Bøger udgivet af Nighthawk Books

Big Sur, first published in 1962, was written by author and poet Jack Kerouac in the fall of 1961 over a ten-day period. This Penguin edition reprint recounts Kerouac's (here known by the name of his fictional alter-ego Jack Duluoz) three brief stays at a cabin in Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, California, owned by Kerouac's friend and Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The novel depicts Jack Duluoz's mental and physical deterioration. Despite his mainstream success with his earlier novels, Duluoz is unable to cope with his new-found fame and advancing alcoholism. He attempts to recover first in solitude in the cabin at Big Sur, and later in a relationship with Billie, the mistress of his long-time friend Cody Pomeray (in real life Neal Cassady). Duluoz is driven by loneliness to return to the city and resumes drinking heavily. An addendum to the book contains a free-verse poem by Kerouac: "Sea: Sounds of the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur", written from the perspective of the Pacific Ocean. A film adaptation of Big Sur, directed by Michael Polish, was released in 2013.

Thieves Like Us, first published in 1937, is a Depression-era noir novel centering on three small-time criminals, who escape from jail and begin a spree of Texas bank-robbing. The youngest of the three, Bowie, falls in love with the cousin of one of the older criminals, and a romance develops but is doomed to fail in the face of the relentless manhunt by the authorities. Thieves Like Us was adapted for the screen by Nicholas Ray in 1948 as They Live by Night and in 1973 by Robert Altman under its original title.

Gold of Their Bodies, first published in 1955, is a fascinating biography of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), the French post-impressionist artist, most famous for his colorful paintings of life in Tahiti and the South Pacific. Although fictionalized by the addition of dialogue, Gold of Their Bodies draws from Gauguin's own writings and accurately portrays the adult life of Gauguin - his struggles to make a living from his art, his friendships with Van Gogh, Cezanne, Pissaro, and other contemporaries, his travels and life with the native peoples of the South Pacific, his relationships with Polynesian women, and his run-ins with French colonial authorities. Gauguin, prolific in his output (in large part due to the small price he received for his works), and troubled by poor health in his later life, died at the relatively young age of 54 in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. It was not until after his death that his works were recognized as masterpieces, and, in February 2015, one of his Tahitian paintings sold for the staggering price of $300 million dollars.

The Eye in the Museum, first published in 1930, is the first book in author J. J. Connington's series featuring Superintendent Ross of Scotland Yard. This 'golden-age' mystery centers on a young woman, Joyce Hazlemere, and her wealthy Aunt Evelyn. The aunt, who can become violent when drunk, stands to inherit the Hazlemere estate instead of Joyce. Miss Hazlemere speculates on the possibility of her aunt's death when the next day Evelyn is found murdered, and Superintendent Ross is called in to solve the mystery and catch the killer. J. J. Connington is a pen-name of Alfred Walter Stewart (1880-1947).

Mystery At Lynden Sands, first published in 1928, is the fourth book in author J. J. Connington's series featuring chief-constable Sir Clinton Driffield. Set on the English seaside, Driffield encounters the return of a missing heir (who is possibly an impostor), an accidental bigamist, secret marriages and impersonations, embezzlement of trust funds, a kidnapping, and two murders. As is typical of Connington's detectives, Sir Clinton is able to deduce impressive insights from physical clues. J. J. Connington is a pen-name of Alfred Walter Stewart (1880-1947).

Grim Vengeance, first published in 1929 (and published in the U.K. as Nemesis at Raynham Parva), is the fifth book in author J. J. Connington's series featuring chief-constable Sir Clinton Driffield. From the dust-jacket of the first edition: "Two murders at night, both the victims foreigners; and when Sir Clinton Driffield, visiting his sister, is forced to suspect the South American whom his niece has just married, he finds himself faced with a problem in morals and psychology. Finally, a third murder takes place, this one in the house of Sir Clinton's sister, and in broad daylight. Suspicion naturally falls on a young man who is found standing beside the body with a pistol in his hand; but Sir Clinton clears him, only to find that his own niece is the next suspect. In the course of the narrative, all the evidence known to the police (and even a little more) is supplied to the reader as it comes to light; but it is safe to say that the final development of the plot will be wholly unexpected. To quote the London Times: 'Mr. Connington has established his name in the front rank of detective story writers, and this novel is one of his finest achievements.' " J. J. Connington is a pen-name of Alfred Walter Stewart (1880-1947).

