A brutal city. A corrupt system. A detective who tears it all down. Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest (1929) is the explosive novel that reinvented American crime fiction and laid the foundations of modern noir. Set in the lawless industrial town of “Poisonville,” the story follows the Continental Op—Hammett’s iconic, unnamed detective—as he navigates a labyrinth of gang factions, political rot, and violent betrayals. With its relentless pace and forensic clarity, the novel remains one of the most influential works in twentieth-century literature. This definitive edition presents Hammett’s groundbreaking masterpiece with a new scholarly foreword and a carefully crafted author biography , offering readers a deeper understanding of the novel’s origins, historical context, and lasting cultural impact. Hammett’s own years as a Pinkerton operative, his exposure to labor wars in mining towns, and his uncompromising vision of systemic corruption are all illuminated here, enriching the reading experience without altering the original text. Why This Edition Matters • The novel that created American noir Hammett’s hard-edged prose and moral ambiguity reshaped the detective story forever, influencing Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Ellroy, Sara Paretsky, and countless others. • A landmark portrait of systemic corruption Poisonville is one of the most compelling urban dystopias in literature—a place where politics, business, and organized crime merge into a single predatory organism. • The Continental Op: a new kind of detective Tactical, unsentimental, and ruthlessly intelligent, the Op is a precursor to every hard-boiled protagonist that followed. • Scholarly Foreword A rigorous, deeply contextual examination of the novel’s style, structure, themes, and historical significance. • Author Biography A concise yet authoritative overview of Hammett’s life, career, Pinkerton years, wartime service, political blacklisting, and enduring literary legacy. • Perfect for readers, scholars, and collectors A high-quality, thoughtfully designed edition suitable for study, enjoyment, and long-term library preservation. About the Novel When the Continental Op is summoned to the grim mining town of Personville—known to its inhabitants as “Poisonville”—he expects a routine job. Instead, he finds a civic ecosystem where every institution is compromised, every alliance temporary, and every gunshot merely a prelude to the next. As the Op sets rival factions against one another, the city descends into unprecedented violence. The result is a narrative of astonishing momentum: a study of justice, complicity, and the devastating consequences of intervention. A Timeless Classic of American Literature Nearly a century after its publication, Red Harvest remains disturbingly relevant. Its meditation on power, corruption, and moral ambiguity continues to resonate in an age shaped by political polarization, corporate influence, and civic breakdown. This edition invites readers to revisit Hammett’s masterpiece with fresh insight and renewed appreciation. A cornerstone of noir fiction—and one of the fiercest, most uncompromising novels ever written.