And Deliverance in the City of Love

Well written and comprehensive account of events that we thought we were familiar with, but offered greater depth and insight giving the reader a refreshed and new perspective on events that shaped the Bay Area. It unfornately stopped short of the development of China Basin, building of AT&T park and teh Giants winning 3 championships. Just the history of the changes that occured in that area south of Market would make fascinating reading.

If you lived through the sixties and seventies, you will feel like you've gotten another chance to revisit the backdrop of your life. If you haven't, you'll feel like you did. David Talbot's book is so beautifully written and researched. Just joy. I'm grateful to him for taking the time to write it.

Probably my favorite book of the year. David Talbot does an incredible job of tying multiple decades of the dark side of San Francisco into a compelling and unbelievable story of unbelievable times. It was almost like being there....oh, I was!

A very readable chronicle of San Francisco at a very unstable time in its history. David Talbot kept me interested throughout. I had lived in the bay area during this time and discovered that I actually knew very little about what was happening in SF. Definitely worth the read.

It was history well written with attention to research and easy to read. I have lived in San Francisco during the entire time frame of this book. In my opinion all the bases were covered during the years covered. I lived them.

This is a great book that I really appreciate because it helped me understand modern San Francisco and appreciate the city and its contributions to today's US society so much more. Talbot's storytelling is enthralling and I'd recommend it to anyone going to, living in or interested in the city.

Excellent book. Captivating, well researched and consistently interesting. I was fortune to be in San Francisco, living in the Castro, in the 1970s and remember a lot of this "history". But also found events that I'd missed at the time. I was planning to just read the book and then resell it. But no, this is going right on my research shelf. I advise people who were there at the time to read it and people who weren't to read it and get an insider's view of a city going through an incredible change.

Each chapter is an essay on influential San Franciscans and the recent history and redemption of San Francisco. David Talbot transport the reader into the culture clash of the 60's, how we almost lost the Haight to the same redevelopment machine that killed the Fillmore. Moves into the 70's with the where the heart of San Francisco is at stake. Very timely book as the tech boom hits San Francisco and we face many similar questions.

Based on the highlights quoted from the featured professional reviews, I was expecting an unbiased history of the period. Instead, I was disappointed to find myself reading a hagiography of the rise of the liberal political establishment of San Francisco: a world where all the progressives are virtuous heroic underdogs fighting the good fight and all their opponents are racist thugs or unnamed reactionaries eager to exploit and/or repress the weak and poor. (As told, the story is not unlike the Warner Brothers movies of the 1930s that featured the author's father, actor Lyle Talbot.)

The only exception is the section on Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple where the new political class's bargain with the devil is well told. There is almost nothing about the left's adversaries in the old business community or why many of their businesses were eventually hounded out of the city. If you lived in the area during this time period and took a daily newspaper (or grew up in a leftist household), there is very little that is new or surprising here.

On the plus side, the author writes entertainingly and is materially accurate. I enjoyed remembering many of the events I lived though. However, I was frustrated by the narrow focus, the superficial analysis, and the very large cast of cardboard characters. The author is also uninterested for the most part in any economic or demographic information relevant to the period: this is history as a suite of action or morality tales.

If you are looking for an entertaining bit of partisan journalism, you might enjoy it. But if you want a work of serious reflection or history, I would look elsewhere.

I haven't finished reading Season of the Witch yet, but I am enjoying going back in time to my youth and remembering the people and places that are being brought back to me. It is interesting how the stories are being interwoven. I have lived in San Francisco since 1959 so I was around for all of this. I just finished the chapter on the Cockettes. I knew them personally, and they were quite the troop. I can't wait to finish the book.

Excellent summary of the events and people during the 1960s-1980s in San Francisco. Deals with the Summer of Love, Jonestown, the Milk/Moscone, killings, the Patty Hearst kidnapping, and many other events. He produces the stories in excellent form, and keeps the attention of the reader glued to the book.

I highly recommend it.

Ralph

This is a quintessential history of my coming of age in San Francisco. I remember the 60's and depression of the 70's. The set up at the beginning of the book is very informative to anyone who either lived/lives in San Francisco, and the ensuing chronicles are just amazing, whether you were here to live through it or not.
This is a GREAT book to read! It is very interesting and fully describes the character and history of a time in the City of my birth that truly changed the way things were done here and around the US, if not the world.
I am going to have to go through the book again for the addresses of all the places in the Haight-Ashbury that I pass by all the time and never knew who lived there.
Thank You Mr. Talbot for your loving history of a time in my City that means so much to me.
Everyone who lives here should read this book to truly understand who we are and where we came from.

A wild ride through San Francisco tumultuous years, in an accessible and engrossing read. Talbot provides an insider's look into the people and events that shaped the City from the 60s to the 90s. This is a book for long time residents and newcomers alike.

I was interested in the history of San Francisco's evolution from a safe and very conservative ( small c) town to a city that was sfe for all the unconventional people, but maybe no longer a good place for the traditional types. Of course, it is all changing again with the influx of the wealthy techies.

I have lived in San Francisco for over 25 years. I never expected to learn so much and to be so entertained. He's no Virginia Wolfe when one judges his writing style, but the content is truly fascinating. I highly recommend it.

If you are interested in San Francisico this book is a pleasure to read.
It covers topics you would not think about.
So you get a education about the people and times that made
San Francisco one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

... (as other reviewers have said) ... you will love this book. It is fascinating: Jim Jones to Joe Montana to Harvey Milk to the Summer of Love. You will likely learn a lot about SF and, really, the whole country, and be the better for it.