Jerry Flamm was born and raised in San Francisco, and his first job was hawking newspapers on its bustling street corners. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The 1920s and '30s were exciting times in San Francisco, filled with joy and optimism ?despite the Great Depression. Now back in print, Jerry Flamm's acclaimed history of the ?City glows with the romance of the days before the bridges, when San Franciscans ?entertained themselves swimming at the Sutro Baths and watching the Seals play baseball ?at Recreation Park. Ferry excursions across the bay meant evenings in Marin dancing ?under the stars or sunny afternoons at the "Coney Island of the West" in Alameda. ?Flamm's reminiscences of his youthful adventures in the City's neighborhoods and his ?time as a reporter in the anything-for-a-scoop newspaper game are rich with insider ?portraits of San Francisco's most colorful crooks, socialites, shopkeepers, ballplayers, ?and bigwigs. Good Life in Hard Times sheds light on a golden era of San Francisco ?history, when life was hard but anything was possible.