false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172805913m/219862.jpg 219862 1 Oakland is a blues city, brawling and husky . . .<br><br>Often overshadowed by San Francisco, its twinkling sister city across the Bay, Oakland is itself an American wonder. The city is surrounded by and filled with natural beauty&#8212;mountains and hills and lakes and a bay&#8212;and architecture that mirrors its history as a Spanish mission, Gold Rush outpost, and home of the West&#8217;s most devious robber barons. It&#8217;s also a city of artists and blue-collar workers, the birthplace of the Black Panthers, neighbor to Berkeley, and home to a vibrant and volatile stew of immigrants and refugees.<br><br>In <b>Blues City</b>, Ishmael Reed, one of our most brilliant essayists, takes us on a tour of Oakland, exploring its fascinating history, its beautiful hills and waterfronts, and its odd cultural juxtapositions. He takes us into a year in the life of this amazing city, to black cowboy parades and Indian powwows, to Black Panther reunions and Gay Pride concerts, to a Japanese jazz club where a Lakota musician plays Coltrane&#8217;s &#8220;Naima.&#8221; Reed provides a fascinating tour of an un-tamed, unruly western outpost set against the backdrop of political intrigues, ethnic rivalries, and a gentrification-obsessed mayor, opening our eyes not only to a singular city, but to a newly emerging America. 212877 21 10 2003 Blues City: A Walk in Oakland (Crown Journeys) total:31|5:4|4:6|3:16|2:4|1:1| 31 101 63 10 2 0 false false Fri Feb 06 22:39:15 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 09:18:27 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 22:39:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 03 15:53:34 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 15:58:27 -0800 2009
This book is worth reading but not especially great or illuminating. However, if you don't happen to know a whole lot about Oakland before reading, you will get more out of this bk than I d...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Sep 19 14:40:08 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 14:41:20 -0700 2009 I like the way each of the books in the Crown Journeys series is part city history, part memoir, and part travel landmarks/recommendations]]> 4 0 false false Mon May 26 13:10:24 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 13:10:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 15:20:26 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 15:21:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jan 16 20:26:58 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 20:27:34 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Jul 07 23:50:05 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 23:50:58 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Sep 05 14:45:36 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 14:56:27 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 31 23:24:05 -0800 2008 Thu May 29 10:39:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Mar 01 19:25:26 -0800 2007 Thu Mar 01 21:11:14 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Tue Sep 29 15:56:09 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 15:56:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 23 07:33:59 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 07:33:59 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 16 08:33:15 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 08:33:15 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 15 18:56:33 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 18:56:33 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 17:10:03 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 17:10:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Apr 09 11:05:35 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 14:32:01 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Aug 27 08:05:03 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 03 09:59:58 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 27 08:05:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Feb 25 20:38:32 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 15 18:18:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Feb 06 01:12:27 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 01:12:27 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jan 12 07:27:55 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 07:28:03 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=219862