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Synopsis
The history of the Barbary Coast properly begins with the gold rush to California in 1849. If the precious yellow metal hadn't been discovered ... the development of San Francisco's underworld in all likelihood would have been indistinguishable from that of any other large American city. Instead, owing almost entirely to the influx of gold-seekers and the horde of gamblers, thieves, harlots, politicians, and other felonious parasites who battened upon them, there arose a unique criminal district that for almost seventy years was the scene of more viciousness and depravity, but which at the same time possessed more glamour, than any other area of vice and iniquity on the American continent. The Barbary Coast is Herbert Asbury's classic chronicle of the birth of San Francisco—a violent explosion from which the infant city emerged full-grown and raging wild. From all over the world practitioners of every vice stampeded for the blood and money of the gold fields. Gambling dens ran all day including Sundays. From noon to noon houses of prostitution offered girls of every age and race. (In the 1850s, San Francisco was home to only one woman for every thirty men. It was not until 1910 that the sexes achieved anything close to parity in their populations.) This is the story of the banditry, opium bouts, tong wars, and corruption, from the eureka at Sutter's Mill until the last bagnio closed its doors seventy years later.
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About the Author
Herbert Asbury (1891–1963) was a prolific journalist and editor. His books include Carry Nation, All Around the Town, and The French Quarter. Thunder's Mouth Press is also publishing The Gangs of Chicago and The Gangs of New York.
Review
"A classic chronicle . . . a violent exposition from which the infant city emerged full-grown and raging wild." -- Police & Security News, December 2002
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- PublisherHippocrene Books
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0880294280
- ISBN 13 9780880294287
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages318
- Rating
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The Barbary Coast
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. An informal history of the San Francisco underworld. Due to age and/or environmental conditions, the pages of this book have darkened. Ex-Libris and is stamped as such. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Book. Seller Inventory # 123707441
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The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld
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Old Town Books, NY, 1989
ISBN 10: 0880294280
ISBN 13: 9780880294287
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The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld
Published by
Hippocrene Books, 1989
ISBN 10: 0880294280
ISBN 13: 9780880294287
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Nozz Book Foundation, Tigard, OR, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1989 First Edition. Very Good book with Very Good dustjacket. Not clipped. Crisp Copy. Seller Inventory # 136
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The Barbary Coast. An Informal History of The San Francisco Underworld
Published by
Old Town Books, NY, 1989
ISBN 10: 0880294280
ISBN 13: 9780880294287
Used
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Hardcover. Condition: VERY GOOD +. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Thus / First Printing. [6], 318pp, bound in half cloth, with the binding and hinges tight. NO LABELS, INSCRIPTIONS, NOR MARKINGS. The Dust Jacket is in a protective mylar cover, and is NOT price clipped. Light foxing to outer top page edges. Seller Inventory # 007942
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The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld
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