by Ed McBain

This collection of 25 short crime-fiction stories represents the best of Ed McBain--before he was Ed McBain. Consisting entirely of works written between 1952 and 1957, almost all of which were published in the magazine Manhunt, LEARNING TO KILL contains stories by Evan Hunter (once McBain's legal name) and Richard Marsten (a pseudonym derived from the names of McBain's sons). They run the gamut of crime fiction categories, from 'Women in Jeopardy' to 'Cops and Robbers,' and are conveniently grouped that way. Each story comes with a short introduction by McBain, placing it in the context of his development as a writer.