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44,168 (47,279)993366 (3.85)185
Author Rex Stout was born on December 1, 1886. A child prodigy with a gift for mathematics, Stout drifted as he became an adult, holding odd jobs in many places---cook, cabinetmaker, bellhop, hotel manager, salesman, bookkeeper, and even a guide in a pueblo. But his true talent lay in storytelling; he sold his first story, about William Howard Taft, in 1912. His most famous creation is Nero Wolfe, a 286-pound detective genius who, with sidekick Archie Goodwin, can often solve a case without leaving his room. It is the way in which the puzzle is solved that intrigues Nero Wolfe, who is much like Sherlock Holmes in his ability to use deductive reasoning. More than 60 million copies (in 24 languages) of Stout's books have been sold. Stout writes quickly, drawing upon a lifetime of impressions. He neither uses an outline nor revises; he lets his characters take over as the story develops. The classy, erudite Nero Wolfe presents for readers an alternative to the hard-boiled branch of the genre. He died on October 27, 1975 (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from Fer-de-Lance… (more)
Fer-de-Lance 1,791 copies, 65 reviews
The Doorbell Rang 1,334 copies, 30 reviews
Some Buried Caesar 1,168 copies, 33 reviews
Black Orchids 1,116 copies, 21 reviews
And Be a Villain 1,029 copies, 24 reviews
Over My Dead Body 1,015 copies, 28 reviews
The League of Frightened Men 1,006 copies, 30 reviews
The Golden Spiders 1,002 copies, 20 reviews
The Silent Speaker 968 copies, 20 reviews
Too Many Cooks 955 copies, 25 reviews
Champagne for One 936 copies, 13 reviews
In the Best Families 930 copies, 21 reviews
The Second Confession 901 copies, 16 reviews
Prisoner's Base 881 copies, 15 reviews
Death of a Doxy 878 copies, 19 reviews
The Mother Hunt 870 copies, 15 reviews
A Right to Die 860 copies, 14 reviews
Not Quite Dead Enough 833 copies, 16 reviews
Murder by the Book 818 copies, 20 reviews
The Rubber Band 791 copies, 24 reviews
And Four to Go 783 copies, 13 reviews
The Red Box 782 copies, 19 reviews
Before Midnight 778 copies, 17 reviews
Three Doors to Death 778 copies, 15 reviews
Three for the Chair 774 copies, 5 reviews
Might As Well Be Dead 758 copies, 14 reviews
Plot It Yourself 756 copies, 18 reviews
Three Witnesses 742 copies, 15 reviews
Where There's a Will 733 copies, 18 reviews
Homicide Trinity 729 copies, 11 reviews
Death of a Dude 716 copies, 15 reviews
Trouble in Triplicate 714 copies, 17 reviews
The Black Mountain 714 copies, 27 reviews
The Father Hunt 703 copies, 11 reviews
Gambit 666 copies, 11 reviews
Trio for Blunt Instruments 665 copies, 9 reviews
A Family Affair 659 copies, 17 reviews
The Final Deduction 647 copies, 11 reviews
If Death Ever Slept 642 copies, 13 reviews
Please Pass the Guilt 639 copies, 8 reviews
Three at Wolfe's Door 630 copies, 14 reviews
Too Many Women 621 copies, 16 reviews
Too Many Clients 597 copies, 6 reviews
Three Men Out 563 copies, 10 reviews
Curtains for Three 561 copies, 6 reviews
Triple Jeopardy 551 copies, 6 reviews
Death Times Three 545 copies, 8 reviews
Red Threads 304 copies, 4 reviews
Double for Death 293 copies, 8 reviews
The Nero Wolfe Cookbook 282 copies, 9 reviews
The Hand in the Glove 278 copies, 8 reviews
The Broken Vase 268 copies, 8 reviews
Bad for Business 231 copies, 4 reviews
The Mountain Cat Murders 226 copies, 4 reviews
Sound of Murder, The 198 copies, 2 reviews
Seven Complete Nero Wolfe Novels 190 copies, 3 reviews
