"Kazin's book is about far more than the construction industry: it also illuminates the social and political history of San Francisco. . . . Gracefully written and adorned with evocative portraits of local political and labor leaders, Barons of Labor is absorbing reading as well as a fine piece of history."-- The Nation "A bold and pioneering work that revises our understanding of skilled craftsmen and the politics of class in the Progressive Era."-- Journal of American History "Barons of Labor, is superb work, carefully researched and written with clarity, vitality, and wit, a pleasure as well as an education to read." -- Labor History

Originally published in 1990, Signs of Change assess the people of San Francisco according to their own demonstrative standards through the visual symbols. Special attention is devoted to the visual perceptions of immigrants, those whose senses were not smothered by over-familiarity or protracted compliance with American mores. Immigration history is often studied in the concentrate exclusively on narrow connections between newcomers and their urban surroundings. The city has served as a data-base for the study of specific immigrant communities; frequently it has provided mere background for cloistered studies of immigrant life.

This book details the Italian immigrant experience in San Francisco from the Gold Rush to the Mayoralty of George Moscone - which is to say the entire life cycle of the Italian community - and defines the concept of community in a way never seen before.