Berkeley Walks celebrates the things that make Berkeley such a wonderful walking city—diverse architecture, panoramic views, tree-lined neighborhoods, historic homes, unusual gardens, secret pathways, hidden parks, vibrant street life, trend-setting restaurants, and intriguing history. Fascinating and surprising sidelights include the apartment building from which Patty Hearst was kidnapped; Ted Kaczynski’s home before he became the Unabomber; and the residences of Nobel laureates and literary Berkeleyans such as Thornton Wilder, Ann Rice, and Philip K. Dick. Bob Johnson and Janet Byron—longtime city residents and tour guides—designed these 18 walks to showcase the many elements that make Berkeley’s neighborhoods, shopping districts, and academic areas such fun to explore. Visitors will discover a vibrant community beyond the University of California campus borders, while locals will be surprised and delighted by the treasures in their own backyards. Highlights of the book include a focus on architects Joseph Esherick, John Galen Howard, Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan, James Plachek, Walter Ratcliff, Jr., and John Hudson Thomas, 100 archival and original photos, and 20 maps, including a map of Berkeley bookstores.

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

Arsenic and old waste -- Commercializing chemical warfare -- Manufacturing petrotoxicty -- Public-private partnerships -- From oil well to farm.

"Resplendent.... A masterwork of history."--Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch In eyewitness testimonies and hundreds of remarkable photographs, The Battle for People's Park, Berkeley 1969 commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most searing conflicts that closed out the tumultuous 1960s: the Battle for People's Park. In April 1969, a few Berkeley activists planted the first tree on a University of California-owned, abandoned city block on Telegraph Avenue. Hundreds of people from all over the city helped build the park as an expression of a politics of joy. The University was appalled, and warned that unauthorized use of the land would not be tolerated; and on May 15, which would soon be known as Bloody Thursday, a violent struggle erupted, involving thousands of people. Hundreds were arrested, martial law was declared, and the National Guard was ordered by then-Governor Ronald Reagan to crush the uprising and to occupy the entire city. The police fired shotguns against unarmed students. A military helicopter gassed the campus indiscriminately, causing schoolchildren miles away to vomit. One man died from his wounds. Another was blinded. The vicious overreaction by Reagan helped catapult him into national prominence. Fifty years on, the question still lingers: Who owns the Park?