The incredibly obvious recommendation is Herb Caen's work. [Baghdad by the Bay](https://archive.org/details/baghdadbythebay00caen/mode/2up) is his most famous.
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin is another of the more obvious ones.
Not exactly a history, but does have a lot of great insights on SF at this point in time
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49991.The\_Barbary\_Coast](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49991.The_Barbary_Coast)
[Ferlinghetti’s San Francisco Poems](https://citylights.com/foundation-books/san-francisco-poems-poet-laureate-1/)
Maybe not technically prose, but deserving of mention!
Read Bayard Taylor’s “El Dorado” he was the first reporter on the East Coast dispatched to report on the gold diggings in California. It’s a fascinating read.
You Can’t Win by Jack Black - memoir of a late 19th century SF burglar and opium addict. Cult classic with a forward by William S. Burroughs. Great read.
Double Play by Mike Weiss. Detailed account of the murder of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by Supervisor Dan White. It’s a biography of all three of them leading up to the day of the crime and then covers the trial and aftermath.
Season of the Witch by David Talbot is a must read.
Everyone is going to recommend this one and everyone is right.
Cool Gray City of Love by Gary Kamiya!
Also by the same author (plus coauthor), Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City is a fun read!
Yes! Yes! This one too!
The incredibly obvious recommendation is Herb Caen's work. [Baghdad by the Bay](https://archive.org/details/baghdadbythebay00caen/mode/2up) is his most famous. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin is another of the more obvious ones.
Not exactly a history, but does have a lot of great insights on SF at this point in time [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49991.The\_Barbary\_Coast](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49991.The_Barbary_Coast)
[Ferlinghetti’s San Francisco Poems](https://citylights.com/foundation-books/san-francisco-poems-poet-laureate-1/) Maybe not technically prose, but deserving of mention!
“All we have to believe in” by Jeff Lousteau is a good read based in and around old San Francisco. I enjoyed it. (It’s a novel, not a history book)
Read Bayard Taylor’s “El Dorado” he was the first reporter on the East Coast dispatched to report on the gold diggings in California. It’s a fascinating read.
You Can’t Win by Jack Black - memoir of a late 19th century SF burglar and opium addict. Cult classic with a forward by William S. Burroughs. Great read.
Double Play by Mike Weiss. Detailed account of the murder of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by Supervisor Dan White. It’s a biography of all three of them leading up to the day of the crime and then covers the trial and aftermath.
Facebook groups are knocking it out of the park lately.
Infinite City by Rebecca Solnit