To commemorate publication of The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook, Newsom awards Certificate of Honor to author Don Herron . San Francisco, Calif. - 17 May, 2009 - To commemorate author Don Herron and the publication of his new book The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom awarded Herron an official San Francisco Certificate of Honor. "I am please to recognize and honor Don Herron for his contributions to the world of literature," stated Mayor Newsom. "Your work through live tours, guidebooks, and worldwide media appearances has introduced thousands to the sites associated with San Francisco's most famous writer Dashiell Hammett and his masterpiece The Maltese Falcon. As a literary historian and biographer, your work has exposed people from around the world to the works of famous San Francisco authors. Best wishes on all your future endeavors!" Herron's Dashiell Hammett Tour is the world's longest-running literary tour, guided by Herron in San Francisco since 1977. (The second longest-running literary tour is Sherlock Holmes Walk in London, England.) In the thirtieth anniversary edition of his popular guidebook (first published in 1979), Herron takes readers over the fog-shrouded streets stalked by Sam Spade, the Continental Op, and other legendary characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Hammett is San Francisco's most famous mystery writer, so the tour also highlights the places in San Francisco where Hammett lived and worked as a detective and writer. The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook by Don Herron was published in hardcover on March 16, 2009, by Vince Emery Productions. About Don Herron Don Herron has led the Dashiell Hammett Tour in San Francisco since 1977, becoming a living institution in the City by the Bay. He is the author of The Literary World of San Francisco, as well as Willeford, a biography of crime writer Charles Willeford, and The Dark Barbarian, on writer Robert E. Howard. Herron has appeared frequently in the media, including PBS and BBC television. He figures he reached the peak of his fame when he turned up on the television quiz show Jeopardy!. Category: American Cities. "The city in which Don Herron leads the Dashiell Hammett Tour." The button is hit. "What is San Francisco?" Of course. More about Don Herron About Dashiell Hammett Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was one of the world's most popular and influential writers. Famous as the best-selling creator of Sam Spade, The Maltese Falcon, and The Thin Man, Hammett was also a Pinkerton's detective, an advertising man, a soldier in the U.S. Army during both World Wars, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, and a political activist. The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook by Don Herron Clothbound hardcover; 224 pages; 60 photographs, 2 illustrations, 8 maps $19.95 U.S./$24.95 Canada; ISBN 978-0-9725898-7-1 Publisher: Vince Emery Productions To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax IPG at (312) 337-5985, phone IPG at (800) 888-4741, or contact Ingram, Baker & Taylor, or other book distributors.