My first film noir ever was The Blue Dahlia (1946). I remember liking it, but didn't think it as anything special. Around three years ago, when my film craziness really started to take off, I stumbled upon Kiss Me Deadly (1955). My mouth was basically gaping the whole time, it was in a lot of ways modern and ahead of its time. Film noirs play with lights and shadows, making the atmosphere dark and without any dash of hope. This book works as a great introduction to the genre and its main features (or, as Silver says, a style as much as a genre), and even if you know everything there is to know about the topic, I'd imagine the pictures are still worth it. The font of the pages is white on black background, and so it fits perfectly with the overall look.