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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: SFSC
Rediscovered: Xmas Noir
Got a note from the Jersey Noir photog Mark Krajnak — he appreciated my comparison of his cover for the new Race Williams omnibus to Alan Ladd, somehow summoning that sort of evocative iconography. That’s what happens with art, if you … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, SFSC, Tour
Tagged Alan Ladd, Cacophony Society, Fritz Leiber, Fritz Leiber Tour, Jersey Noir, John Law, Kepler space telescope, Mark Krajnak, Race Williams, SantaCon, Xmas
Tombstone: Phil Geauque
Image above: another shot from the Mechanics’ signing, Nathan Ward inscribing a copy of his Hammett bio while I look on; standing to left, Vince Emery in blue, John Law — of The Suicide Club, Cacophony Society, primal Burning Man, … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, SFSC
Tagged Blackjack Jerome, Burning Man, Cacophony Society, Colma, John Law, Kendallville Indiana, Leo Grin, Mechanics' Library, Nathan Ward, Phil Geauque, Vince Emery
Rediscovered: The Great War — Circa 1914
One reason I scheduled a tour for Sunday July 26 was to get myself within striking distance of the Erik Chipchase art reception in Lanesplitter Pizza & Pub on the Emeryville/Oakland borderlands — that showing ends in a couple of … Continue reading
Posted in News, SFSC, Tour
Tagged "This King Business", Cacophony Society, Erik Chipchase, The Great War
Tour: And As the Year Ended, the MWA Slipped on Their Gumshoes
For the penultimate walk of 2013 I took out no less than twenty members of the Mystery Writers of America on a two hour version of the tour, highlighting The Maltese Falcon — you’ve got to figure that if someone … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News, SFSC, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, Cacophony Society, Claudia H. Long, Clyde Long, Diane R. Chambers, Julie Smith, Miss P, Mystery Writers of America, P. Segal, San Francisco Mysteries, Sheldon Siegel, The Harlot's Pen
Frisco Beat: Doggie Diner Heads Defying Entropy!
What do you know, but they’ve got a Kickstarter campaign going to restore the roving pack of Doggie Diner heads to refurbished glory — just like they did for the Doggie out near the entrance to the Zoo several years … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, News, SFSC
Tagged Cacophony Society, Castro Theatre, Chuck Palahniuk, Doggie Diner, Fight Club, John Law, Zippy the Pinhead
Sinister Cinema: World War Z, No Doubt with SPOILERS
Okay, after blurbing it on Cheese Theatre, I had to give the movie World War Z a shot. First, I must congratulate Max Brooks for selling them two words and the letter “Z” —nabbing around a reported $100,000 per letter or thereabout. Sweet . … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Frisco, SFSC
Tagged Big Trouble in Little China, Brad Pitt, Cheese Theatre, Danny Trejo, Dawn of the Dead, Diva, Donimique Pinon, Ethan Suplee, Ghostbusters, Jade, James Hong, Jurassic Park, Max Brooks, Michael Biehn, Night of the Living Dead, R.I.P.D., Return of the Living Dead, Rise of the Zombies, Ryan Reynolds, Shaun of the Dead, The Dude, Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds, William Friedkin, World War Z, Zatoichi, Zombieland
Hammett: The Big 88
My spies out there in the world, always keeping an eye on the news, have alerted me to the latest honor for the author who makes The Dashiell Hammett Tour the rollicking fun ride that it is: Hammett’s Red Harvest has … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News, SFSC
Tagged "Zigzags of Treachery", Allen Ginsberg, Becky London, Ben Franklin, Brian Leno, City Lights, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Jack London, Jan Kerouac, Jo Hammett, John Carter, Library of Congress, literary graves, Randy Shilts, Ray Bradbury, Red Harvest, Zane Grey
Frisco Beat: Tad Dorgan at Poly
Cartoonist Tad Dorgan’s name continues gumshoeing Up and Down These Mean Streets. San Francisco native. Pal of black heavyweight champ Jack Johnson. Credited with coining the term “hot-dog” in 1906— though I see that claim has been debunked (if I learn … Continue reading
Rediscovered: You Can’t Win
Out of the legions of neglected books from all the books that have come and gone in all the world, very few return to any kind of currency. Once the book slips out of print, or the generation of readers that made it … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, Lit, SFSC
Tagged "The Red Brain", Book Collecting, City Lights, Donald Wandrei, Green Apple Books, Jack Black, John Law, Kevin Hunsanger, Kindle, Pulps, The Big Knockover, William S. Burroughs, You Can't Win
