edboies's review against another edition
3.0
I found his writing tedious and hard to concentrate on. Good stories though.
librarianna81's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. I learned SO much about San Francisco's early days, and as that is already one of my favorite cities, that was fun and enlightening. I may have also liked the book because I might possibly maybe have a crush on a man who died in 1859. David Broderick was just my kind of guy! I adored how he was a working-man's man, but secretly read books, and that he was so gung-ho about firefighting and a strong abolitionist. So every time he was mentioned in the book, I am sure that added favor in my eyes.
However, aside from my silly crush, the story of San Francisco's fire brigades was legendary, and I'm glad it was told. I didn't even realize how great of a story it was! However, I did have several issues with the book. First, as many others have pointed out, the connection to Tom Sawyer feels like it was gimmicky, a ploy to get people to read this book, while the connection was tenuous at best. I did like the framing of the Twain/Sawyer story that surrounded the true meat of the book, but the book was by and large about San Francisco, NOT about Tom Sawyer. I have seen other reviews which were similarly upset about that point. It may have been what got me to read the book, so kudos to the author for playing that card well, but I was disappointed by how much it wasn't about Sawyer. It didn't NEED to be, though - the SF story was gold in and of itself! I was constantly relating these great anecdotes that I had picked up from the book, and amusing my friends and family endlessly with them. This is truly why I loved the book.
Another issue I had, though, was with the narrator. Usually I LOVE when the author reads his or her own book, because then I KNOW I am getting the true experience, as the author intended. Not in this case - the narration frustrated me to NO END. First, I was constantly thrown off by the way Graysmith would move to the next section or paragraph with no pause or transition of any sort, so I often found myself misled into believing that the next part was related to the previous! It was endlessly maddening. I was always rewinding to catch the transition (found not in inflection, only in words). (He also inflected on the wrong syllable more often than not, which also caused me great confusion.) Also, Graysmith had this unfortunate tendency towards sounding gleeful when he read about awful, tragic events. I understand that was his reading voice and how he presented the book, but it was unsettling and somewhat upsetting to hear how pleased he sounded at the death or maiming of this or that person. Definitely odd.
Still, despite the awful listening experience (and the misleading title), I STILL loved this book. So I had to give it 4 stars. I truly wanted this to belong in my "favorite books of all time" group, and there were points when I thought it might be, but it was more just a truly enjoyable story, and I am glad Graysmith researched and shared it. It is definitely a book I will be sharing anecdotes from for years to come.
However, aside from my silly crush, the story of San Francisco's fire brigades was legendary, and I'm glad it was told. I didn't even realize how great of a story it was! However, I did have several issues with the book. First, as many others have pointed out, the connection to Tom Sawyer feels like it was gimmicky, a ploy to get people to read this book, while the connection was tenuous at best. I did like the framing of the Twain/Sawyer story that surrounded the true meat of the book, but the book was by and large about San Francisco, NOT about Tom Sawyer. I have seen other reviews which were similarly upset about that point. It may have been what got me to read the book, so kudos to the author for playing that card well, but I was disappointed by how much it wasn't about Sawyer. It didn't NEED to be, though - the SF story was gold in and of itself! I was constantly relating these great anecdotes that I had picked up from the book, and amusing my friends and family endlessly with them. This is truly why I loved the book.
Another issue I had, though, was with the narrator. Usually I LOVE when the author reads his or her own book, because then I KNOW I am getting the true experience, as the author intended. Not in this case - the narration frustrated me to NO END. First, I was constantly thrown off by the way Graysmith would move to the next section or paragraph with no pause or transition of any sort, so I often found myself misled into believing that the next part was related to the previous! It was endlessly maddening. I was always rewinding to catch the transition (found not in inflection, only in words). (He also inflected on the wrong syllable more often than not, which also caused me great confusion.) Also, Graysmith had this unfortunate tendency towards sounding gleeful when he read about awful, tragic events. I understand that was his reading voice and how he presented the book, but it was unsettling and somewhat upsetting to hear how pleased he sounded at the death or maiming of this or that person. Definitely odd.
Still, despite the awful listening experience (and the misleading title), I STILL loved this book. So I had to give it 4 stars. I truly wanted this to belong in my "favorite books of all time" group, and there were points when I thought it might be, but it was more just a truly enjoyable story, and I am glad Graysmith researched and shared it. It is definitely a book I will be sharing anecdotes from for years to come.
cspiwak's review
3.0
If you are reading it because of the Mark Twain/Tom Sawyer connection, you may be disappointed. I enjoyed the study of San Francisco at the time and of fire fighting in general , but felt a little cheated as I had been hooked by hopes of Twain stories
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