This Is San Francisco: A Classic Portrait of the City

by Robert O'Brien, Antonio Sotomayer (Illustrations), Adair Lara (Foreword)

Its history filled with more larger-than-life characters and colorful stories than most cities twice its age, San Francisco has always gloried as much in the past as in the present. Published nearly 50 years ago and now available in paperback for the first time, This Is San Francisco is an affectionate, lively, carefully researched chronicle of the city from its inception to the end of World War II, as well as an unabashedly romantic portrait of its streets, neighborhoods, and people. Covering every part of the city, from the Embarcadero to Russian Hill, from Cow Hollow to Cliff House, this engaging, evocative volume opens the door for a new generation to San Francisco's rich and unforgettable past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[talia ♡]

my mom found a first edition copy of this book at a flea market, and inside was the loveliest little letter (attached to the map in the book!) from a child to their father ("to dear pop") for his birthday dated August 10, 1949 and i love it lots and lots and lots

[Christine Jeffords · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most portraits of the City by the Bay are straight history, but in this one--published just in the time for the centennial of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill--newspaper columnist O'Brien studies the city by dividing it into neighborhoods and concentrating on each in its turn. In the process, in a variant of Carlyle's "Great Men" school of history, he introduces us to a broad spectrum of San Francisco's makers--from the soldiers and Franciscans who founded it, through the American seamen who beached themselves there (and often prospered) during Spanish and Mexican days, the first '49ers, the Vigilantes, and the "crimpers" of the Barbary Coast, on through "characters" like Joshua "the Emperor" Norton and Chinatown crime boss Little Pete, genuine personalities like playwright and producer David Belasco, and even the hard-working blue-collar folk who lived "south of Market" and the businesses they patronized. At times his style approaches the poetic, and often--as is frequently true of San Franciscans generally--he waxes nostalgic over what life was like "before the Fire," as the local language has it. Those who, like me, "left their hearts in San Francisco" will enjoy learning something of the earlier days of the neighborhoods through which they trekked, and readers who are simply curious about how a city becomes what it is should find answers to many of their questions.

[Scout]

Orig. published in 1948 and based on a newspaper column in the Chronicle called "Riptides," this is an amazing book giving a very detailed and yet ultimately casual look at the very early days of San Francisco.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delicious book riddled with snack-size tales of the city. Explosions in the bay. Building the Barbary Coast. Hookers. Criminals. Politicians. And heroes. San Francisco's history is as exciting as its present.