Howard Lawrence LachtmanGiehmann, Barbara Stefanie (2011). Writing the Northland: Jack London's and Robert W. Service's Imaginary Geography. Wurzburg: Königshausen & Neumann. p. 12. (born July 8, 1941) is an American academic, literary critic, editor and author, who has written extensively on the life and works of Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle,Monsky, Susan (July 8, 1984). "Short Takes". The Boston Globe. and on crime fiction as a whole."Writers talk about craft". Sacramento City College Express. March 12, 1984. p. 5.

Early life and career Born in San Francisco on July 8, 1941, Lachtman is the second-born child of Florence (née Jacoby) and George Lachtman."Births". The Richmond Banner. August 1, 1941. p. 4. Retrieved November 19, 2025."Births". The Richmond Banner. July 23, 1937. p. 4. Retrieved November 19, 2025."Social Brevities". The Richmond Banner. July 8, 1932. p. 5. Retrieved November 19, 2025. He attended Winfield Scott Elementary School,"Doll Show at S. F. School Honors U. N. – Display of 34 National Costumes". San Francisco Chronicle. October 27, 1952. p. 21. Retrieved November 19, 2025. Lowell High School, UC Berkeley and UC Hastings Law,"They're Engaging: Lachtman-Corren". The San Francisco Examiner. January 12, 1964. Sec. Reviews, pg. 12. and obtained his M.A and Ph.D. from University of the Pacific.

Assessing Lachtman's contribution to a 1979 collection of London's own essays entitled Jack London: No Mentor But Myself, Los Angeles Times critic Sal Noto states:

Reviewing Lachtman's 1982 anthology, Sporting Blood: Jack London's Greatest Sports Writing, the El Paso Herald-Post's David Innes notes that the book "could serve as a pattern for what a good theme anthology should be," adding that "Lachtman's introductory essay is a fine one, as are his short, scene-setting paragraphs."Innes, David (March 12, 1982). "Bookshelf". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 54. Retrieved July 1, 2022. Regarding the 1984 collection, Young Wolf: The Early Adventure Stories of Jack London, El Paso Times critic Dale L. Walker writes:

Writing two years later in the same paper, Walker calls Lachtman's Sherlock Slept Here a "superb and authoritative little study [of] Arthur Conan Doyle's debt to the United States," commending in particular Lachtman's "thoroughly fascinating analysis of that most American of Holmes stories, 'The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor'."

Lachtman also reviewed books—primarily mysteries—for the Los Angeles Times between 1976 and 1981, and, from 1977 to 1986, for the San Francisco Examiner.Lachtman, Howard (November 7, 1976). "Fantasy Fiction by Jack London". Los Angeles Times. p. 225.Lachtman, Howard (November 29, 1981). "West View". Los Angeles Times. p. 206.Lachtman, Howard (May 29, 1977). "Street Smart and Courtroom Wise". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 249.Lachtman, Howard (January 26, 1986). "The New Mysteries: Murder Among the Animals and Music". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 291.

A decidedly unimposing fictional character named Howard Lachtman, who happens to be at least the nominal leader of a small group of Sherlock Holmes devotees, figures prominently in Chapter II of Stuart Kaminsky's 1983 detective novel He Done Her Wrong.Kaminsky, Stuart (1983). He Done Her Wrong. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 22–37 .

Personal life Since 1962, Lachtman has been married to the former Mendelle Corren, a union which produced at least one child, their daughter, Tiffany."Death Notices". San Francisco Chronicle. June 17, 1998. p. C4. Retrieved November 19, 2025.

Works Books Sporting Blood: Selections from Jack London's greatest sports writing. Novato, CA : Presidio Press. 1981 . Young Wolf: The Early Adventure Stories of Jack London. Santa Barbara, CA : Capra Press. 1984. . Sherlock Slept Here ; being a brief history of the singular adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in America, with some observations upon the exploits of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Santa Barbara, CA : Capra Press. 1985. .

Essays "Man and Superwoman in Jack London's 'The Kanaka Surf'"].] Western American Literature. Summer 1972. Vol. VII, No. 2, pp. 101–110 "All That Glitters: Jack London's Gold". Jack London Newsletter. September–December, 1972. pp. 172–175, 196–178. "Doyle in Dreamland: The education of an eminent Victorian". The Los Angeles Times. October 30, 1977. Sec. Reviews, pp. 3, 20. "The Nine Lives of Jack London". The San Francisco Examiner. November 6, 1977. "Oscar in California: A Wilde West Show". The Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1978. "Willard Wright's Philo Vance: A Dandy in Acid". Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1979. Sec. Reviews, pp. 3, 25. "Mysterious Case of the Gardner-Chandler Friendship". The Los Angeles Times. January 4, 1981. "When Jack London Answered the Call of the Orange Blossoms". The Los Angeles Times. March 30, 1981. Sec. Reviews, pg. 3.

Poetry "Losses for Review" (1970)Lachtman, Howard (Winter 1970). Western Humanities Review. p. 30. "Three Poems: Fat City, The River Merchant to His Wife: A Letter, News from Thermopylae" (1972)Lachtman, Howard (Winter 1972). Poet Lore. pp. 344–345. "Elegy for William Claude Dunkenfield (W. C. Fields)" (1972)Miner, Virginia Scott (February 6, 1972). "Kansas City's 10-Year Poetry Explosion". The Kansas City Star. p. 154, 157. "Handiwork" (2021)SoundingsMag. November 15, 2021. "Sentry" (2021)SoundingsMag. December 2, 2021. "One of the Lucky Ones" (2023)SoundingsMag. April 13, 2023.

Notes

References

Further reading "Prize-Winning Poets". Concord Transcript. April 25, 1968. Lachtman, Howard (January 7, 2011). "Poet Laureate". The Record. Gilbert, Lori (January 11, 2019). "Photographer's new magazine tells stories of the Delta". The Stockton Record.

External links Howard Lachtman at WorldCat Howard Lachtman at SoundingsMag.net