By James M. Buckley.  Since, at first, it seems that the "city" referred to is San Francisco one might wonder why the book is here.  But the author, an architectural historian, comes to the history of redwood lumber from an unusual perspective.  As the dustjacket says, he "investigates the remote forest and the urban core as two poles of a regional ‘city’".

       Replete with photographs, maps and building plans, the book begins by explaining the author's multi-dimensional and very academic approach. Throughout the book, he explores the economic and physical interconnectedness of California's redwood industry; how land ownership, lumber felling technology, railroads, shipping, milling and the housing and treatment of workers all interacted and evolved over time and space. Briefly presenting the environmental and indigenous relationship with redwoods, the author then details the different skills and compensations for all the many jobs in the lumber industry and its varied products, he then goes into the many aspects of mill town and camp life and developing entrepreneurial competition.

        Much attention is indeed spent on Humboldt  county, enriched by contemporary newspaper and other accounts. Detailed focus is given to the Carson operations and those of other major players: covering daily activities in woods, mills and towns, the treatment of workers, architectural impacts, and Eureka's neighborhood development. 

       Some chapters also dwell on San Francisco and how that city developed in terms of  economics, architecture, labor and urban geography.  Then returning to the overall "city of wood" concept, we see how the entire California lumber industry evolved as concepts such as sustainability, environmental preservation, and new technologies entered the picture.  

       The topic of redwoods and the lumber industry has long been a major one in Humboldt's history.  This new book gives a refreshing and challenging new perspective on the subject.  Backed up with some 70 pages of endnotes, for a Humboldter it is well worth adding to one's library shelves.