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If we’ve talked in the last 2+ years, I’ve probably mentioned Jonathan Weber’s upcoming book, City on the Edge: Technology, Politics and the Fight for San Francisco’s Soul. It’s essentially the recent history of San Francisco, from Mayor Feinstein to Mayor Lurie, from no- and low-tech to AI.

It turns out a LOT has happened in this town since the 80s. Jonathan details a story that hasn’t been told before: how tech tiptoed into San Francisco in the 80s as personal computing businesses proliferated, and then roared in as the commercial internet took off in the late 90s. His distinctive POV as a longtime tech reporter and editor encompasses memorable stints at The Industry Standard (RIP), local nonprofit outlet Bay Citizen and later, the startup era of The San Francisco Standard.

When Jonathan first told me about his book, I was hooked: this story encapsulates my 40 years in the city, starting in 1985 when I stumbled quite accidentally into tech via the personal computing magazine boomlet. I offered to be his researcher, digging into newsroom archives and sourcing potential interviewees.

Putting all the pieces together into a proper story arc, as the city had to learn to adapt to the tech industry, and as tech businesses had to deal with a decidedly non-tech-savvy city government, has been fascinating. The book also covers the changing fortunes of the news business; Burning Man’s San Francisco roots; the booms in mobile and social (including a chapter detailing the attempted revival of South of Market with the Twitter building and the much-misunderstood “Twitter tax break” ); our collective shift from loving the convenience of personal tech to the perceived evils of Big Tech; how Covid affected (and threatened) the city’s well-being; and how all of it has affected reliably irritable San Francisco voters.

The whole endeavor reveals a much larger social history than the title might suggest, because wherever you live, you’ve experienced the rise-fall-rise-(etc) of technology in your life as San Francisco has become its white-hot center. Jonathan keeps the action going at a good clip with a wide ranging cast of memorable characters, and you’ll be captivated as a complex matrix of interests, ambitions, and intentions (good and bad) take root in this ever-evolving old town.

Positive early reviews are in:

Kirkus: “A welcome history of Bay Area Big Tech, brought up to date and with plenty of object lessons.”

Publisher’s Weekly: [Weber’s] “enlightening debut traces the tech industry’s influence over three decades of San Francisco’s booms and busts. … With a new ‘revival’ occurring in San Francisco due to the rise of AI, this is a timely cautionary tale about what tech cannot fix.”

Shelf Awareness: “With all its triumphs and travails, it is impossible to leave this account without a strong sense that what Weber calls the “boom-and-bust cycles” of San Francisco life are destined to repeat yet again.”

If I’ve persuaded you to take a look, do visit Jonathan’s site, his book-related Substack, or Simon & Schuster’s info page. Also note some upcoming events including Books Inc. Palo Alto on June 10, Shack15 on June 11, Commonwealth Club on June 16, SPUR on June 23 (event link TK), Green Apple Books on July 1, and Bookshop West Portal on July 7.

Finally, a note: pre-publication sales are really important for authors, as are online reviews (Goodreads, Shelf Awareness, Amazon), so if you get it and enjoy it, tell your friends, and leave a review online too.