Summary Of The Book 'The Country In The City'

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Kamiya explains the historical development of San Franciscan landscapes through a continuum of perspectives: from the factual geologic standpoint to the a subjective sociocultural view. In longer chapters, Kamiya blends the two perspectives to develop a more complete description of San Francisco’s landscapes — landscapes in the natural world, landscapes in man-made buildings, and landscapes in social institutions.
In order to artificially create a feeling of familiarity, Kamiya personifies inanimate objects. For example, he wrote sentences like “...the same way the Farallon Islands, the world’s most patient hitchhikers, came up from Southern California” (Ch 25). Kamiya is hardly terse with his descriptions of San Francisco; however, his words are carefully chosen to avoid
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There are chapters primarily about natural features or locations, like Chapter 3 (“The Alcatraz Triangle”). In these chapters, Kamiya explains what makes these geological features or locations unique, and then briefly talks about how different groups interacted with the natural structure (or location, or resource). Some chapters talk about man-made locations or social institutions, like . Other chapters (like Chapter 16, “The Country in the City”) focus on Kamiya’s personal experiences growing up in San Francisco. Chapter 15 (“The Chronicler”) talks about a specific person. Most of the chapters are actually a mix of ‘types’. Chapter 25 (“A Streetcar to Subduction”) starts by focusing on geology and specific types of rock outcroppings, but turns into an examination of Clyde Wahrhaftig’s life and his relationship with Doris Sloan. The final chapter (“Lands End”) begins with a description of a trail and ends with a self-reflection on Kamiya’s journey to explore San Francisco — a fitting conclusion to the book. In fact, there’s a common trend: nearly all of the chapters begin with nature and end with