Why is Berkeley famous worldwide? Because of its inventiveness, its liberal attitudes, and its artists and writers. Did you know that public radio, California cuisine, the lie detector, the atomic bomb, free speech, the hot tub, and yuppies were all invented in this all-American city? J. Stitt Wilson, Berkeley's first Socialist mayor, once said, "Any kind of a day in Berkeley seems sweeter than the best day anywhere else." In How Berkeley Became Berkeley, Dave Weinstein goes about showing us just that. He tells the story of this unique city from the beginning-the 1840s-to present day by focusing on the events and people that made Berkeley into the famous-and infamous-place that it continues to be. More than any other general book about Berkeley, How Berkeley Became Berkeley brings the history of the town and the university to life with anecdotes that are amusing, surprising, sometimes shocking, and often touching. Dave Weinstein, a native of Long Island, New York, received his undergraduate degree in art history at Columbia University in 1973, and then studied journalism at UC Berkeley. He has lived in the Bay Area for thirty years, and spent twenty years as a reporter and editor for daily newspapers. Dave has written two books, Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the text for a photo book Berkeley Rocks. He writes for the magazine CA Modern, and for four years has been writing a popular series of architect profiles for the San Francisco Chronicle.

"A sweeping panorama of Berkeley by one of California's finest historians. Wollenberg knows this city like no one else, and he has the rare capacity to link a compelling local narrative to larger currents in American politics, economics and culture. This book has no rivals. Anyone who cares about Berkeley—and there are many—will devour it with pleasure."—Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, University of California, Berkeley

The Railroad Age, The Depression, World War II, The Atomic Age, The Sixties—these periods shaped and were in turn shaped by Berkeley, California—a city that has had a remarkable influence given its modest size. This concise book, the only up-to-date history of Berkeley, is a rich chronicle connecting the people, trends, and events that made the city to much larger themes in history. From the native builders of shellmounds to the blue-collar residents of Ocean View, the rise of the University of California, the World War II shipyards, and today's demographics and politics, it's all here in this fascinating account of the other beloved city by the bay. Along the way, we find the answers to many intriguing questions: Why is Adeline Street is so oddly aligned? How did Berkeley benefit from the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco? What differentiated Holy Hill from Nut Hill? Berkeley: A City in History offers a delightful sense of place to anyone who has lived in, worked in, or traveled through this unique city.

The world's most comprehensive, well documented and well illustrated book on this subject. With extensive subject and geographical index. 363 photographs and illustrations - many in color. Free of charge in digital PDF format.