Mike Sullivan loves his adopted city of San Francisco, and he loves trees. In The Trees of San Francisco he has combined his passions, offering a striking and handy compendium of botanical information, historical tidbits, cultivation hints, and more. Sullivan's introduction details the history of trees in the city, a fairly recent phenomenon. The text then piques the reader's interest with discussions of 71 city trees. Each tree is illustrated with a photograph--with its common and scientific names prominently displayed--and its specific location within San Francisco, along with other sites; frequently a close-up shot of the tree is included. Sprinkled throughout are 13 sidelights relating to trees; among the topics are the city's wild parrots and the trees they love; an overview of the objectives of the Friends of the Urban Forest; and discussions about the link between Australia's trees and those in the city, such as the eucalyptus. The second part of the book gets the reader up and about, walking the city to see its trees. Full-page color maps accompany the seven detailed tours, outlining the routes; interesting factoids are interspersed throughout the directions. A two-page color map of San Francisco then highlights 25 selected neighborhoods ideal for viewing trees, leading into a checklist of the neighborhoods and their trees.
Capturing an ever-changing San Francisco, 25 acclaimed writers tell their stories of living in one of the most mesmerizing cities in the world. Over the last few decades, San Francisco has experienced radical changes with the influence of Silicon Valley, tech companies, and more. Countless articles, blogs, and even movies have tried to capture the complex nature of what San Francisco has become, a place millions of people have loved to call home, and yet are compelled to consider leaving. In this beautifully written collection, writers take on this Bay Area-dweller's eternal conflict: Should I stay or should I go? Including an introduction written by Gary Kamiya and essays from Margaret Cho, W. Kamau Bell, Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Daniel Handler, Bonnie Tsui, Stuart Schuffman, Alysia Abbott, Peter Coyote, Alia Volz, Duffy Jennings, John Law, and many more, The End of the Golden Gate is a penetrating journey that illuminates both what makes San Francisco so magnetizing and how it has changed vastly over time, shapeshifting to become something new for each generation of city dwellers. With essays chronicling the impact of the tech-industry invasion and the evolution, gentrification, and radical cost of living that has transformed San Francisco's most beloved neighborhoods, these prescient essayists capture the lasting imprint of the 1960s counterculture movement, as well as the fight to preserve the art, music, and other creative movements that make this forever the city of love. For anyone considering moving to San Francisco, wishing to relive the magic of the city, or anyone experiencing the sadness of leaving the bay—and ultimately, for anyone that needs a reminder of why we stay. Bound to be a long-time staple of San Francisco literature, anyone who has lived in or is currently living in San Francisco will enjoy the rich history of the city within these pages and relive intimate memories of their own. • GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY: A percentage of the proceeds will be given to charities that help those in the bay experiencing homelessness. Every copy purchased offers a small way to help those in need.
The Apex Book of World SF, edited by Lavie Tidhar, features award-winning science fiction and fantasy short stories from Asia, Eastern Europe and around the world. The world of speculative fiction is expansive; it covers more than one country, one continent, one culture. Collected here are sixteen stories penned by authors from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Israel, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Malaysia, and other countries across the globe. Each one tells a tale breathtakingly vast and varied, whether caught in the ghosts of the past or entangled in a postmodern age. Among the spirits, technology, and deep recesses of the human mind, stories abound. Kites sail to the stars, technology transcends physics, and wheels cry out in the night. Memories come and go like fading echoes and a train carries its passengers through more than simple space and time. Dark and bright, beautiful and haunting, the stories herein represent speculative fiction from a sampling of the finest authors from around the world. Table of Contents: S.P. Somtow (Thailand) — “The Bird Catcher” Jetse de Vries (Netherlands) — “Transcendence Express” Guy Hasson (Israel) — “The Levantine Experiments” Han Song (China) — “The Wheel of