Raymond Chandler's books have been reissued in new editions this summer, causing new articles on Chandler to appear. In this Salon article, Allen Barra discusses Chandler's place in American literature. The official Raymond Chandler website is here.

Chandler had a knack for turning a phrase. Some examples:

"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun." Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 34)

and

"From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away."--The High Window (Chapter 5)

For more examples, go to the Chandlerisms web page.