Good Life in Hard Times: San Franicisco in the '20s and '30s

by Jerry Flamm

The 1920s and '30s were exciting times in San Francisco, filled with joy and optimism despite the Great Depression. Now back in print, Jerry Flamm's acclaimed history of the City glows with the romance of the days before the bridges, when San Franciscans entertained themselves swimming at the Sutro Baths and watching the Seals play baseball at Recreation Park. Ferry excursions across the bay meant evenings in Marin dancing under the stars or sunny afternoons at the "Coney Island of the West" in Alameda. Flamm's reminiscences of his youthful adventures in the City's neighborhoods and his time as a reporter in the anything-for-a-scoop newspaper game are rich with insider portraits of San Francisco's most colorful crooks, socialites, shopkeepers, ballplayers, and bigwigs. Good Life in Hard Times sheds light on a golden era of San Francisco history, when life was hard but anything was possible.

Genres: History

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Christopher Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for those who grew up or wish they'd grown up in the City by the Bay. In this case, the growing up would have taken place seventy to ninety years ago, in a city unknown or pretty much forgotten, when the Fillmore was a Jewish neighborhood, the San Francisco Seals were the reigning baseball team, and ferry boats ruled the bay. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but then I was born and raised in San Francisco.