The Myths of the New World's full title describes it as.. " a treatise on the Symbolism and Mythology of the Red Race of America", an attempt to analyse and correlate scientifically, the mythology of the American Indians. Note: Brinton advocated theories of scientific racism that were pervasive at that time.

Before Sam Spade chased the black bird in The Maltese Falcon and Nick and Nora Charles stirred their first martinis in The Thin Man, the Continental Op walked early twentieth century San Francisco’s mean streets for the Continental Detective Agency. Dashiell Hammett used his own experiences as a Pinkerton operative to lend realistic detail to this creation. These first five stories were published in Black Mask magazine in 1923. - Summary by Winston Tharp

Dashiell Hammett’s hardboiled detective is assigned by his agency to guard a stash of wedding presents on an exclusive Bay Area island. Just as he settles in for what he thinks will be a boring break from the pursuit of bad guys, the lights go out and the sounds of gunfire and explosions shatter the quiet of the night. A military style assault on the island ‘s rich residents is underway, and only the Continental Op can stop it! - Summary by Winston Tharp

Biographer Nathan Ward has called “The Tenth Clew” Dashiell Hammett’s “first real jewel of a story.” In it, Hammett’s nameless Continental Detective Agency operative survives being knocked unconscious and dumped in San Francisco Bay. This kind of action was what his Black Mask magazine editors and readers were asking for, and Hammett somewhat grudgingly obliged them with continuing stories of the Continental Op.

When Sylvia Tebrick, the 24-year-old wife of Richard Tebrick, suddenly turns into a fox while they are out walking in the woods, Mr. Tebrick sends away all the servants in an attempt to keep Sylvia's new nature a secret. Both then struggle to come to terms with the problems the change brings about.