to novels.

[Richard Peck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did for police procedurals what writers like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler did for mystery novels. A great collection of early short stories, with a fascinating introduction by McBain himself. A great place to be introduced to police procedurals or crime writing in general. Highly recommended.

[Julie Christiano]

This is a collection of Hunter's early short stories before he became Ed McBain. All interesting to help see his development, and his notes before each section are gems. And my oh my, any collection that includes "The Last Spin" alone is a treasure.

[Leftbanker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories is worth the price of admission just for the author’s introduction in which he recounts his origin story as a writer. He was a struggling, frustrated writer until he took a job at a literary agency in the classic “If you can’t beat’em, join’em” strategy. I always like reading about the good old days when writers could make a decent living cranking out short stories for magazines and pulp paperbacks, back before TV thoroughly ruined the concept of reading, at least for many people.

The stories in this are dark and noir-ish, back when that was in style and all the rage, back when Hollywood couldn’t seem to make noir films fast enough for the public. My only criticism of this collection is that the stories all have more or less the same tone. This isn’t really even a criticism, it just means that I wasn’t able to binge through them as I had to take breaks and reset my thinking so I wasn’t imagining them all as one long story.

[Katherine Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just terrific. Ed McBain, and whichever of his endless pen names he used, is just a master of suspense and story writing. I've been reading his novels and short stories since discovering him 25 years ago. "Learning to Kill" is an anthology collection every Ed McBain fan should read. The prefaces to each story, as introduced by McBain, are as interesting as each story, if not more so.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of old school short stories from the 1950's.

[William Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book of short stories by the author who wrote the 87th Prescient Novels.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, not sweet

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would enjoy these stories in small doses, but McBain's writing is quite different from my usual fare and each time I have tried to like his stories I have failed.

Library Loan

[David Highton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable collection of short stories written in the early to mid 1950s when Mc Bain was not a name he was yet using

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rounding down to two stars. Probably not an ideal introduction to McBain. Enjoyable enough for what it is.

[Jeffrey Powanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of 25 early crime stories from Ed McBain (a.k.a. Salvatore Lombino, Evan Hunter, Richard Marsten, and Hunt Collins) originally published between 1952 and 1957. This collection expands upon an earlier collection called The McBain Brief. It contains stories of kids in trouble, women in jeopardy, private detectives, gangs, psychopaths, innocent bystanders, and cops and robbers. These are the stories in which McBain honed his craft; many were published in Manhunt magazine. They show evidence of his spare style, depth of characterization, and stunning verisimilitude that are trademarks of his 87th Precinct series, which comprises 55 police procedural novels, all still in print (by Amazon!).

I particularly enjoyed the Cops and Robbers stories in this collection, particularly "Death Flight," "Accident Report," "Chinese Puzzle," and "The Big Day." But all the stories are good, and many have punchy endings.

[Jayne Subwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Ed McBain. RIP

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Discover the stories that taught Ed McBain to kill.”

This quote from the back cover pretty much sums up this book! 25 short stories by the author (under several pseudonyms), written between 1952-1957. All crime stories. They are divided into 7 categories - Kids, Women in Jeopardy, Private Eyes, Cops and Robbers, Innocent Bystanders, Loose Cannons, and Gangs.

“Runaway” is a standout story. “Downpour” too!
And the ending of “The Innocent One” is awesome! Poor Pablo! “Maria..”! The first paragraph of “Chalk” amused me, but the rest of the story disturbed me. Heck, all of the stories in the “Loose Cannons” section are disturbing! And that sad tenderness in "On the Sidewalk, Bleeding" really got to me. And "The Last Spin", the last story in this book, well, that was just sad.

A very entertaining book from a very good author!

[Loren · Rating 3 out of 5]

From ISawLightningFall.com

If you’ve ever whiled away an evening watching 21 Jump Street or Law & Order, you owe Salvatore Lombino a debt of gratitude. He virtually created the police procedural, that durable crime-fiction subgenre of which Americans never seem to tire. Not that you’d know him by that name, though. When he began his creative career as a reader at a literary agency, Lombino learned that editors didn’t like publishing pieces from authors with "ethnic" names, so he changed his to Evan Hunter. Then when he wanted to pen crime tales, he went by Ed McBain and eventually wrote the influential 87th Precinct novels, churning out scores of them from 1956 until 2005. But in the early days, McBain cut his teeth on short stories, twenty-five of which are collected in Learning to Kill.

A number of the shorts have kept their sheen over half a century since original publication. A private investigator quickly ends up over his head while trying to discover why a "Death Flight" fell out of the sky. A pair of feuding gang members strike up a tentative friendship over a game of Russian Roulette in the poignant "The Last Spin." And McBain puts deliciously noirish twists on stories about a bystander accused of a crime he didn’t commit ("Runaway") and a north-Florida boat operator who gets more than he bargained for when he takes out a pair of clients during a week of bad weather ("Downpour").

Unfortunately, the rest have gone a bit dull with the years. The procedurals, in particular, feel tired and rote. Decades of weeknight television have stripped any surprise from storylines about bank heists gone wrong ("The Big Day"), dead infants dumped in churches ("Small Homicide") and cops killed by hit-and-run drivers ("Accident Report"). Also, one doesn’t have to be a card-carrying member of N.O.W. to feel uncomfortable with a story that centers on a woman being felt up during a subway ride ("The Molested") or a private-eye satire that has a gal getting cold-cocked multiple times ("Kiss Me, Dudley"). McBain fans will probably find lots to like, but there are better ways for the rest of us to murder our free time.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The following short stories were published originally in the collection titled: "Learning to Kill". Then published in the Italian collection titled "L'universo del crimine".

From "Learning to kill": First Offence, See Him Die, Dummy, Kiss Me Dudley, Small Homicide, Chalk, Still Life, The Big Day, Chinese Puzzle, The Last Spin, bedbug, Downpour, Eye Witness, The Merry, Merry Christmas, On the Sidewalk, Bleeding, Runaway.

[Eric_W]

Available for the Kindle. For those who care, McBain's real name was Salvatore Lombino which he then changed to Evan Hunter, writing The Blackboard Jungle, his most famous work, later made into a movie. This collection, each proceeded by a short note, is an excellent way to see how his characters and writing developed before the 87th Precinct became a staple of readers everywhere.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, if for no other reason that its order of stories, with ample commentary by the author, shows his developement as a writer. Even though I have read some of the stories previously, I enjoyed them even more the second time around because of the added background to each. Do not skip the preface.