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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: Tour
Hammett: The Jeopardy! Roundup
For fun I’ve been keeping track of the times Hammett or something to do with Hammett (i.e. Sam Spade or Lillian Hellman) popped up on the game show Jeopardy! Kind of a marker of the cultural zeitgeist. Now that the … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: A Slice of Life 1979-90
Our man on the street, Nathan Ward — keeping his eye on the New York scene — sends along his latest find: “I liked this evocation of San Francisco from 79-90 by the novelist Rachel Kushner in the current New … Continue reading
Tour: Journal of the Plague Year
2020, without question, a great year for binge-watching — but taking a moment to think about it, I don’t believe I did any more bingeing than usual (which is to say I am a binge-master, the only trick is tracking … Continue reading
Tour: Feeling a Trifle Bookish
Ah. The Angela Hill article on the Dashiell Hammett Tour I mentioned yesterday turns out to be only one of several articles in a new supplement to the Mercury News titled Bookish. Bookish. I like it. Couldn’t be more apt … Continue reading
Tour: Locked Down and Written Up
Even though the Dashiell Hammett Tour is under lock down, Angela Hill fired off a new article in the Mercury News today against the moment it comes gumshoeing back. Bound to happen — if I can pry myself away from … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: A Meta-Pulp on Broadway
Pulps in the Movies! All Singing! All Dancing! On Sale Every Wednesday! Today John Locke, our resident pulp expert and movie buff, strikes a new chord in the hallelujah chorus of pulp sightings. Doctor, fix me up a new pulp, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit, Tour
Tagged Broadway Melody of 1938, Buddy Ebsen, Frank Gruber, John Locke, MGM, Popular Detective, Pulps in the Movies, Shirley Temple
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 Ace and Parker
Coincidentally, the topic of Ace Atkins and Robert B. Parker also popped up in the last few days in exchanges with Kevin Cook, noted pulp and book collector. “At this point in time Parker is still an industry,” Kevin observed, … Continue reading
Noir: On the Prowl
One intriguing pic Nathaniel Mills sent along from his trip to Malta, he noticed later, “unintentionally captured this Maltese blonde, there on the bench, checking me out as I walked by. “Did she think I was handsome or was she … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, Tour, Willeford
Tagged Gold Medal, Malta, Nathaniel Mills, Orrie Hitt, Robert McGinnis
Tour: Stuff to See on Malta
Stuff to see and do on the island of Malta. The stuff that dreams are made of! Nathaniel Mills pops in a few pics to amuse his fellow travelers going Up and Down These Mean Streets.
