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About DonHerron.com
In 1977 Don Herron began leading The Dashiell Hammett Tour, now the longest-running literary tour in the nation. On this site you’ll find information on current walks — dates, where to meet, arranging tours by appointment — plus a hard-boiled blog with news, reviews of books and film, and a dash of noir.
The latest and greatest edition to self-guide you up and down the mean streets.
Willeford: The Book
Includes the first “Mr. Hunt” story, “Knives in the Dark.”
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Tour: Every Sunday in May
I can’t make it any simpler: you’ll find a Dashiell Hammett Tour each and every Sunday in May. Four hours. Ten bucks. The usual. No reservations needed, just show up with your gumshoes polished, ready to walk.
Hammett: “Magician” Trackdown
Lately M. P. Shiel has been in the air around here — I’ve been easing my way through the first two of three volumes of the biography of Shiel from the pen of Harold Billings (on the side reading upcoming … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News
Tagged "The Gutting of Couffignal", Harold Billings, John D. Squires, John Gawsworth, M. P. Shiel, Terry Zobeck, Vince Emery
Tour: Banner Ad
I’ve got to give Vince Emery credit for his job publishing the newest edition of the Hammett Tour book — and he tells me that he has taken out a banner ad for the trade paperback printing over on the … Continue reading
Posted in News, Tour
Tagged "Mr. Hunt", Hammett Tour Book, Measures of Poison, Thrilling Detective, Vince Emery
Rediscovered: Fantômas, the Serials
My pal John D. Squires, current honcho of the cult for M. P. Shiel, saw the blurb for Fantômas the other day and popped me the ad above, which tries to hook movie theatres in 1916 into running a film serial … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Almost, Elmore
These mean streets have seen some of the best. Dashiell Hammett. Charles Willeford. And we almost had Elmore Leonard, too, according to a new interview. Of his life in the Detroit area, Elmore said, “There’s no reason to move. I thought … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Kindle in 1959
For no special reason I got the urge to reread Fritz Leiber’s Change War series, off and on, over the last few weeks, still have at least one or two more to go (since they never all quite saw a … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit
Tagged "The Mind Spider", 811 Geary, Change War, Fantastic, Fritz Leiber, Kindle, Our Lady of Darkness
Frisco Beat: The Pickwick
I hope everyone is surfing frequently over to ReelSF off my Fellow Ops links — the mysterious CitySleuth is knocking out new descriptions of sites from movies, especially noir movies, all the time, featuring great then and now shots. Of special interest … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: A Century of Fantômas
Okay, I don’t know how this one got put on the calendar, other than via the interest and tireless efforts of Peter Maravelis, teamed up with a horde of local Fantômas fans and no less than the French Embassy — but … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged Batman, City Lights, Doctor Sax, Fantomas, Peter Maravelis, PulpFest, Pulps, The Shadow, Walter Gibson