Stories from Berkeley
(20 chapters, 181 pages)
Stories from Berkeley offers a unique portrait of a beautiful part of California that many people and much of the media do not understand. We also feel that the stories speak to an era of California social history that may never be repeated.
We believe this book presents a picture of Berkeley that no other work covers. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1966, the author then proceeded a few years later to make his living on the streets of Telegraph Avenue as a street musician. From earning the daily income with friends and strangers, to living briefly with Joady Guthrie, to making friends and going on adventures with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, to the serene beauty of Alaska and Oregon, these narratives capture some of the spirit of those times.
Biography of Nathan Spooner, author
After graduating in 1966 from UC Berkeley with a degree in philosophy, and after some time in graduate school at San Francisco State College, Nathan Spooner spent the years from 1970 to 1975 making his living in Berkeley and San Francisco as a street musician.
Between 1975 and 1985 he worked in Alaska
as a guitar player and backup singer in night-clubs, a commercial salmon fisherman during the summers, and an on-call stevedore for Local 62 along the waterfront in Ketchikan.
Some years after returning to California in 1985, he began reworking the notes he started in 1963 and had kept through his travels to Alaska and Oregon and back to Berkeley.
This book is a collection of narratives that capture some of the spirit of those times. These stories reflect the author’s experiences and interactions with people and events during those years.
Currently, the author teaches special education on the Central Coast of California, where he and his wife enjoy their grandchildren and family.