Season of the Witch, David Talbot
Season of the Witch, David Talbot
8 Rating(s)
List: $44.99 | Sale: $31.50
Club: $22.49

Season of the Witch
Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love

Author: David Talbot

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Unabridged: 15 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 05/08/2012


Synopsis

Season of the Witch is the first audiobook to fully capture the dark magic of San Francisco in this breathtaking period, when the city radically changed itself—and then revolutionized the world. The cool gray city of love was the epicenter of the 1960s cultural revolution. But by the early 1970s, San Francisco’s ecstatic experiment came crashing down from its starry heights. The city was rocked by savage murder sprees, mysterious terror campaigns, political assassinations, street riots, and finally a terrifying sexual epidemic. No other city endured so many calamities in such a short time span.David Talbot takes us deep into the riveting story of his city’s ascent, decline, and heroic recovery. He draws intimate portraits of San Francisco’s legendary demons and saviors: Charles Manson, Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Bill Graham, Herb Caen, the Cockettes, Harvey Milk, Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, Joe Montana and the Super Bowl 49ers. He reveals how the city emerged from the trials of this period with a new brand of “San Francisco values,” including gay marriage, medical marijuana, immigration sanctuary, universal health care, recycling, renewable energy, consumer safety, and a living wage mandate. Considered radical when they were first introduced, these ideas have become the bedrock of decent society in many parts of the country, and exemplify the ways that the city now inspires us toward a live-and-let-live tolerance, a shared sense of humanity, and an openness to change.As a new generation of activists and dreamers seeks its own path to a more enlightened future, Season of the Witch—with its epic tale of the wild and bloody birth of San Francisco values—offers both inspiration and cautionary wisdom.

About David Talbot

David Talbot, author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, is the founder of Salon. He lives in San Francisco.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fern on September 15, 2013

I was excited to read this book about the history of San Francisco-focusing in on the period between 1967-1982. I grew up in the city during this time and was curious to see what Talbot would have to say about the era. While I appreciated the writing and personal narratives from famous San Francisco......more

Goodreads review by Ann on April 16, 2013

It wasn't always peace and love in San Francisco. Or actually - ever. The hot second of 'gentle people with flowers in their hair' quickly gave way to a myriad of social misery - overdoses, VD, abandoned children, racism, AIDS, murder, manslaughter, etc. The problem was the myth we sang about far ou......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on November 06, 2013

WOW! This dazzling page turner tells much of the history of San Francisco during the time I've lived here. From 1966 in the ramp up to the Summer of Love through the Big Gay Immigration boom which brought me here in 1976 through drugs, politics, sex, cults, murders and scandals, this book gets to th......more

Goodreads review by Mal on April 06, 2017

It’s difficult to imagine any city in North America that has experienced such a short and intense period of tumult and terror as did San Francisco from the mid-60s to the early 1980s. The Summer of Love. The racist Zebra killings. The People’s Temple mass suicide. The assassination of Harvey Milk and......more

Goodreads review by Richard on June 15, 2019

This is a sometimes heart-wrenching and sometimes ecstatic narrative of the dramatic era that brought San Francisco through some incredible times and changes. I can’t say it any better than this review: San Francisco’s Darkest Hours: The founder of Salon takes a fascinating tour of the Golden Gate C......more