author

Rufus H. Clendenen

Best known for a practical 1922 guide to detective work, this little-known American writer offered a vivid look at how crime investigation was explained to general readers in the early twentieth century.

1 Audiobook

Clendenen's detective manual : How to become a successful detective

Clendenen's detective manual : How to become a successful detective

by Rufus H. Clendenen

About the author

Published as Rufus H. Clendenen and also listed in library records as Rufus Howard Clendenen, he is known for Clendenen's detective manual: how to become a successful detective. The book was published in 1922 in Charleston, West Virginia, and survives through major public-domain and library collections.

Very little widely documented biographical information appears to be available online beyond his authorship and catalog records. A memorial record indexed under Rufus Howard Clendenen gives the dates 1882–1959, which may refer to the same person, but that detail is not well corroborated in major reference sources.

Today, his reputation rests mainly on that detective manual, which offers a period snapshot of investigative methods and popular ideas about detective work in the early 1900s.