Reading for San Francisco Tour Guides (63 books)

A resource for anyone looking to become a tour guide in San Francisco (or just really enjoys reading about this city's culture and history). Most of the titles here will be non-fiction but great works of fiction with strong ties to the city are also welcome!

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1	And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts 4.39 avg rating — 29,095 ratings score: 261, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	The Bohemians: Mark Twain and the San Francisco Writers Who Reinvented American Literature by Ben Tarnoff (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 761 ratings score: 260, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound by Ralph J. Gleason 3.89 avg rating — 38 ratings score: 251, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Ohlone Way by Malcolm Margolin 4.18 avg rating — 836 ratings score: 199, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	San Francisco Is Burning: The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires by Dennis Smith 3.59 avg rating — 420 ratings score: 192, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester 3.79 avg rating — 7,233 ratings score: 184, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Murders That Made Us: How Vigilantes, Hoodlums, Mob Bosses, Serial Killers, and Cult Leaders Built the San Francisco Bay Area by Bob Calhoun (Goodreads Author) 3.61 avg rating — 316 ratings score: 178, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Janis: Her Life and Music by Holly George-Warren (Goodreads Author) 4.13 avg rating — 2,821 ratings score: 171, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	A People's Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area (A People's Guide Series - volume 3) by Rachel Brahinsky really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 24 ratings score: 163, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	The White Devil's Daughters: The Fight Against Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown by Julia Flynn Siler (Goodreads Author) 3.95 avg rating — 739 ratings score: 159, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Music in the Air: The Selected Writings of Ralph J. Gleason by Ralph J. Gleason 3.95 avg rating — 21 ratings score: 151, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love by David Talbot 4.30 avg rating — 6,829 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963 - 1975 by Patrick Rosenkranz 4.20 avg rating — 59 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Maverix & Lunatix: Icons of Underground Comix by Drew Friedman 4.36 avg rating — 28 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World by Lynn Downey (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 67 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics / The Best of Bijou Funnies by Susan Goodrick 3.95 avg rating — 19 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The San Francisco Civic Center: A History of the Design, Controversies, and Realization of a City Beautiful Masterpiece by James W. Haas 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The underground comix family album by Malcolm Whyte 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey 4.01 avg rating — 7,126 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	San Francisco: Legends, Heroes & Heartthrobs by Dale Fehringer 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	San Francisco Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the City by the Bay by Trevor Felch 4.25 avg rating — 8 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	On the Road by Jack Kerouac 3.61 avg rating — 444,475 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Barbary Plague: The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco by Marilyn Chase (Goodreads Author) 3.84 avg rating — 1,107 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Recovering Inequality: Hurricane Katrina, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and the Aftermath of Disaster (The Katrina Bookshelf) by Steve Kroll-Smith 4.25 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Dirty Deeds: Land, Violence, and the 1856 San Francisco Vigilance Committee by Nancy J Taniguchi 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama 3.78 avg rating — 236 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist by Celia Stahr 4.02 avg rating — 478 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Black Fire: The True Story of the Original Tom Sawyer--and of the Mysterious Fires That Baptized Gold Rush-Era San Francisco by Robert Graysmith (Goodreads Author) 3.24 avg rating — 210 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Reckoning: Conversations With the Grateful Dead by Alan Paul (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 81 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute by Ivy Anderson (Editor) 4.09 avg rating — 294 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Silicon City: San Francisco in the Long Shadow of the Valley by Cary McClelland (Goodreads Author) 3.96 avg rating — 462 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling by Aphrodite Jones (Goodreads Author) 3.91 avg rating — 525 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Your Vigor for Life Appalls Me: The R. Crumb Letters 1958-1977 by Robert Crumb 3.32 avg rating — 130 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman 3.77 avg rating — 1,398 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Last Girl Standing by Trina Robbins 4.03 avg rating — 386 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 5,186 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L. Richards 3.63 avg rating — 223 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Exposing the Expositions 1851-1915- Revised 2021 by Howdie Mickoski (Goodreads Author) 4.14 avg rating — 14 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts 4.14 avg rating — 4,512 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Dancing with the Dead--A Photographic Memoir by Rosie McGee (Goodreads Author) 4.05 avg rating — 112 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 (Little House, #11) by Laura Ingalls Wilder 3.85 avg rating — 4,817 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Notorious San Francisco: True Tales of Crime, Passion and Murder by Paul Drexler 3.88 avg rating — 43 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Alcatraz-1259 by William G. Baker 3.72 avg rating — 1,785 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Building the Golden Gate Bridge: A Workers' Oral History by Harvey Schwartz 4.13 avg rating — 23 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero 4.28 avg rating — 34,741 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh 4.17 avg rating — 3,690 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Name Dropping: Tales from My Barbary Coast Saloon by Barnaby Conrad 4.15 avg rating — 67 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	When We Rise: My Life in the Movement by Cleve Jones 4.35 avg rating — 2,877 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn 4.16 avg rating — 19,293 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas by Rebecca Solnit 4.25 avg rating — 1,260 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco by Gary Kamiya 4.25 avg rating — 2,286 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly 4.39 avg rating — 2,528 ratings score: 59, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream by H.W. Brands 4.05 avg rating — 1,673 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall 4.06 avg rating — 1,907 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross 4.17 avg rating — 10,307 ratings score: 56, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh 4.21 avg rating — 6,356 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Way We Lived, The: California Indian Stories, Songs & Reminiscences by Malcolm Margolin (Editor) 4.24 avg rating — 117 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion 4.18 avg rating — 81,288 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Baghdad by the Bay by Herb Caen 4.05 avg rating — 78 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America by Erika Lee (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 160 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island by Laurence Yep 3.61 avg rating — 219 ratings score: 50, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld by Herbert Asbury 3.84 avg rating — 887 ratings score: 49, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Seismic City: An Environmental History of San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books) by Joanna L. Dyl 4.11 avg rating — 38 ratings score: 48, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars