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Contents:
Histoire de France by Alexander Woollcott
The Undefeated by Ernest Hemingway
The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham
Twenty-Five Bucks by James T. Farrell
Coffee Pot by John O'Hara
Snake Doctor by Irvin S. Cobb
Alibi Ike by Ring Lardner
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
The Harness by John Steinbeck
Romance Linger, Adventure Lives by John Collier
Triumph of Justice by Irwin Shaw
Boston Blackie's Mary by Jack Boyle
The Four Fists by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe
The Man Who Looked Like Edison by Ben Ames Williams
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle
Semper Idem by Jack London
Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker
The Girl in the Storm by James M. Cain
Histoire de France by Alexander Woollcott
The Undefeated by Ernest Hemingway
The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham
Twenty-Five Bucks by James T. Farrell
Coffee Pot by John O'Hara
Snake Doctor by Irvin S. Cobb
Alibi Ike by Ring Lardner
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
The Harness by John Steinbeck
Romance Linger, Adventure Lives by John Collier
Triumph of Justice by Irwin Shaw
Boston Blackie's Mary by Jack Boyle
The Four Fists by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe
The Man Who Looked Like Edison by Ben Ames Williams
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle
Semper Idem by Jack London
Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker
The Girl in the Storm by James M. Cain
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1944
18 people want to read
About the author
James M. Cain
143 books876 followersJames Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the "roman noir."
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2023
This book is a follow up to his wife’s book which sold a few million copies. He does his best to describe all he has learned about women from being a part of his wife’s book tours, speaking engagements, research, and personal experience. He tried hard to be self-deprecating, while sharing useful tips but there wasn’t really anything in there that I haven’t heard in other books or learned from talking to my own bride. Not one I’d recommend.
August 28, 2025
Read this in my early twenty's. Made a profound impression. Collection of short stories aimed for the male mind. Ideas of virtue, knowledge and the application of it(wisdom). Gave it away since it stood out so much so I desired others to own the joy of reading this stockpile of tales filled with understanding.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews