Customer Reviews

San Francisco, You're History!: A Chronicle of the Politicians, Proselytizers, Paramours, and Performers Who Helped Create California's Wildest City

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It is a shame that Mr. Pierce is not a high school history teacher, as he is endowed with the infrequently encountered ability to make history come alive with humor, vitality and engaging anecdotes. Whether you are a fifth generation San Franciscan, or someone who lives ten thousand miles away (and never liked history in school) and has no intention to ever visit the City-by-the-Bay, SAN FRANCISCO, YOU'RE HISTORY! remains a book that you will find irresistible, unusual, and sometimes incredible. Pierce has crafted free-standing chapters, each one a unique and riveting story about San Francisco's charlatans (some you'll come to adore, such as Emperor Norton, the self proclaimed Emperor of North America and Protector of Mexico. When he died, more than 30,000 San Franciscans attended his funeral), con men and women, hustlers, robber barons, literati (Twain, Beirce and Bret Harte), eccentrics and more. This is one of those books that makes for great bedtime reading. Each chapter is easily read in a single sitting-- just pick one at random, or a chapter heading that seems to match your present mood. Pierce's spirited-style makes this book just as amusing to reread a second or third time. Pierce is a scholar who has employed extensive research time interviewing historians and sifting through the dark, cob webbed recesses of San Francisco's historical archives. He has deftly metamorphosed his raw material into cleverly written stories, leaving one laughing and smiling, while simultaneously discovering a great deal about the historic characters who helped forge and craft San Francisco into the world-class city that it is today.

I wish Mr. Pierce had been around when my school history text books were being purchased. He demonstrates, in his wonderful history of a unique city, that history is not about dates and place names. It's about people. And, as evidenced by this book, San Francisco has always attracted the most colorful kind. Now most people know that San Francisco is a great place. But this book will tell even long-time residents things they never knew about their fair city. For instance, I didn't know that part of the city was built on boats, or that the Emperor of the United States lived there. This book is a great read but it's also dangerous to those of us who live a significant distance from the City By The Bay. I'm already planning my next trip. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy this book.

This book's format would be perfect as bedtime reading, that is, if you wanted to tell your children stories about the shady characters that helped shape San Francisco. I was disappointed that the stories (each of which only takes about 5-10 minutes to read) seem to only graze the surface of each person/event, but overall the book is a good introduction to the city and its colorful past.

Unbelievable as it might seem; "San Francisco... You're History" has within it's pages a few interesting grains of truth, bean-stalk-seeds, or Pollyana inspirations. The curious juxtaposition of character, event, or institution always created in San Francisco a variety unseen elsewhere. One terrific addition to culture, Woodwards Gardens had the effect on public imagination as a circus museum or park, all rolled into one. If you dare to glance at the pages-you have to ask yourself

this question...Woodward's Gardens did inspire the Wizard of Oz and Zardoz? Look and see!