For most San Franciscans, April 18, 1906 started at 5:12 am with sixty-five seconds of violent quaking followed by a relentless, raging fire that left 98% of the structures in the most populated part of the city in ruins. However, although everyone felt the earthquake equally, they did not all suffer to the same degree. In Saving San Francisco, Andrea Rees Davies, a former firefighter, tells a new story of the 1906 catastrophe. Weaving the experiences of ordinary people with urban politics and history, Saving San Francisco challenges the long-lived myth that the fire that spread as a result of the quake brought out altruism and leveled class distinctions among residents. Although the relief and rebuilding efforts provided some opportunities for marginalized groups and individuals--such as white women and the Chinese--to step outside their limited spheres and find their voices in the public realm, Davies shows how the disaster did not break down social barriers; rather, it maintained the prevailing hierarchies of class, race, and gender.

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