The Big Sleep The Big Sleep The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angeles. The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The title is a euphemism for death; it refers to a rumination about "sleeping the big sleep" in the final pages of the book. In 1999, the book was voted 96th of "Le Monde"s "100 Books of the
The Big Book Of Western characters like George Maledon, "The Prince of Hangmen;" homosexuality among macho cowboys; and the various ghosts that haunted the American West. Published in 1998, and written by Dave Stern and Steve Vance, the "Big Book of Vice" examines alcohol, drugs, tobacco, sex, and gambling. Subjects range from the history of tobacco, to sexual slavery, to pinball machines. Published in 1999 and written by Jonathan Vankin, the "Big Book of Grimm" examines fairy tales. Writer Vankin transcribes the original, unsanitized folk tales that the Brothers Grimm collected in the mid-19th century, detailing child abuse, incest, cannibalism, severed limbs and gouged-out