About the book: year / Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961) is the founder of the “hard-boiled detective story,” in which there is a ruthless lone hero who fights evil with cruel methods. "The Maltese Falcon" is unanimously called "the best American detective story of all time." In it, two groups of international adventurers hunt for a sculptural figurine of a bird, which was a kind of symbol of the Knights Templar. The Maltese falcon has practically no price, so the fight for it is life and death..