Our Better Nature, Environment and the Making of San FranciscoE. "Doc" Smithbyline‚ Jun. 11‚ 2009Author Phillip J. Dreyfus has penned a fantastic new book, detailing the history of the urban growth of San Francisco and the delicate balancing act of managing its place in nature against the demands of an ever-growing population. Dreyfus weaves a fascinating narrative; from the city's earliest inhabitants, the Ahlone tribe, to the Spanish conquistadors; the arrival of the Eastern Europeans, the Gold Rush of 1849; the birth of the Sierra Club and the modern environmental movement, spearheaded by John Muir. From the battle over the use of Hetch Hetchy, the Bay Area's big quake of 1906, the early designs and planning of Golden Gate Park, to the freeway battle of 1959, one gets a new perspective on how one of the most compelling locations in California became the city we call San Francisco. |