"A pathbreaking, erudite work . . . Issel and Cherny have set the historiographical agenda for studying San Francisco politics. That is a major achievement"  Choice

"This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of American cities and the Bay Area in particular."  American Historical Review

"Extremely well written and highly readable.  As a result of thorough research in a wide variety of original and secondary sources and thoughtful interpretation and analysis, it succeeds in all categories. It not only adds a significant dimension to the historical study of the Pacific Coast metropolis but also makes an important contribution to the urban historiography of the nation at large."  Western Historical Quarterly

"There has been a recent outburst of superior historical scholarship on San Francisco.  Issel and Cherny's new book not only ranks with the best of it, but also builds on these new findings and interpretations . . . a very complete political history of San Francisco."  California History

"The authors' handling of all periods is excellent -- even handed and fair.  There is no hasty revisionism, trendy Marxist or otherwise; just solid historiographical research and thoughtful interpretation."  The Californians

"A very informative and enlightening study which makes good use of a wide range of primary and secondary materials and reveals much about political affairs and the process of urbanization in the Far West . . . should serve as a model for future scholarly writing on the political history of far western cities."  Arizona and the West

"This work is tightly organized, well-written, cogently argued and mercifully sparse in academic jargon."  San Francisco Review of Books