Mickey Spillane, now a resident of Myrtle Beach, S.C., is best remembered for his post-World War II novels featuring tough guy private eye Mike Hammer.
Max Allan Collins and Lynn F. Myers Jr., in compiling this collection of Spillane stories, have turned up a variety of other writings, along with four short stories featuring Mike Hammer, including one previously unpublished story.
Spillane also wrote features, essays, even poetry for magazines and newspapers, and this collection includes a series of first-person accounts of his adventures with underwater salvage efforts off the coast of Florida, riding with law enforcement officers and with moonshiners in North Carolina and a brief stint with a circus.
“Byline” is varied in content. One section of essays covers experiences with stock car racing and another section deals with his point of view when it comes to women.
Collins and Myers have also included a poem, a play and 31 pages reproducing comic strips described as the origins of Mike Hammer, the Green Hornet among them.
Quality varies in these stories, but what attracts attention is Spillane’s vivid writing. His disinterest in political correctness may turn off some 21st century readers, but they must recognize that Spillane is a product of the pre-PC age.
My favorite is the account of deep sea diving for treasure in Florida waters. Almost as good are his recollections about riding with revenooers and moonshine makers. Spillane observes the behavior of the lawmen and the bootleggers with stoic interest. He dryly observes: “There’s more than one high-and-dry teetotaler around the moonshiners’ country, especially one who is considered well above suspicion.”
Unfortunately, the book went to press without any proofreading, not even spell check. In places it reads as if typeset by a person for whom English is not the primary language, or as if transcribed by machine.
Florence Gilkeson may be reached at florence@thepilot.com.