Triple Zeck: A Nero Wolfe Omnibus 160 copies, 4 reviews
Her Forbidden Knight 121 copies, 2 reviews
Under the Andes 120 copies, 7 reviews
Full House 102 copies, 3 reviews
A Prize for Princes 101 copies, 3 reviews
The President Vanishes 97 copies, 2 reviews
Target Practice 79 copies, 3 reviews
All Aces: A Nero Wolfe Omnibus 66 copies, 1 review
How Like a God 46 copies, 2 reviews
The Great Legend 39 copies, 3 reviews
Murder on the Menu 32 copies, 1 review
Booby Trap 16 copies
Disguise for Murder 13 copies, 1 review
Obras Selectas De Rex Stout 11 copies, 1 review
Demasiados cocineros 9 copies, 1 review
Fourth of July Picnic 8 copies, 1 review
Murder is No Joke 7 copies, 1 review
Omit Flowers 7 copies
Method Three for Murder 6 copies, 1 review
Forest Fire 6 copies
3x Nero Wolfe 5 copies
The Rodeo Murder 5 copies, 1 review
Home to Roost 5 copies
Counterfeit for Murder 5 copies, 1 review
Eat, Drink, and Be Buried (Editor & Introduction) 4 copies, 1 review
The Zero Clue 4 copies
OBRAS SELECTAS (II) 4 copies, 1 review
Easter Parade 4 copies
Before I Die 3 copies
Demasiadas mujeres 2 copies, 1 review
Punane laegas 2 copies
Heikle Gäste 2 copies
[No title] 1 copy
Theo Drake 1 copy
Plagiat 1 copy
Stout Rex 1 copy
Too Many Cooks Recipe Box 1 copy, 1 review
ROMANZI 1 copy
Gun Puzzle 1 copy
Death on Deadline (series creator) 302 copies, 4 reviews
The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries (Contributor) 261 copies, 8 reviews
A Treasury of Great Mysteries (Volumes 1 & 2) (Contributor) 259 copies, 3 reviews
Masterpieces of Mystery and Suspense (Contributor) 182 copies, 2 reviews
A Treasury of Great Mysteries [Volume 2] (Contributor) 178 copies, 2 reviews
A Century of Great Suspense Stories (Contributor) 151 copies, 2 reviews
Ten Great Mysteries (Contributor) 100 copies, 2 reviews
Murder for Christmas, Vol. 2 (Contributor) 83 copies
The Twelve Crimes of Christmas (Contributor) 58 copies, 1 review
Three Times Three: A Mystery Omnibus (Contributor) 57 copies, 2 reviews
Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Mystery Novels (Contributor) 56 copies, 1 review
14 Great Detective Stories (Contributor) 55 copies, 1 review
Detective Duos (Contributor) 49 copies, 1 review
I Want My Mummy (Contributor) 38 copies, 2 reviews
Canine Crimes (Contributor) 28 copies
Vogue's First Reader (Contributor) 27 copies
Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season (Original book) 24 copies, 1 review
Lethal Black Book (Contributor) 18 copies
Best Detective Stories (Contributor) 17 copies
Cream of the Crime (Contributor) 11 copies, 2 reviews
Detective-verhalen (Contributor) 3 copies
Great Stories of Detection (Contributor) 2 copies
Best Detective Stories (Volume 2) (Contributor) 2 copies
Nye detektivhistorier fra hele verden (Author, some editions) 2 copies, 1 review

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Short biography
After leaving the Navy in 1908, he became an itinerant bookkeeper and then worked as a sight-seeing guide, bookstore salesman, stablehand and hotel manager. Later he devised and implemented a school banking system which was installed in four hundred cities and towns throughout the country. In 1927 he retired from the world of finance and began writing. In 1941 he became chairman of the Writer's War Board, and in 1943 he was elected president of the Authors Guild. He was married to wife, Pola.
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Legacy Library: Rex Stout

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