I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!, first published in 1932, is the dramatic firsthand account of Robert Burns and his struggle to live a normal life following a single disastrous choice he had made as a young man. The story begins with the end of World War I and the return of veteran Burns to the U.S. In 1921, Burns, out of hunger and desperation, took part in a grocery store robbery with two other men. The men were captured, and Burns was sentenced to 6-10 years' hard labor in a Georgia prison. The robbery had netted the men less than $6.00. Burns, shackled as part of a chain gang, successfully escaped after four months and made his way to Chicago, where he married, started a magazine and lived as a free man for 7 years. For a second time, however, he was arrested as a fugitive from justice after Burns became involved with another woman and was turned in to authorities by his wife. Burns was returned to Georgia, and again placed on a chain gang. Incredibly, Burns managed to escape a second time and traveled to New Jersey. At the time of the book's publication in 1932 (followed by a movie nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1933), he was still a fugitive from the law. Included in this new Nighthawk Book edition is an Epilogue detailing Burns' eventual fate and an copy of an illustrated True Detective Mysteries article featuring Burns' story.

The Cincinnati Kid, first published in 1963 (and made into a feature film starring Steve McQueen in 1965), is a gritty novel of smoky back-rooms and centered on a young card-shark ("The Kid") who eventually finds himself in a stud-poker game against the undisputed master ("The Man"). From the first edition dust-jacket: "By the time he was twenty-one, he was a full rambling-gambling man, a three river man. . . . From Jolly's Omaha Card Club on the Missouri, to Spriigi's Emporium in Wheeling on the Ohio, down to Big Nig's in Memphis on the Mississippi, he was known as The Cincinnati Kid, a comer, with a way about him."

Desperate Men: The True Story of Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and The Wild Bunch, first published in 1949 and updated and enlarged in 1962 (under the title Desperate Men: Revelations from the Sealed Pinkerton Files) is historian James Horan's well-researched yet easy-to-read account of the lives and crimes of outlaws Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and a host of other renegades of the American Midwest and West. The book provides a unique, in-depth look at the work of the Pinkerton men in bringing these fugitives to justice and their efforts to provide a measure of security to an otherwise nearly lawless region. Included are 40 pages of illustrations and a complete index.

Fugitives: The Story of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, first published in 1934 only three months after their deaths, are the recollections by Bonnie's mother and Clyde's sister of the infamous criminal duo. The story is told by their family members who often met them in secret locations and daily dreaded the news of their deaths. While some researchers question some of the facts in the book, it does contain letters between the pair, diary entries kept by Bonnie, and more that that will help the reader draw their own conclusions about the duo.

King Of The Harem Heaven, first published in 1960, is the fascinating, although likely somewhat sensationalized story, of the House of David religious cult and its leader, Benjamin Franklin Purnell. Based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the group also owned a large tract of land on High Island in Lake Michigan, and eventually developed a number of successful enterprises including farms, timber, a vegetarian restaurant, amusement park, roadside service station, and a motel. Notable was their having several baseball teams, the "Flying Rollers," famous for their long hair and beards (they did not believe in cutting their hair) which toured the U.S and played against other semi-pro teams. The group was rocked by scandal when members alleged that leader Purnell, while enforcing celibacy among the members, was engaging in sex with the women - including underage teenagers - of the group, and also for massive financial irregularities. Legal battles ensued, ending only upon the death of Purnell in December 1927.

A High Wind in Jamaica, first published as The Innocent Voyage in 1929, is a classic coming-of-age novel. The story centers on the five children of the Bas-Thornton family, living on a plantation in late nineteenth-century Jamaica. Following a devastating hurricane, their parents send the children to England aboard a merchant ship which is captured by pirates shortly after the ship sets sail. What follows is an intense, gripping story of children forced to deal with difficult situations and with emotions they are not yet equipped to handle. The book is considered to have set the stage for later novels such as Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and was the subject of a 1965 movie of the same name. Included in this edition is an Introduction by Isabel Paterson and four illustrations from the 1932 edition.English author Richard Hughes (1900-1976), wrote novels, children's stories, plays, and poetry. A High Wind in Jamaica is his most famous work.