I've told some of you in person or on Twitter, but I'm really excited to announce that I'm writing a book about Oakland, called Legendary Locals of Oakland. It's from Arcadia Publishing which does local history books like Oakland's Chinatown, The Pullman Porters and West Oakland, and Selections from the Oakland Tribune Archives. The Legendary Locals titles are the same basic format with 128 pages, but are much more focused on people than some of the other series. And it's not just historical people, but will include contemporary people in Oakland, too.
Even before I signed the contract, I've been thinking about who I'd include in such a book. The hardest part is going to be narrowing it down to the 100-200 people who do get included, because there are so many interesting people who have helped shape Oakland over the years. Check out a very preliminary list of people to include on the Oakland Wiki here.
I've got a lot of work ahead, and the book won't be out until sometime in 2015. But I'd love to have your input on who to include!
Congratulations; this is good news! I'm wondering if you'd consider including the Pony Express riders in your book. I read a history column in the Trib a couple of years ago that said the riders sometimes came through Oakland when the Stockton ferry wasn't running. Apparently they came down Telegraph Avenue to Broadway and then down Broadway to the ferry to SF. It gave me chills to read this. I'm shocked there are no memorials in Oakland to this historic event. Anyway, they represent a group of anonymous lads rather than a single person; but the story is so interesting.
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