Named for a part of the city where bribes bought police the highest-grade beef, San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood remains an island of primarily low-income, ethnically diverse residents in a city of every increasing wealth. How has it survived? Randy Shaw searches for answers in this powerful account of the Tenderloin from its post-quake rebuilding in 1907 through today. The Tenderloin fought back against the establishment time and time again. And often won. Shaw shows how those outside the mainstream—independent working women, gay men, “screaming queens,” activist SRO hotel tenants and many others—led these struggles. Once known for “girls, gambling and graft,” the Tenderloin was also fertile ground for the Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, Dashiell Hammett and other cultural icons. The Tenderloin is the untold story of a neighborhood that persisted against all odds. It is a must read for everyone concerned about the future of urban neighborhoods. "Written with the deep knowledge and admiration of an activist who has promoted the Tenderloin for over four decades, Randy Shaw gives us a rich and accessible history of America's most maligned and misunderstood neighborhood. This book is full of insights and lessons for building a more just future for marginalized communities."-Forrest Stuart, Professor of Sociology, Faculty Director, Program on Urban Studies, Stanford University "Randy Shaw's wonderful book is a perfect companion for a visit to the Tenderloin Museum. Shaw uncovers the neighborhood's lost history and describes the challenges facing the vibrant Tenderloin today." -KATIE CONRY, Executive Director, Tenderloin Museum "This is a unique book, wise, realistic and enormously valuable to anyone interested in social change."-HOWARD ZINN, author of A People's History of the United States , in praise of the original edition of The Activist's Handbook Randy Shaw is the Director of San Francisco's Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which he helped found in 1980. His five previous books include The Activist's Handbook, 2nd edition, Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century, and Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. Shaw led the campaign to create the national Uptown Tenderloin Historic District and founded the Tenderloin Museum. He is also the editor of BeyondChron.org.