"Woolrich's novels and short stories are examined, as are films adapted from these works. This work shows how Woolrich's techniques and themes influenced the noir genre. Twenty-two stories and 29 films compose the bulk of the study, though other films noirs are also considered because of their relevance to Woolrich's plots, themes, and characters"--Provided by publisher.

"America is Elsewhere provides a rigorous and creative reconsideration of hard-boiled crime fiction and the film noir tradition within three related postwar contexts: 1) the rise of the consumer republic in the United States after World War II 2) the challenge to traditional notions of masculinity posed by a new form of citizenship based in consumption, and 3) the simultaneous creation of "authenticity effects"--Representational strategies designed to safeguard an image of both the American male and America itself outside of and in opposition to the increasingly omnipresent marketplace." -- Publisher website.

The focus of this study is Chandler's development as a stylist.

The author analyzes the texts of some classic American hard-boiled crime and mystery stories from the Cold War era. Included are works by: David Goodis, Chester Himes, Jim Thompson, Dorothy B. Hughes, Dolores Hitchens, Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Howard Browne, Gil Brewer, William B. MCGivern, Lionel White, Ross MacDoanld, Horace McCoy, Charles Wileford, and Charles Williams.

"The conflation of the hard-boiled style and war experience has influenced many contemporary crime writers, particularly in the traumatic aftermath of the Vietnam War. Yet, earlier writers in the genre, such as Raymond Chandler, remain overlooked when it comes to examining how their war experience affected their writing. Sarah Trott corrects this oversight by examining Chandler alongside the World War I writers of the Lost Generation as well as highlighting a melding of very different styles in Chandler's work. Based on Chandler's experience in combat, Trott explains that the writer created detective Philip Marlowe not as the idealization of heroic individualism, as is commonly perceived, but instead as an authentic individual subjected to very real psychological frailties from trauma during the First World War. Inspecting Chandler's work and correspondence indicates that the characterization of the fictional Marlowe goes beyond the traditional chivalric readings and can instead be int