Raymond Thornton Chandler (1888 - 1959) was the master practitioner of American hard-boiled crime fiction. During World War I, Chandler served in France with the First Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, transferring later to (R. A. F.). He became director of a number of independent oil companies. The Depression put an end to his career and in 1933, at the age of forty-five, he turned to writing fiction, publishing his first stories in Black Mask. Chandler published only one collection of stories and seven novels in his lifetime. His novel, The Big Sleep, was made into classic movie which helped define the film noir style. In the last year of his life he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. Less