The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook (The Ace Performer Collection series) [Hardcover]

Don Herron (Author), Jo Hammett (Preface), Charles Willeford (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: The Ace Performer Collection series | Publication Date: March 1, 2009

Expanded and revised, this 30th-anniversary edition guides readers over the fog-shrouded hills stalked by Sam Spade, the Continental Op, and other legendary characters created by San Francisco’s most famous mystery writer, Dashiell Hammett. Detailing locations of interest, including all of Hammett’s known residences and the majority of settings from The Maltese Falcon, this guidebook contains maps, self-guided tours, and photographs of Hammett-related locations from both then and now. A new preface by Jo Hammett, the detective writer’s daughter and Edgar Award–nominated writer, is also included.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hammett fans, whether or not they have taken the Dashiell Hammett walking tour that Herron has been conducting in San Francisco since 1977, will welcome this 30th anniversay edition of the guidebook. Herron has a deep reservoir of knowledge of the life of the father of the hard-boiled detective genre, as suggested by the biographical essay that constitutes part one. Part two lays out the itinerary of Herron's tours, including Burritt Street, where a plaque commemorates the first murder in The Maltese Falcon-that of Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer. In the book's preface, Jo Hammett, Hammett's daughter, reminiscences about taking Herron's tour. The late Charles Willeford's introduction still remains relevant, though as Herron points out in an informative new afterword, Willeford garbled Herron's own biographical details. Admirers of Herron's biography of the cult crime writer, Willeford (1997), will be interested to learn that he met Willeford, whom he had never heard of before, when Willeford took the tour in 1984. Illustrated with maps and photos throughout, this volume will appeal not just to students of Hammett but to anyone curious about the relation between a writer's life and his work.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Hammett fans will welcome this guidebook. Illustrated with maps and photos throughout, [it] will appeal to anyone curious about the relation between a writer's life and his work."  —Publishers Weekly

"Thorough and fun . . . For fans, no trip to San Francisco is complete without a copy of Herron's Dashiell Hammett Tour. Recommended."  —Library Journal

“A hard-boiled stroll through the world of the American Private Eye.”  —The New York Times

"Friendly, witty, articulate, theatrical, and thoroughly immersed in Hammett arcane."  —Los Angeles Times

"It’s fun, fascinating, and fully illustrated with photos of appropriate sites. A gas."  —San Francisco Chronicle

“Sparkling, delightful and obviously essential to anyone concerned with San Francisco’s literary history.”  —The Peninsula Times Tribune

"Combines Herron's encyclopedic knowledge . . . with a rapid-fire dispensation of history, anecdotes, and passages from books, all delivered in a tone and manner befitting a pulp story by Hammett himself."  —San Francisco Examiner

"A delightful, informative, and capsulated biography of Dashiell Hammett, and a walking tour, or auto tour, of San Francisco."  —Mostly Murder

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vince Emery Productions; 30th anniversary edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972589872
• ISBN-13: 978-0972589871
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 4.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Reference

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative & Entertaining (Real or Armchair) Tour of Hammett Sites in San Francisco., October 20, 2009

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook (The Ace Performer Collection series) (Hardcover)

Don Herron has been guiding Hammett fans around San Francisco on his Dashiell Hammett Tour since 1977, and his book allows tourists to do the self-guided thing or to enjoy Herron's in-depth knowledge and anecdotes from afar. This thirtieth anniversary edition, published in hardback as part of Vince Emery Productions' "Ace Performer Collection", includes a preface by Dashiell Hammett's daughter Jo, in which she recalls the first time she took the tour, and an introduction by crime novelist Charles Willeford, who advises comfortable walking shoes and some knowledge of Hammett's work before embarking on the tour. This hardback edition may not be the most practical for stuffing in your pocket and setting off to explore the streets of San Francisco, but it is great for reading.

"The Dashiell Hammett Tour" doesn't read like a typical tourbook, which tend not to be very exciting unless you are there. Fans who have never been to San Francisco will find plenty to like. Herron always has something interesting to say. He begins with a 46-page biography of Hammett. There are 30 sites on the tour, plus 9 off-tour sites, that featured either in Hammett's life or in his fiction. (Three of Hammett's novels, including "The Maltese Falcon", and most of his short stories were set in San Francisco.) The entries for each site are a combination of biography, literary criticism, and personal experiences. I've read several Hammett biographies, all of his fiction, and some criticism, and Herron was still able to tell me some things I didn't know.

There are black-and-white photos throughout, new and old, so we can see what the sites looked like when Dashiell Hammett lived in the city, 1921-1929. There are a few maps for walking the tour and for driving it. (I assume that the driving maps are different to accommodate one-way streets.) There is an annotated bibliography at the end. Herron says the tour takes 2-3 hours on foot and ½ hour by car. It's also a lot of fun just to read it. My only criticism is that some readers (particularly older readers) may find that the off-white paper does not provide enough contrast with the black ink for comfortable reading. I wondered if there would be much point in reading "The Dashiell Hammett Tour" if I am not in San Francisco, but Don Herron is always insightful, and I enjoyed the virtual tour a great deal.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for any fan of Hammett's work, June 9, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook (The Ace Performer Collection series) (Hardcover)

Some writers become popular, and others get cult fandoms. "The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook" is a look into the life of Dashiell Hammett, author of famed mysteries such as the 'The Maltese Falcon'. Examining locations throughout San Francisco and their relation to both Hammett and his creations, with a focus on famed fictional detective Sam Spade, "The Dashiell Hammett Tour" is a must-have for any fan of Hammett's work.