It Came From Berkeley reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle

'It Came From Berkeley': Wackiness in context
Justin Berton
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

If Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly ever reads local journalist and Chronicle contributor Dave Weinstein's book, "It Came From Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World," O'Reilly might be amused to learn that the lefty college town originally was founded on religion, as a moral retreat from that Sodom and Gomorrah across the bay, San Francisco.

"Berkeley was always meant to be a place apart," Weinstein said. "A really moral, quiet place, where intellectuals could meditate, surrounded by nature."

The description still fits, even if downtown is more crowded by men who wear pink tutus while riding unicycles.

But for anyone who has wondered how and why Berkeley became an adjective meaning zany-liberal-smarty-pants, Weinstein tracks down the historical and cultural dominoes that led to milestones such as the Free Speech Movement, bans on plastic foam cups, traffic "calming" roundabouts and, of course, tree-sitting.
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