This book is a concise full color field guide to the Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, comprising all seacoast fortifications and their elements from 1890 through 1950. This field guide covers all major gun batteries, anti-aircraft batteries, plotting and switchboard rooms, fire control stations, fire control switchboards, radio and switchboard rooms, mine facilities, mine casemates, radar stations, sheltered searchlight positions, and more. Additionally, all forts and military reservations located immediately north and south of San Francisco are included as well.

Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide also contains complete historical information including, blueprints, period maps, up-to-date site maps made from satellite photographs, black and white aerial period photographs, and full color photographs of every site. This field guide was specifically designed for fortification enthusiasts to use in the field when visiting these historic sites.

This 2011 second edition adds two new chapters of material to that of the 2009 edition. Both the Point Reyes Headland Government Owned Reservation and the Pillar Point Military Reservation (now the Pillar Point Air Force Station) are now included. This new edition also features updated maps, both historical period maps, maps based from satellite images, new photographs for select sites that were not covered in the first edition, new pictures for select sites, black and white aerial period photographs of the forts from the Signal Corps, gun range data, and new appendices. Additionally, there are corrections of a number of errors and omissions found in the first edition. All armament data has also been updated using the Ordnance Department Gun and Carriage Cards Collection available from the Coast Defense Studies Group.