Ben Hecht: The Man Behind the Legend, written by William MacAdams, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, 1990.

If you're interested in screenwriting, this book is a must read. Ben Hecht won an Academy Award for Underworld in 1929. His script for Viva Villa! was nominated in 1934 and he won his second Oscar the following year for The Scoundrel. Other notable scripts for which Hecht was credited included Scarface (for which Howard Hughes delivered a $1,000 bill to Hecht at the close of every work day), Twentieth Century, Wuthering Heights, Spellbound, Farewell to Arms and Notorious. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. What is so noteworthy about Hecht's filmography is the number of scripts that Hecht worked on as a "script doctor" for which he was uncredited but generously compensated. Uncredited scripts include Gone with the Wind, Duel in the Sun, Stagecoach, Roman Holiday, The Outlaw and Guys and Dolls, just to name a few.

Ben Hecht got his start as a crime reporter in Chicago writing for the Chicago Daily Journal. Tough, glib, and audacious, Hecht quickly developed a reputation for his derring-do. But what Hecht wanted was to write literature and he immersed himself in the Chicago Literary Renaissance becoming acquainted with Theodore Dreiser (who first suggested he take a look at writing for the movies), Carl Sandburg, Sherwood Anderson, Herman Mankiewicz and H.L. Mencken. He also published stories and poems in The Little Review and started writing novels. Married to Marie Armstrong, a Chicago reporter, the twenty-five year old Hecht set out for post-war Germany to briefly cover the German reconstruction for the Chicago Daily News. Upon his return, he decided New York City was his best bet to make a million bucks. Now married to Rose Caylor, a Russian émigré, he wrote an adaption of The Firebrand which was a hit on Broadway. Becoming friends with Charles MacArthur (married to Helen Hayes), along with other members of the Algonquin Round Table, Hecht and MacArthur collaborated in writing the play The Front Page which opened at the Times Square Theatre in August, 1924. The New York Times declared it a big hit and it was later made into a popular movie. Pivotal to Ben Hecht's future as a screenwriter was a telegram received in 1926 from his friend Herman Mankiewicz (who later wrote the screenplay Citizen Kane) asking Hecht, "Will you accept thee hundred dollars a week to work for Paramount?" Hecht arrived in Hollywood a few short weeks later and never stopped writing.

In 1954, Ben Hecht published his autobiography titled A Child of the Century. It's a unique and original collection of memories. But as the author, William MacAdams, points out, only 50 out of 633 pages dealt with Hollywood and screenwriting. Keen on learning more about the man and his life's work, MacAdams spent years researching and writing a biography which not only illuminates the career of Ben Hecht but the Hollywood era in which he dwelt and prospered.