---
product_id: 3665330
title: "The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld"
price: "138.89 DT"
currency: TND
in_stock: true
url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/3665330-the-barbary-coast-an-informal-history-of-the-san-francisco
store_origin: TN
region: Tunisia
---

# 70 years of underworld evolution 4.4/5 star reader rating Classic historical chronicle The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld

**Price:** 138.89 DT
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 📖 Unlock the secrets of San Francisco’s most notorious era — before it’s gone!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld
- **How much does it cost?** 138.89 DT with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/3665330-the-barbary-coast-an-informal-history-of-the-san-francisco)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **A cult classic with proven appeal:** Ranked top 3,000 in Criminology and boasting a 4.4-star rating from 167 readers.
- • **Uncover 70 years of crime, glamour, and grit:** From gambling dens to tong wars, experience the full spectrum of vice and corruption.
- • **Perfect for history buffs and true crime aficionados:** A gripping narrative that blends fact with the allure of the underworld.
- • **Dive into the raw origins of San Francisco's wild side:** Explore the explosive birth of the Barbary Coast, shaped by the 1849 Gold Rush frenzy.
- • **Own a piece of literary history in good used condition:** A collectible read that connects you to San Francisco’s legendary past.

## Overview

Herbert Asbury’s 'The Barbary Coast' is a definitive historical account of San Francisco’s underworld from the 1849 Gold Rush through seventy years of crime and corruption. This used copy in good condition offers readers a vivid chronicle of gambling dens, prostitution, and gang wars that shaped the city’s unique vice district, backed by strong reader acclaim and notable rankings in criminology and history categories.

## Description

The history of the Barbary Coast properly begins with the gold rush to California in 1849. If the precious yellow metal hadn't been discovered . . . the development of San Francisco's underworld in all likelihood would have been indistinguishable from that of any other large American city. Instead, owing almost entirely to the influx of gold-seekers and the horde of gamblers, thieves, harlots, politicians, and other felonious parasites who battened upon them, there arose a unique criminal district that for almost seventy years was the scene of more viciousness and depravity, but which at the same time possessed more glamour, than any other area of vice and iniquity on the American continent. The Barbary Coast is Herbert Asbury's classic chronicle of the birth of San Francisco -- a violent explosion from which the infant city emerged full-grown and raging wild. From all over the world practitioners of every vice stampeded for the blood and money of the gold fields. Gambling dens ran all day including Sundays. From noon to noon houses of prostitution offered girls of every age and race. (In the 1850s, San Francisco was home to only one woman for every thirty men. It was not until 1910 that the sexes achieved anything close to parity in their populations.) This is the story of the banditry, opium bouts, tong wars, and corruption, from the eureka at Sutter's Mill until the last bagnio closed its doors seventy years later.

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #682,680 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2,341 in Criminology (Books) #4,917 in U.S. State & Local History #20,825 in World History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 167 Reviews |

## Images

![The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/810QpIiXSyL.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Media Format** options.

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*Product available on Desertcart Tunisia*
*Store origin: TN*
*Last updated: 2026-09-27*