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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: March 2020
Rediscovered: The Writings of Lawrence Block, Item by Item, Book by Book
You may have been thinking, hey, I wonder, What has Terry Zobeck been up to lately? A guy like that, who knows what he’s been digging around in. You got that right. One of the most prolific Guest Bloggers for … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Book Collecting, Gene Bilbrew, Lawrence Block, Madame Adista, Terry Zobeck
Sinister Cinema: Coop for the Star
Evan Lewis, excavating the newsprint of yesteryear, just put up a clump of news items on who was going to star in the first movie version of Hammett’s The Glass Key. Gary Cooper was the first choice for Ned Beaumont. … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: Perry Palms Pulps; or, Mason Manhandles Magazines
Another installment of the epic run of Pulps in the Movies. On Sale Every Wednesday. Brought to you by that renowned and eagle-eyed pulp expert John Locke. In this Case of the Curious Lawyer, however, we’re easing over from actual … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Black Mask, Erle Stanley Gardner, John Locke, Perry Mason, Pulps in the Movies, Ranch Romances, Raymond Burr
Frisco Beat: Working the Hammett Hangout in the Days of Coronavirus
A.k.a. not working. Just heard a GoFundMe page is up for the employees of John’s Grill, 63 Ellis Street, where Sam Spade grabs a meal in The Maltese Falcon. Tide them over until those noir doors open again.
Rediscovered: In the Annals of Sword-and-Sorcery
Brian Leno, trapped in his Last Redoubt in Bismarck, North Dakota, nonetheless managed to pop a review to me in my Last Redoubt — the good old sanctum sanctorum — which I’ll toss out to people stuck in their Last … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Even in Bismarck
Yep, no one better positioned to appreciate the COVID-19 outbreak than science fiction fans. It’s like living the la vida loca of a Zombie Apocalypse without the severe downside of rampaging zombies. But I would have thought if anyone I … Continue reading
Tour: The Germ’s Afoot
Man! Look at all those people who could have been giving me coronavirus — or vice versa — except it was back in August 5, 2017 on a tour by appointment with Sisters in Crime, and I doubt any of … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More on Collecting Haefele
Ah, my mention last October of Lloyd Currey not having seen the true first of John D. Haefele’s A Look Behind the Derleth Mythos has shaken up the valuation on the title and seems to have pried a couple of … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Arkham House Ephemera Back on the Block
In the last month or so bidding on items of Arkham House ephemera on eBay has been hot and heavy. The other day I popped a note to my ephemera collecting bud John D. Haefele and reported: “To my surprise … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Arkham House, August Derleth, Book Collecting, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Firsts, Frank Belknap Long, Harry Morris, John D. Haefele, The Arkham Collector
