In the mid-1920s, the magazine Black Mask turned to stories favoring characters and atmosphere over intricate puzzle-plotting. Led by Dashiell Hammett, the monthly magazine inaugurated a golden age of American crime fiction. Otto Penzler talks about the stories he chose for The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps: The Best Crime Stories from the Pulps During Their Golden Age--The '20s, '30s & '40s.