Season of the Witch
Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love
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4.4 • 141 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A riveting history of San Francisco’s transformation—from the Summer of Love to the AIDS crisis—told through the lives, struggles, and triumphs that defined an era.
From the founder of Salon comes a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller that captures one of America’s most extraordinary cities at its most volatile and visionary.
In Season of the Witch, David Talbot chronicles the cultural and political evolution of San Francisco from the late 1960s through the early 1980s—a period of upheaval, idealism, and rebirth. Against the backdrop of protests, assassinations, and radical change, the city emerges as a microcosm of the nation’s own growing pains.
Through a sweeping narrative rich with unforgettable figures—Harvey Milk, Janis Joplin, Jim Jones, Bill Walsh, Dianne Feinstein, and more—Talbot reveals how San Francisco transformed from a haven for dreamers and outcasts into a symbol of modern American progress. From the psychedelic haze of Haight-Ashbury to the violence of Jonestown and the hope of the gay rights movement, this is the story of a city that lost its innocence and found its soul.
Both gripping and deeply human, Season of the Witch is a masterwork of narrative history—an essential chronicle of rebellion, tragedy, and triumph that reshaped the City by the Bay.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Late 1960s San Francisco faced an identity crisis: conservative Irish values clashed with the breed of homegrown liberalism that had begun to spread nationwide. Covering 15 fraught years (1967 1982), journalist Talbot (Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years) reveals a community so hell-bent on inclusion that it inadvertently embraced evil. Exhaustive research yields penetrating character studies: the Summer of Love unfolds as Janis Joplin rose in her feathery boa; Jerry Garcia and Mountain Girl narrowly escaped drug-related arrest; and a sparkle-dusted transvestite named Hibiscus revived drag shows. Talbot incisively relates the atmosphere of service in the Haight, populated with intrepid lawyers who defended revolutionaries, open-minded physicians who treated local drug addicts, and liberal clergymen who embraced teen runaways. With the homecoming of Vietnam veterans and an influx of amphetamines, however, the music scene fades as the city faces an outbreak of violence. Into a revolution "launched with the grandest intentions" slips Charles Manson, the Symbionese Liberation Army, the bomb-wielding New World Liberation Front, and Jim Jones's Flavor Aid carnage. In a surprising ending, Talbot convincingly suggests that imperfect new mayor Dianne Feinstein resurrected the city's heart as it rallied around the 49ers. In exhilarating fashion, Talbot clears the rainbow mist and brings San Francisco into sharp focus.
Customer Reviews
Loved this book
Recommend if you live or lived in SF
Leftist drivel.
I was born and raised in The City. (1955) Talbots account is based on highly selective sources., all from the left. It is not an accurate portrayal of The City in the 60’s and 70’s.
Season of the Witch
I'm born and raised San Franciscan. I lived through these times, I smiled about the Summer of Love and remembered the innocence, I cried again at the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk ( we were still reeling over the killings in Guyana and the People's Temple). The '49ers and The Catch that won the Super Bowl also made me cry ears of joy. When it came to the AIDS epidemic and the way my City responded I felt so much pride. We lost so mama you bright stars. Reading about Herb Caen and his love affair with The City took me back to my childhood and how my father read his column faithfully and instilled in me the joy of Herb Caen. The Chronicle died when Herb Caen died. This book captures my life in The City by The Bay and my own love affair with this beautiful and foggy City. Thank you.