Samsara” Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji) — “Ghost Jail” Yang Ping (China) — “Wizard World” Dean Francis Alfar (Philippines) — “L’Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars)” Nir Yaniv (Israel) — “Cinderers” Jamil Nasir (Palestine) — “The Allah Stairs” Tunku Halim (Malaysia) — “Biggest Baddest Bomoh” Aliette de Bodard (France) — “The Lost Xuyan Bride” Kristin Mandigma (Philippines) — “Excerpt from a Letter by a Social-realist Aswang” Aleksandar Žiljak (Croatia) — “An Evening in the City Coffehouse, With Lydia on My Mind” Anil Menon (India) — “Into the Night” Mélanie Fazi (France, translated by Christopher Priest) — “Elegy” Zoran Živković (Serbia, translated by Alice Copple-Tošić) — “Compartments” Cover art and design by Sarah Anne Langton. Reviews: “From S.P. Somtow’s World Fantasy Award-winning “The Bird Catcher,” a restrained horror tale of a young boy’s friendship with Thailand’s most infamous human “monster,” to “Wizard World,” Galaxy Award winner Yang Ping’s story of high-tech gamers, this extraordinary anthology of 16 tales introduces English-speaking readers to some of the world’s best writers of sf, horror, fantasy, and metafiction. Contributors include Jamil Nasir (Palestine), Aleksandar Ziljak (Croatia), Guy Hasson (Israel), Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji), and Jetse de Vries (Netherlands). VERDICT This literary window into the international world of imaginative fiction, the first in a new series, is sure to appeal to adventurous sf fans and readers of fiction in translation." —Library Journal “The great thing about Tidhar’s collection is that it is full of such masterpieces. You do have to get used to having your mind warped as if by some powerful psychedelic. You’ll definitely feel that way after Zoran Zivkovic and his Godot-like explorations. Or after Guy Hassan’s thought experiment about the nature of mind and thought. But once you get used to the idea, you can settle in and enjoy the ride.” —42SciFi-Fantasy.com, Randy Lazarus "These stories deserve to be heard!" —Frederik Pohl
Hundreds of public stairways traverse San Francisco's 42 hills, exposing incredible vistas while connecting colorful, unique neighborhoods, and veteran guide Adah Bakalinsky loves them all. Her updated Stairway Walks in San Francisco explores well-known and clandestine corridors from Lands End to Bernal Heights while sharing captivating architectural, historical, pop culture, and horticultural notes along the way. This revised and expanded edition has been thoroughly updated and includes two additional walks, new maps, and new color photographs. The two new walks presented are: The Blue Greenway Walking, a new history, which follows the Embarcadero and weaves along the present day contour of the Bay into the future parklands and new neighborhood of San Francisco; and Jazz Takes A Walk in the Sunnyside neighborhood where the undulating geology of San Francisco invites one to hear the dance in the walk. A comprehensive appendix lists every one of the City's 600-plus public stairways. Long-term residents and tourists alike have used the book for over 25 years to adventurously uncover San Francisco's unexpected details.
A concise, “colorful, well-told” history of the City by the Bay, from the Gold Rush to the Summer of Love to the twenty-first century (Los Angeles Times). This is the story of San Francisco, a unique and rowdy tale with a legendary cast of characters. It tells of the Indians and the Spanish missions, the arrival of thousands of gold seekers and gamblers, crackbrains and dreamers, the building of the transcontinental railroad and the cable car, labor strife and political shenanigans, the 1906 earthquake and fire, two World Wars, two World's Fairs, two great bridges, the beatniks and hippies and New Left—a story that is so marvelous and wild that it must be true. A new afterword from the author in this updated third edition brings The City into the twenty-first century—a time just as hectic, experimental, and opportunistic as its rambunctious past.
San Francisco's famous citywide scenic driving route has been reinvented for a new generation as a green, healthy walking adventure. This turn-by-turn guide takes visitors and natives alike on 17 different up-close walking tours, passing by and through the city's major sights, fascinating neighborhoods, and breathtaking vistas.
Kids will count to 10 with some of San Francisco's most beloved symbols—the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, fortune cookies, Dungeness crabs, and the sea lions on Pier 39—in this board book featuring contemporary illustrations, dazzling colors, and bold, clear design. The end of the book includes a complete location list, in both English and Spanish, to help parents locate the symbols and landmarks and plan an entertaining trip to San Francisco.
