Chapter 1: the Day of the Horse Is Past

In 1903, Charles Howard leaves his home and family in New York and travels west to seek his livelihood. Arriving in San Francisco with twenty-one cents in his pocket, he uses his charm to borrow enough money to open a small bicycle repair shop. Soon, locals who had been foolish enough to purchase a new contraption—the horseless carriage, or automobile—appear at Howard's door, seeking his advice on repairing the machines. A visionary, Howard notes the advantages the steel beasts have over the current mode of transport, the horse. He travels to Detroit to convince Will Durant, the chief of Buick and future founder of General Motors, to give him the company's automobile sales franchise for San Francisco.

On April 18, 1906, the San Francisco earthquake, registering 7.8 on the Richter scale, alters the course of Howard's life. The earthquake causes hundreds of...