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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.”
Category Archives: News
Sinister Cinema: Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood
Our pal from Brooklyn Nathan Ward is kind of going nuts with Wild West stuff recently, and naturally he watched the new Deadwood movie, which led to some somber musings about the show being juggled differently, so Keith Carradine as Will … Continue reading
Posted in Film, News
Tagged Deadwood, Garrett Dillahunt, Keith Carradine, Martha Plimpton, Nathan Ward, Raising Hope, Will Bill Hickok
Rediscovered: Dodging Apache Torture and Other Incidents of a Life Fully Lived
You know Brian Leno, mention stuff like Edgar Rice Burroughs and the disconcerting torture techniques of the Apache, and instantly he starts thinking about Frederick Russell Burnham. Doesn’t everyone? Here’s Brian with some thoughts for today: Recently I read A Splendid Savage: … Continue reading
Posted in News
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Frederick Russell Burnham, Graham-Tewksbury Feud, Steve Kemper, Wyatt Earp
Rediscovered: Dime Novel Westerns
Before Edgar Rice Burroughs created Tarzan, dime novel writers created the Wild West, or big chunks of it. Our pal Nathan Ward just did a survey of that scene, and writes: “Thought you might be amused by some of the … Continue reading
Mort: Hopfrog Nevermore
The month of March adds another death to its grim stats with the passing at age 67 of Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire, May 3 1951-March 26 2019. Got to give him a mention here if only because of his introduction to … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: At Least One Guy Hits the Century Mark
Doing a quick check of the net, it looks as if Lawrence Ferlinghetti turns 100 years old today. The event could have slipped past my radar, except a few days ago I got a deluxe one-sheet poem from D. S. … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged City Lights, D.S. Black, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Nancy Peters
Mort: Ten Years After Tompk
Hard to believe it was ten years ago today when Steve Tompkins punched his ticket. Only 48 years old, hospitalized for food poisoning after hitting Burger King, then out of the blue a heart attack. If they can’t handle a … Continue reading
Tour: Some Media No More
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon — and who knows?, maybe for the rest of your life — the Some Media clump in the banner above is going to disappear. Every few years I dink around with the … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Anniversary 101 for Stan McNail
As it turned out, the first installment of my short-lived review column for Lit, a literary supplement for The San Francisco Bay Guardian, hit print in May 1995 — timing that allowed me to wrap up the piece with a … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged Arkham House, Bay Guardian, Book Collecting, Dirk Mosig, Galley Sail Review, Greyhound, Jack Spicer, Lawrence Hart, Paul Dobish, Something Breathing, Stan McNail, Steve Eng, The Activists
Hammett: Chump Change
Evan Lewis, my de facto reporter on the ground for news of the auction of books from the Otto Penzler collection — which is to say, I’m never going to bother to follow something like that, whereas Evan is covering it like … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Evan Lewis, Lillian Hellman, Otto Penzler, Red Harvest, The Big Knockover
