For the majority of his long career as critic, scholar, and editor, S. T. Joshi has engaged in the arduous task of conducting extensive research on the authors and subjects of interest to him. His work in the study of weird fiction-including such writers as H. P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, and Ambrose Bierce-are well known, as is his exhaustive work on H. L. Mencken's essays and journalism. This volume of his essays in "literary excavation" explore Joshi's other interests, ranging from the hard-boiled detective story (Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and others) to atheism and agnosticism (Leslie Stephen, Clarence Darrow), and even venturing into such realms as American Jewish writing (Montague Glass), the bestseller (Irving Wallace), and other subjects. Throughout these writings, as in his work generally, Joshi demonstrates how a thorough knowledge of primary texts can illuminate the scope and direction of an author's work.