Relationships between the writers and offers a valuable look at postcivil war west coast and provides the kind of perfect medium for the development of bohemia. It is a rich feast of history that really unwinds many different threads. Both of the writers and the city that helped host their exploits. Ben is the author of another book, the counterfeiters paradise, which is published by penguin press, and his writing has also appeared in the San Francisco chronicle, and hes worked at lathams quarterly. It is a delight and a pleasure to have him with us. Welcome, ben tarnoff. [applause] thank you for that introduction. And thank you all for coming out tonight. I should tell you, i have a little bit of a flu, so if i get a little warm or if my voice gets a little froggy, youll have to forgive me. Mark twain, when he was here in the 1860s in San Francisco wrote a very funny sketch called how to cure a cold, and one of the cures was to rub mustard all over your chest. So if things get to that