A Short History of San Francisco

by Tom Cole and Thomas Cole

Book Overview

This is the story of San Francisco, a unique and rowdy tale with a legendary cast of characters. It tells of the Indians and the Spanish missions, the arrival of thousands of gold seekers and gamblers, crackbrains and dreamers, the building of the transcontinental railroad and the cable car, labor strife and political shenanigans, the 1906 earthquake and fire, two World Wars, two World's Fairs, two great bridges, the beatniks and hippies and New Left--a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597142735
• ISBN13: 9781597142731
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: Heyday Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A first-rate narrative!!!

I curled up with this book shortly after I moved to San Fran (1993) and found it impossible to put down. Tom Cole ably illumines the life and times of America's oddest city. His research is exhaustive - we are early in the book given a lesson on the geologic origins of the Bay itself; which turns out to be as engrossing and ironic a tale as any from the Barbary Coast!! This is also one of the few works about San Francisco that gives the plight of Ohlone natives the attention and consideration it sorely merits. It is a mark of Cole's considerable talent that he can tell one story with such sensitivity and, just pages later, transport us quite heart-poundingly into the throes of 'one of the most rip-roaring events in human history: the California gold rush.' If you like history, or travel, or California, or San Francisco, or plain ol' good reading, 'A Short History of San Francisco' delivers exponentially more than its $12.95 pricetag's worth. Super-recommended!!