{"product_id":"2940169291896","title":"Blues City: A Walk in Oakland (Abridged)","description":"Oakland is a blues city, brawling and husky . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOften overshadowed by San Francisco, its twinkling sister city across the Bay, Oakland is itself an American wonder. The city is surrounded by and filled with natural beauty-mountains and hills and lakes and a bay-and architecture that mirrors its history as a Spanish mission, Gold Rush outpost, and home of the West's most devious robber barons. It's also a city of artists and blue-collar workers, the birthplace of the Black Panthers, neighbor to Berkeley, and home to a vibrant and volatile stew of immigrants and refugees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003cb\u003eBlues City\u003c\/b\u003e, Ishmael Reed, one of our most brilliant essayists, takes us on a tour of Oakland, exploring its fascinating history, its beautiful hills and waterfronts, and its odd cultural juxtapositions. He takes us into a year in the life of this amazing city, to black cowboy parades and Indian powwows, to Black Panther reunions and Gay Pride concerts, to a Japanese jazz club where a Lakota musician plays Coltrane's \"Naima.\" Reed provides a fascinating tour of an un-tamed, unruly western outpost set against the backdrop of political intrigues, ethnic rivalries, and a gentrification-obsessed mayor, opening our eyes not only to a singular city, but to a newly emerging America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47100498739440,"sku":"2940169291896","price":9.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169291896_p0.jpg?v=1763679013","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169291896","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}