Kamiya provides a lively history of the city, each chapter tying events and historical figures to specific places and modern anecdotes. While I was expecting something more block-by-block - I'm a literalist - the end result is richer and more stimulating. His epic-scale exploration of a community isn't just the buildings, roads, and shores (though there's plenty of that!) - more importantly, it's the people, history, and cultural context that shape the places we visit every day. As described in the introduction, Kamiya sets out almost on a whim to explore each square mile. San Francisco isn't just where he lives, it's an important part of who he is. Which way do you live in your city?įrom the very first pages, Kamiya's love for the community of San Francisco sets the tone. The other way? You don't just live in a city - you live in that city's community. Sure, the city is part of your address and you can find the nearest grocery store, but that's about it. Living in a city can be done in two ways first, you can merely co-habitate with it. White's Here is New York, Jose Saramago's Journey to Portugal, and Alfred Kazin's A Walker in the City. Complete with hand-drawn maps of the 49 locations, this handsome package will sit comfortably on the short shelf of enduring books about places, alongside E.
This ambitious, eclectic, and beautifully written book draws on everything from on-the-ground reporting to obscure academic papers to the author's forty-year life in San Francisco to create a rich and insightful portrait of a magical corner of the world. From her absurd beginnings as the most distant and moth-eaten outpost of the world's most extensive empire to her instantaneous fame during the Gold Rush, from her apocalyptic destruction by earthquake and fire to her perennial embrace of rebels, dreamers, hedonists, and misfits of all stripes, the City by the Bay has always followed a trajectory as wildly independent as the untrammeled natural forces that created her. This unique approach captures the exhilarating experience of walking through San Francisco's sublime terrain while at the same time tying that experience to a history as rollicking and unpredictable as the city herself. Each of its 49 chapters explores a specific site or intersection in the city, from the mighty Golden Gate Bridge to the raunchy Tenderloin to the soaring sea cliffs at Land's End. Cool, Gray City of Love brings together an exuberant combination of personal insight, deeply researched history, in-depth reporting, and lyrical prose to create an unparalleled portrait of San Francisco.
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