Summary: in 1889 this talented young writer, the son of a british colonial schoolteacher and future winner of the nobel prize for literature, visited san francisco on his way from india to england. it was not only his first visit to the city, but his first time in america -- he was on assignment to record his impressions and write letters back to an indian newspaper -- and his brash and snobbish reactions to san francisco and its wild inhabitants are alternately flattering, insulting and very amusing.
