Donald Hamilton Books in Order
Donald Hamilton has written 41 books, published between 1947 and 1993. The first book is Date With Darkness (1947) and the newest is The Damagers (1993). Publication order is the reading order below. 27 of the 41 books listed here are in the Matt Helm series, which has its own page: Matt Helm books in order.
- Books
- 41
- Published
- 1947–1993
- Pages on record
- 5,653 in 23 of 41 books
- Reading time
- 94–141 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,653 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 41 titles with a page count on record.
Donald Hamilton (1916-2006) was a Swedish-American writer of novels, short stories and outdoor non-fiction. The Matt Helm books, running from 1960 to 1993, are the best-known work, following an undercover counter-agent employed by a secret American government agency. Hamilton also wrote crime fiction and westerns, The Big Country (1958) among them. 41 titles are catalogued, from Date With Darkness (1947) to The Damagers (1993), and the 1960s are the densest decade. Espionage and thrillers carry the subject tags.
How many Donald Hamilton books are there?
Donald Hamilton has 41 books, released between 1947 and 1993. 27 of them belong to the Matt Helm series.
Donald Hamilton Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 41 Donald Hamilton books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Date With Darkness1947 · confirmed 2/41947–2/4
- 2The Steel Mirror1948 · confirmed 2/41948–2/4
- 3Night Walker1954 · confirmed 2/41954–2/4
- 4Smoky Valley1954 · confirmed 2/41954–2/4
- 5Rough Company1954 · confirmed 2/41954–2/4
- 6Line of Fire1955 · confirmed 2/41955–2/4
- 7Mad River1956 · 143 pages · confirmed 2/419561432/4
- 8Assignment: Murder / Assassins Have Starry Eyes1956 · confirmed 2/41956–2/4
- 9The Big Country1958 · confirmed 2/41958–2/4
- 1019602402/4
- 1119602722/4
- 1219612402/4
- 13Texas Fever1961 · 143 pages · confirmed 2/419611432/4
- 1419622232/4
- 1519622402/4
- 1619632402/4
- 1719642242/4
- 1819642362/4
- 1919652562/4
- 20Murder Twice Told1966 · confirmed 2/41966–2/4
- 2119662722/4
- 22The Guns of William Longley1967 · confirmed 2/41967–2/4
- 2319682562/4
- 241969–2/4
- 251971–2/4
- 26The Two-Shoot Gun / The Man from Santa Clara1972 · confirmed 2/41972–2/4
- 2719722092/4
- 281974–2/4
- 2919752242/4
- 3019762242/4
- 311977–2/4
- 32The Mona Intercept1980 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/419805122/4
- 331982–2/4
- 341983–2/4
- 3519843522/4
- 3619853452/4
- 3719861712/4
- 381987–2/4
- 3919893142/4
- 401992352/4
- 4119932822/4
Donald Hamilton series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Matt Helm books in order 27 books
Donald Hamilton books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Standalone books
14 books14 Donald Hamilton titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Donald Hamilton books in order?
You only need to read Donald Hamilton books in order within the Matt Helm series, which holds 27 of the 41 Donald Hamilton books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Donald Hamilton
Start with Death of a Citizen (1960), the first Matt Helm book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Date With Darkness (1947).
What is the newest Donald Hamilton book?
The Damagers (1993) is the newest Donald Hamilton book released so far.
Is there a new Donald Hamilton book coming?
No next Donald Hamilton book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Donald Hamilton at a glance
- Died
- Donald Hamilton died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Donald Hamilton on record dates from 1993.
- Release pace
- Donald Hamilton books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,653 pages across the 23 of 41 books with a recorded length, a median of 240 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Donald Hamilton books, 15 of 41, were published in the 1960s.
What the Donald Hamilton books are about
23 of the 41 Donald Hamilton books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: helm, matt (fictitious character) is tagged on 16 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.