Dashiell Hammett and the World's Fair Mystery — Gregory Urbach

While giving book readings at the 1939 New York World's Fair, mystery writer Dashiell Hammett is approached by Professor Albert Einstein with a serious problem: A letter containing vital secrets has been stolen.To keep the letter away from Nazi spies, Hammett teams up with his pal, movie star William Powell, following a twisted trail of intrigue and murder. Along the way, they enlist the help of their old friend Johnny Weissmuller, previous associate Bugsy Siegel, former boxer Jack Dempsey, King George VI, Eleanor Roosevelt, Enrico Fermi, and a host of scientists, secret agents, thugs, and a mysterious femme fatale. Can Hammett recover Einstein's letter? Does the fate of the world depend on it?The theme of the New York World's Fair was the World of Tomorrow, an unprecedented extravaganza of architecture, science, arts, popular culture, and carnival rides. Built on the eve of World War II, few of the optimistic designers realized the storm that was coming.