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What is Sparkletack?
Sparkletack is the blog and podcast of a guy who's obsessed with diggin' up San Francisco history. » About Richard
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Blog/Podcast Updates
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San Francisciana
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"Having you back is like having the return of the Beatles. You are a masterful story teller and I can’t wait to hear what will spill out of your repertoire."
Shop my Bookshelf!
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A few of my favourite San Francisco-centric reads ... historiophilic pleasure guaranteed or double your brain cells back!
The Barbary Coast
Herbert Asbury's mesmerizing survey of Francisco's dark, filthy & frantic underground history, whose denizens -- freaks, bullies, hookers, dandies, opium smokers, and loose nuts of every variety -- are absolutely unforgettable.
Roughing It
Samuel Clemen's wide-eyed account of his Western transformation into Mark Twain. It's half-autobiography, half-high-grade B.S., and 100% entertainment! Here's my review of Uncle Mark's work: »
River of Shadows
The subtitle -- "Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West" -- just hints at the depth of history and analysis in this beautifully written and meticulously researched work. Fascinating and gorgeous ... read my review: »
San Francisco Memoirs
1835-1851: Eyewitness Accounts of the Birth of a City
The sleepy village of Yerba Buena becomes the boomtown of San Francisco -- in the voices of its own residents.
More San Francisco Memoirs
1852-1899: The Ripening Years
In this sequel to Malcolm Barker's "San Francisco Memoirs", the saga continues; from the Gold Rush to the Gilded age, San Franciscans tell our story in their own words.
- For deeper perusal of my San Francisco history books, visit the Sparkletack bookshelf at Powells.com:
The Podcasts:
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 05.18.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 05.11.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 05.04.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 04.20.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 04.13.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 04.06.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 03.30.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 03.23.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 03.09.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 03.02.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 02.23.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 02.16.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 02.09.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 02.02.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.26.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.19.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.12.09
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.05.09
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, December 22-31
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, December 15-21
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, December 8-14
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, December 1-7
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, November 24-30
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, November 17-23
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, November 10-16
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, November 3-9
- Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, October 27-November 2
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, October 20-26
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, October 13-19
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, October 6-12
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, September 29-October 5
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, September 22-28
- Something new: weekly Time-capsule podcast, September 15-21
- #66: alma de bretteville spreckels
- #65: memories of an argonaut
- #64: san francisco’s treasure island (pt. 2)
- #63: san francisco’s treasure island (pt. 1)
- #62: samuel holladay, pioneer squatter of lafayette park
- #61: lefty o’doul — the man in the green suit
- #60: starr king and the california civil war (pt. 2)
- #59: starr king and the california civil war (pt. 1)
- #58: the crocker spite fence
- #57: the reber plan for san francisco bay
- #56: lotta crabtree — the san francisco favourite
- #55: caruso, the palace, and the 1906 earthquake
- #54: the notorious lola montez
- #53: the bella union and the barbary coast
- #52.5: the trolls of san francisco
- #52: adolph sutro, the populist millionaire
- #51: the columbarium and the caretaker
- #50: the balclutha and the chantey sing
- #49: sam clemens and the celebrated jumping frog
- #48: mark twain and the great earthquake of 1865
- #47: robert louis stevenson — chinatown treasure
- #46: san francisco fortune cookie
- #45: frank chu just shows up
- #44: moving the dead — san francisco cemeteries
- #43: san francisco motorcycle club — since 1904
- #42: alexander leidesdorff — the black millionaire
- #41: the golden gate bridge, a modest proposal
- #40: luisa tetrazzini and christmas eve
- #39: the great diamond hoax
- #38: rudyard kipling in san francisco
- #37: philo t. farnsworth
- #36: birth of san francisco #3
- #35: birth of san francisco #2
- #34: the san francisco twins
- #33: andrew smith hallidie — father of the cable car
- #32: letter from the gold rush, 1850
- #31: carville — a lost neighborhood
- #30: streets of san francisco #2
- #29: the legend of black bart
- #28: birth of san francisco #1
- #27: patty hearst, revolutionary sweetheart
- #26: streets of san francisco #1
- #25: charles cora and the 2nd vigilance committee
- #24: alcatraz
- #23: the wave organ
- #22: the china clipper
- #21: Emperor Norton
- #20: fog city
- #19: the mission burrito
- #18: firebelle lil — elizabeth “lillie” coit
- #17: the san francisco "conversation"
- #16: san francisco pyramid
- #15: the golden gate bridge and suicide
- #14: the golden fire hydrant of san francisco
- #13: the wild parrots of telegraph hill
- #12: san francisco blue jeans
- #11: straight razor morning
- #10: the ruination of fatty arbuckle
- #9: schadenfreude and san francisco high society
- #8: corpseflower at san francisco conservatory
- #7: san francisco shanghai
- #6: where’s the food?
- #5: san francisco fireworks – on the air
- #4: steam beer – the authentic san francisco style
- #3: street flowers
- #2: dogs in the pharoah
- sparkletack #1
