Elmore Leonard's Criminal Records.

• Author: Rothenberg, Robert S.

Mild-mannered, grey-haired, and soft-spoken, Elmore "Dutch" Leonard is hardly the type one would associate with hard-boiled criminals and sociopaths. Yet, he arguably is the leading practitioner of crime fiction in the U.S., each book soaring to the hardcover and paperback best seller lists as fast as he turns them out. (Pounding on a manual typewriter, editing the old-fashioned way with a red pencil, and disdaining computers and word processors, Leonard takes about four months to produce a new novel, then spends the rest of the year relaxing and researching his future projects.)

When the market for westerns dried up, Leonard, who had churned out dozens in the 1950s, including such movie hits as "Hud" and "3:10 to Yuma," asked his agent what sort of writing paid best. "Ransom notes," was the laconic reply, which Leonard took to heart when he plotted the kidnap caper, "52 Pickup."

For those fascinated with...