San Francisco, Portrait of a City: 1940-1960 Hardcover – Picture Book, September 16, 2014

Delightful book. An authentic peek into early, post-war San Francisco. Fred Lyon really captures the soul of the city in this collection of photographs. The Golden Gate Bridge, Market Street, Chinatown, North Beach (the Italian Settlement), The Palace Hotel, The Barbary Coast, Fisherman's Wharf and that mysterious fog that can turn "The City" into a film noir set in a matter of minutes. All this and more are present in this well produced work. For those of us who grew up in or around this intriguing metropolis these images remind us of why we loved that town so much. I use the word "loved" because the city depicted between the covers of this book no longer exists. Not that San Francisco isn't still appealing - it is. You couldn't possibly destroy it's natural beauty. But it is no longer the blue-collar city it once was with a manufacturing and industrial base, maritime activity, breweries, coffee roasting, and most significantly, all those beautiful families and kids.Urban renewal, gentrification and high tech have changed San Francisco's face and flavor forever. The old ethnic neighborhoods with their unique sights and sounds exist as only shadows of their former selves. The remnants preserved for little more than the sake of tourism. I grew up across the bay from "The City" and when these pictures were taken a visit to San Francisco was a real event. We wore our Sunday best and our mother would not be caught dead without her finest hat and whitest gloves in full view. Window shopping in all those grand old department stores was an experience I've never forgotten (especially at Christmas). Children instinctively knew these trips demanded our absolute best behavior. And unlike today, you would have been hard pressed to find any homeless, any panhandlers or that ubiquitous stench of urine. If any scent was detectible it was the smell of fresh baked bread, roasted coffee, fresh fish (if you were down by the wharf) or the fragrance of freshly cut flowers from the numerous street vendors. This was San Francisco in the 1950s.And this is the reason I found this book such a treat. It captured a good number of those wonderful memories. One of my aunts was living in San Francisco during the quake of '06 and an uncle retired as a fireman here. Their hearts were rooted in this town. Were they alive, today, I would be buying copies for each of them. They would have loved it too.

I have purchased many items from Amazon but have never written a review until now. I should explain that I am 1940's-San Francisco born and find this book a disappointment. First, the book I received was damaged--it appears like it was dropped onto one of its corners so the front and back covers' corners are bent. Second, some of the photos appear "fuzzy." Third, upon my initial scan, I spotted a couple of (I think) errors: p39, "Cable car, Jones and Taylor Streets"--the photo is of a cable car approaching a turn but the two streets mentioned in the description are parallel; p114, "Chinatown fish market, trout"--the photo is of some fish atop pages from a Chinese language newspaper but the paper's date (in Chinese characters) is May 23, 1991. Finally, in my opinion, a bit more detail in the description of each of the photos, at least a date, would have been a welcome enhancement. In spite of the preceding, I will be keeping the book as it is too much trouble to return it and I have no other collection of photos from San Francisco from the period.

This is an incredible book of photos, and the back stories are really interesting, too. Beautifully printed and hardbound, it is a must-have for anyone interested in photography, especially for anyone who is totally in love with the City! For those of us who consider San Francisco to be our Mistress, one book of photos is never enough. In fact, a whole entire library of a collection of books about the Bay area is never going to be enough! But whether you’re new to the City, or a long-time resident, or a traveler who loves to spend endless hours discovering San Francisco’s history, its magnificence and charm, Fred Lyon’s book covering periods between 1940 and 1960 is a great place to start. There’s plenty more where that came from!.

Beautiful book. My only complaint of these type books is when they put the best pictures over two pages. I'd rather have a smaller version not cut in the middle. The book has 233 pages, with a picture on every page, and a small caption--often telling the location. That's very helpful to me since I live in San Francisco and want to know where the pictures were taken so I can compare.The paper is a nice quality, heavy weight with just a bit of a sheen. All photos are black and white and they are perfect.

If you know a native San Franciscan born around this era, buy them this book! The Italian side of my family moved to SF in the 1890's and my father was born in 44'. We went through this book together and it was an enlightening, educational and nostalgic moment. I saw tears in his eyes a few times. I miss our fair city and am sad it's no longer accessible to the people who made it what it is.

Purchased for my mother who grew up outside of San Francisco in the 40’s/50’s. She has early stage dementia and the delight in her face while looking through this book was a blessing for all of us.

Beautiful photography of San Francisco during a golden period. The book is hard cover with high-quality paper bringing added richness to the stunning black & white images. I love the book on two levels, one as a historical document and the other for its sheer art.

I grew up in San Francisco in the 50s and 60s. Such a fabulous collection of photos of the City as I remembered it! I climbed those hills, walked Ocean Beach and hung out a Playland. Beautiful photos and great nostalgia.

Great, atmospheric photographs of my favourite city.

On time and as advertised. And excellent visual account.

Great set of photos. Of special interest to a SF native such as myself. Would make a great gift for other SFers.

Ottimo per chi come me adora la città californiana di San Francisco.Il libro ripercorre attraverso vecchie fotografie la città come era un tempo, accompagnato da parti scritte facili da leggere anche se in lingua inglese.Copertina rigida e formato del libro comodo da sfogliare anche sul divano.

San Francisco è una città dal fascino straordinario, per la struttura architettonica e per la peculiarità del paesaggio. E' stata ritratta da molti fotografi, tra i quali Ansel Adams che ci abitava. lo stile di Fred Lyon è completamente diverso da quello di Ansel Adams, e ci consegna immagine diverse, di pulsante vita quotidiana. Se di Adams apprezziamo la perfezione stilistica, Lyon ci conquista con l'immediatezza dell'immagine, che ricorda quella dei grandi fotografi francesi, da Cartier Bresson a Lartigue e Doisneau. Le immagini in bianco e nero atutta pagina sono piuttosto variate: dalle foto aeree alle istantanee di botteghe e passanti. Lo stile Leica offre una qualità di immagine oggi non più usuale: in molte fotografie la grana della pellicola è evidente, e il contrasto è elevato. A molti questo stile potrebbe non piacere e sicuramente il libro non è fatto di immagini patinate: ma il documento d'epoca, creato una volta e mai più successivamente possibile ha un sapore inimitabile.