Trade paperback, 448 pages,
5.5 x 8.5, 68 illustrations.
A Brief San Francisco history, bibliography, index.
Fifth printing,
Updated February 2006.
ISBN: 1-879367-03-3
$18.95

Historic Walks in San Francisco

18 Trails Through the City's Past

by Rand Richards

Eighteen self-guided walking tours down city streets that will take you back in time, with colorful stories about the buildings along the way and the people associated with them. Brimming with insight and the odd fact, laced with humor and drama, this unique guidebook sheds new light on the history of one of America's renowned cities. Easy-to-follow maps, and dozens of historic photographs, many of them rarely seen.

Tales of such well-known figures as Jack London, Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant, Emperor Norton, Lenny Bruce, and Janis Joplin, all of whom played roles in San Francisco's vibrant history.

Richards has unearthed lesser-known gems of the past, such as how:

• Television was invented in San Francisco in 1927 by a Mormon farm boy.

• Bull-versus-bear fights were held in the Mission District.

• The famed cartoonist Rube Goldberg owned a brothel in Chinatown.

• When his bank failed, the father of Isadora Duncan avoided arrest by employing an “only in San Francisco” stratagem.

• A peculiar artifact was found in an 1879 time capsule—and what is in the time capsule that will be opened in 2079.

Trade paperback, 320 pages,
5.5 x 8.5, 75 illustrations.
Chronology, appendix,
bibliography, index. 
Ninth Printing, Updated
April 2007.
ISBN: 1-879367-05-X
$17.95

Historic San Francisco

A Concise History and Guide

by Rand Richards

Despite the devastation of 1906, historic buildings and artifacts survive from every period of San Francisco's history. This lively narrative of The City from its very beginnings all the way through the earthquake of 1989 tells where to find the historic buildings, sights, and artifacts that make that history come alive.

"A wonderfully concise history of the city . . . in a remarkably accessible and enjoyable format." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"The best short history I have encountered."
(Jack Fairchild, history professor, San Francisco Community College District.)

"I like Historic San Francisco for the lively, unstuffy way it's written, for the way it's organized and the easy-to-follow maps. All in all, it's the best city guide of its kind." (Carolyn Strickler, former company historian, Los Angeles Times.)

Just a few of the things that you will find in Historic San Francisco.

• A 1623 Spanish cannon that once guarded the entrance to the Golden Gate
• A Gold nugget discovered by James Marshall at Coloma in January 1848.
• The last surviving Nob Hill mansion.
• The remains of an Indian encampment on the shores of San Francisco Bay dating from 400 B.C.
• Relics from the 1906 earthquake and fire,
• Historic walking tours of downtown San Francisco, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and Haight-Ashbury.

For more information, see: Contents, Illustrations, Preface, Introduction, Index.
Ordering Information.