Author Archives: Don

Hammett: Beware “The Diamond Wager”

The noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook just mentioned that the issue of Detective Fiction Weekly featuring the story “The Diamond Wager” by a “Samuel Dashiell” is offered in an e-catalog this week from a well-known pulp dealer for … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: Zobeck Zips Up the Watts Auction

Terry Zobeck kept an eye on the huge auction of books from the library of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. He even tossed in a bid himself, getting in on the action. With prices paid and the gavel now quiet, … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: The Weather Channel c. 1888

Mostly in connection with the Texas writer Robert E. Howard, I’ve been in and out of the Lone Star State several times and got to deeply savor some of the storms. Tornadoes even hit a couple of towns over from … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: “Wild Bill, I Presume?”

In building up his history of the Old West in his new book, Nathan Ward naturally brings in Wild Bill Hickok. Couldn’t leave him out, in my opinion. It’s like the IMDb Top Four Known Fors. Right now I think … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: Cowboy America

“Wild cattle that refused to move with the herd and kept returning to the brush the cowboys might make docile by sewing their eyelids shut; after about two weeks, when the thread had decayed enough for the eyes to reopen, … Continue reading

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Hammett: And Charlie Watts

Terry Zobeck, keeping his eye to the pavement, let me know about the latest trove of rare and first edition Hammett hitting the auction block. And get this angle: those books and typescripts all come from the collection of the … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: Biography Month Redux

Today is the official publication date for Nathan Ward’s newest bio, Son of the Old West — The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier. Something to kick off another Biography Month here on These Mean … Continue reading

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Hammett: Have Horse, Will Gallop

Nathan Ward just popped in the news that a racehorse named Maltese Falcon just moved up from maiden to graded stakes winner status — and in La Jolla, Raymond Chandler’s old stomping grounds. “There are Hammett quotes to apply,” Nathan … Continue reading

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Frisco Beat: Nathan Ward Goes to Sea

You’ll remember Nathan Ward and his Hammett bio The Lost Detective. That one really gets going when Hammett rolls into San Francisco and sits down at his typewriter. Over on CrimeReads Nathan has just kicked a story off from San … Continue reading

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Sinister Cinema: Contacts Made

If you were worried about the guy who worked on Wim Wenders’ Hammett getting in contact with the guy doing a documentary on that film, you can relax. They’ve been put in touch, and have spent an initial two hours … Continue reading

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