Tough as Nails: The Complete Cases of Donahue
by Frederick Nebel
introduction by Will Murray,
notes by Rob Preston
Presenting Tough Dick Donahue, the inter-state detective agency operative who replaced the Continental Op after Dashiell Hammett stopped writing for Black Mask Magazine. Collected for the first time in a single volume is every one of the fifteen Donahue stories:
"Rough Justice" (November, 1930)
"The Red-Hots" (December, 1930)
"Gun Thunder" (January, 1931)
"Get A Load of This" (February, 1931)
"Spare the Rod" (August, 1931)
"Pearls Are Tears" (September, 1931)
"Death’s Not Enough" (October, 1931)
"Shake-Up" (August, 1932)
"He Could Take It" (September, 1932)
"The Red Web" (October, 1932)
"Red Pavement" (December, 1932)
"Save Your Tears" (June, 1933)
"Song and Dance" (July, 1933)
"Champions Also Die" (August, 1933)
"Ghost of a Chance" (March, 1935)
This compendium also contains an all-new introduction by Will Murray and a complete bibliography of the works of Frederick Nebel as compiled by Rob Preston.
610 pages, approx. 6"x9"
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Read the Reviews:
- Walker Martin at Mystery File: Frederick Nebel – Tough As Nails: The Complete Cases of Donahue from the Pages of Black Mask
6 Comments
John Hocking
May 13, 2012I’ve got my hardcover copy winging its way to me from Mike Chomko even now.
Having all of these stories, prime hardboiled fiction from the glory days of Black Mask, together in one volume is a very fine thing.
Thanks again Altus, for giving Nebel’s work the treatment it has always deserved.
John
Retro Pulp
July 17, 2012Thank you so much Altus Press for reprinting these long-lost classics. I first read Nebel in Otto Penzler’s outstanding “The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps” and he becam an instant favorite. The selection chosen for the anthology, a collection of tales from the Kennedy-MacBride series titled “The Crimes of Richmond City” enthralled me. Very few writers can make one regret having to stop reading their works; I had to wrench myself away from Nebel’s stories in order to function responsibly on a day to day basis. He’s that good.
I hope you reprint the entire Kennedy-Macbride tales as they’re probably his masterpieces. Hopefully in one entire volume as it’ll probably be an anti-climax to have to wait for the next installment. With these Nebel releases I look forward to seeing more of the unfairly unknown authors and literature of the pulp era see the light of day. Great works like Frederick C. Davis’ “Moon Man” stories; Erle Stanley Gardner’s Ed Jenkins’ tales; Cornell Woolrich’s pulp contributions; the writings s of Hugh B. Cave, John D. MacDonald, Norbert Davis, Steve Fisher, and other worthies.
I haven’t been as excited and as inspired prior to being aware of these publications. One can easily see it’s importance. i highly doubt Penguin or the Library of America are going to be picking up these titles soon and it’s a testament to your contribution to the field of history and literature.
Matthew Moring
July 18, 2012Thanks for the kind words! Cardigan Volume 2 is coming for Pulpfest (August 9ish), and Vols 3 & 4 are nearly through being proofread. We are indeed working on Kennedy & MacBride… all 37 stories are scanned and are being cleaned up right now (due to their length, they’ll appear in multiple volumes). And–here’s an exclusive–we’ll also be putting out another Nebel collection: Sgt. Brinkhaus. It’s an 11-story collection, so it’ll clock in at about the same size as the Cardigan tomes.
From your list, we’ve got more Frederick C. Davis and Norbert Davis coming too, and we’ve got a weird menace collection by Cave coming for Pulpfest.
Retro Pulp
July 18, 2012Thanks Matthew, I look forward to those titles.
Saskia
September 20, 2012Will there be ebooks available for all Frederick Nebel collections?
Matthew Moring
September 23, 2012Yes, but not for a while, as we’re concentrating on bringing our older titles to ebook format first.