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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: November 2015
Rediscovered: Race Williams Roscoes Again!
One thing among others I can be thankful for is that a book can still knock me out purely as a physical item. Not every book that comes through my hands. Not all the time — not nearly enough of the … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Alan Ladd, Altus Press, Black Mask, Carroll John Daly, Jersey Noir, Race Williams, This Gun for Hire
Rediscovered: Zobeck Goes Zombie
Not long after doing his review of Nathan Ward’s The Lost Detective here on These Mean Streets, our frequent Guest Blogger Terry Zobeck happened on a paying reviewing gig close to home — for his résumé, he popped in the … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: Voice of Noir
How about a few more pics from the gig in the Tenderloin Museum? I was supposed to talk for 30 or 40 minutes about Hammett living in the TL, the 1941 film of The Maltese Falcon and so forth — … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Reeling in the History
Did a couple of groups by appointment yesterday, got lucky with the brutal winter rains holding off. . . . On one of them the mysterious CitySleuth came along and tossed in some tidbits of film/Frisco history — one was … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, CitySleuth, Heisenberg, Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Lon Chaney Sr., Mark Murphy, ReelSF, Ruby Skye, Tenderloin Museum, The Big Knockover, The Penalty, Vertigo
Rediscovered: The Eldritch Altar of a Haefele Heretic!
Hey-hey. Friday the 13th! What eldritch and unspeakable image or subject would be an apt fit for today, I wonder, I wonder. . . ? How about the pic above by Michael Moses, who added some Lovecraft idols to a … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Fritz Leiber, Gahan Wilson, Haefele's Heretics, John D. Haefele, Lovecraft, Michael Moses, World Fantasy Awards, World Fantasy Convention
Rediscovered: Willeford’s Grandfather
And to keep the Willeford train rolling, Michael S. Chong recently popped me a note as he was waiting to go under the knife for some foot surgery — now there’s a serious Willeford fan for you! To keep himself … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Mean Streets Veteran Cracks The Daily Beast
Veterans Day. Lots of Vets on These Mean Streets. Hammett, two World Wars, interred in Arlington. The late great James Crumley. The great Kent Anderson. Plenty more. And of course Charles Willeford — also interred in Arlington — who gets … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News, Willeford
Tagged Arlington, James Crumley, Jason Siegel, Kent Anderson, The Daily Beast, Veteran's Day
Rediscovered: John D. Haefele on Fungi from Yuggoth
Remember how John D. Haefele was nudging me to do a reread on H. P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth sonnet cycle a few months ago, which led to my micro-essay “Pigeons from Hell from Lovecraft”? I give Haefele a blurb … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged "Pigeons from Hell from Lovecraft", Donald Wandrei, Fungi from Yuggoth, John D. Haefele, Lovecraft, The Cimmerian, Weird Tales