Why a Blog Instead of a Book?

To the Land of Golden Butterflies: the life of California hero, Andrew Smith Hallidie (1834-1900) is the working title for my research into Hallidie’s life.

Once upon a time I entertained the idea of publishing a traditional book but I recently realized this was an impossible goal for me. The reasons for this are myriad:

1) the historical record for Hallidie’s life is full of holes. The earthquake and fire that struck the Bay Area on April 18, 1906 destroyed many of the business documents, public records, and the personal papers of Hallidie’s contemporaries, friends, and business associates. Without these critical records there are some aspects of his life that will never be fully or partially understood. Nevertheless I have been able to find bits and pieces of Hallidie’s life in the most unexpected of places. Folding these changing bits of Hallidie’s story can really only be accomplished successfully by using a medium (such as this blog) that makes changes easy!

2) the financial realities of traditional (or indie) book publishing preclude the heavy use of images

3) a web-based production will enable me to explore minor characters, expound upon research problems, and go into further detail on every aspect of Hallidie’s life.