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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.”
Tag Archives: Frederic Dannay
Hammett: Pickup
Stuff Terry Zobeck covered in the halcyon days of yesteryear keeps circulating around. Remember his post about “lost” Hammett stories, including such rogue titles as “Pickup” in Saturday Home Magazine? And follow-up posts about Hammett tales getting reprinted in god-knows-how-many … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged "Pick-Up", "The Tenth Clew", "The Whosis Kid", Evan Lewis, Frederic Dannay, Terry Zobeck
Hammett: From Poisonville to Red Harvest, “Chapter One”
A couple of months ago I was prowling through the inventory of Mean Streets posts to salvage as yet unpublished material from the backlog. A few tentative ideas that got to skeletal mock-up stage I just deleted — weeding the … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit
Tagged Black Mask, Frederic Dannay, Jo Hammett, Paul Herman, PulpFest, Red Harvest, Richard Layman, Terry Zobeck, The Big Book of the Continental Op
Hammett: A Paperback for Lillian Hellman
Apparently a large chunk out of Otto Penzler’s personal collection is going on the block over the next year or two. I know this news because A) it is public information, no black cats out of the bag or anything, … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Creeps by Night, Evan Lewis, Frederic Dannay, Lillian Hellman, Otto Penzler, Pru Whitfield
Rediscovered: Fred Dannay and His More Literary Cousin
A couple of years back Nathan Ward popped me a link to an article — a very good, long article — about the popular Mean Streets topic Frederic Dannay, one half of the “Ellery Queen” writing team, and his continuing … Continue reading
Hammett: Nivens Discovers Zobeck
Surf over to Mystery File and check out the new post where Mike Nevins discovers that Terry Zobeck has been pure texting the hell out of the Fred Dannay edits on Hammett here for a few years now. Nevins was given … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Frederic Dannay, Mike Nevins, Mystery File, Terry Zobeck, The Digest Enthusiast
Hammett: A Wandering Sentences Job
It was another case for Race Zobeck, Confidential Pure Text Dick. The email came winging in lazily over the transom. The client’s moniker was LaViolette. Marc LaViolette. At least that’s what he claimed. . . . He’d gotten bit by the … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged "Bodies Piled Up", "The Man Who Killed Dan Odams", Black Mask, Frederic Dannay, Marc LaViolette, pure texts, Race Zobeck, Terry Zobeck
Hammett: If Joe Gores Had Written a Bio. . .
Shot above — Nathan Ward chatting as the room fills to capacity in the Mechanics’ Library — art shot at bottom, Table with Book (and Wine, and Mic). If you wanted an autographed copy of The Lost Detective and couldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News
Tagged Frederic Dannay, Joe Gores, Mechanics' Library, Mickey Spillane, Nathan Ward, Peter Maravelis, Pinkerton's, Raymond Chandler, Vince Emery
Hammett: Terry Zobeck Reviews The Lost Detective
Since we’re hosting Biography Month because of the new Hammett bio by Nathan Ward, how about we kick the thing into gear with a full-fledged review by none other than Terry Zobeck, the most prolific Guest Blogger here on Up … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco
Tagged David Fechheimer, Frederic Dannay, Nathan Ward, Phil Geauque, Richard Layman, Steven Marcus, Terry Zobeck
Hammett: “The Nails in Mr. Cayterer”
Remember the fireworks going off boom! and bang! a couple of days ago? As I watched the explosions I was thinking, yeah, if they only knew that Terry Zobeck was about to finish off — complete, fini — his now … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged "The Nails in Mr Cayterer", Black Mask, EQMM, Frederic Dannay, Jo Hammett, Library of America, Nero Wolfe, pure texts, Rex Stout, Richard Layman, Robin Thin, Terry Zobeck, Vince Emery
Rediscovered: Some Op-ish Action
On the newsstands now, the May ish of AHMM with a salute to the Continental Op by Evan Lewis — if you keep up with that sort of thing, jump on it. Evan got in an Op mood and did … Continue reading