"If Berkeley had the good sense of the Japanese to recognize outstanding citizens as national treasures, Richard Schwartz would get my vote. Professionally a building contractor, Schwartz somehow finds time to explore Berkeley's past via its newspapers, archives, and maps. He has returned from that forgeign land to self-publish gracefully written and handsome books filled with period illustrations of his discoveries. Those books not only reveal to us a place we thought we knew but are testimony to Schwartz's deep love for his adopted town. I am grateful for his generousity in sharing his wealth." Dr. Gray Brechin, Historical Geographer, University of California, Berkeley "It's so COOL! And fun to browse through. What an epic journey! I've been reading it tonight. So much scandal, blood and gore, Fires! I love it!" The Milagro Bean Field War author John Nichols, (born in Berkeley) commenting upon reading Berkeley 1900 (The Milagro Bean Field War book was adapted into the film directed by Robert Redford) The San Francisco Chronicle selected Berkeley 1900 as a Holiday Gift Book of the Year choice in 2000, "Fascinating," Regan McMahon, Chronicle staff "You have done an awesome job creating your books...You are a superb example of a scholar publisher tradition that I have always aspired to!" The Late Phil Wood, owner, Ten Speed Press "Buy the book. It's a winner." as reviewed in California Historian published by the Conference of California Historical Societies by Mary-Ellen Jones, The Bancroft Libray, Retired Since its initial publication a decade ago, Berkeley 1900: Daily Life at the Turn of the Century "By giving us the raw data with which the history of place is constructed, Richard Schwartz has revealed both a time and a town that some of us only thought we knew. Newspaper articles and advertisements, as well as vintage photographs, permit the reader to view Berkeley's past without the processing of an intermediary, and in doing so, the material reveals a country which is alternately more exotic and familiar than we could have imagined. Schwartz has aided the reader by organizing the material by subject and providing brief introductions, thus serving as a knowledgeable but unobtrusive guide through that landscape. This splendidly rich composition should serve as a model for other communities seeking to understand how they have developed and who they are." -- Dr. Gray Brechin, Historical Geographer, University of California, Berkeley "Mr. Schwartz has put together a must read book for everyone who loves Berkeley. As we move into the Millennium, it is funny, sobering, and just plain interesting to read about daily events of life in Berkeley in 1900. There are lessons to be learned here, and stories to be told and retold." -- Mayor Shirley Dean of Berkeley By giving us the raw data with which the history of place is constructed, Richard Schwartz has revealed both a time and a town that some of us only thought we knew. Newspaper articles and advertisements, as well as vintage photographs, permit the reader to view Berkeley's past without the processing of an intermediary, and in doing so, the material reveals a country which is alternately more exotic and familiar than we could have imagined. Schwartz has aided the reader by organizing the material by subject and providing brief introductions, thus serving as a knowledgeable but unobtrusive guide through that landscape. This splendidly rich composition should serve as a model for other communities seeking to understand how they have developed and who they are." DR . GRAY BRECHIN, Historical Geographer, University of California, Berkeley; author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin; Farewell, Promised Land: Waking from the California Dream; and Reclaiming San Francisco