The Curious Autodidact

When I was a child my parents gathered up the kids an hauled us down to San Francisco to see what was up in the Haight. The trip down the coast was memorable, a car trip down the coast, and a close up look at a counter-culture that far exceeded the Seattle “Ave” during the 1960s or anything we’d heard about the happenings at the Blue Moon Tavern. Certainly closing down the Interstate with an anti-war protest was a lively happening, a precursor to the WTO protests to come.

“The Season of the Witch” is a great look at the San Francisco politics and the history of the city from 1967-1982. I didn’t recall that the whole Jim Jones cult had roots in the city and that is well told here as well as the many other things many of us will remember from decades ago. I only wish that more women were featured as the emphasis seems to be on men’s role in this historic time.

Whether you lived in the city or just kept track of the happenings there this book will be a great read.

KQED the local NPR affiliate features this great segment featuring David Talbot the book’s author.