The Press: Caliph of Baghdad

"If you want to be taken for a San Franciscan," advises a new San Francisco guidebook, "dress conservatively, cling to the outside of cable cars, and make bad jokes about Los Angeles." Though Guidebook Author Herb Caen does not mention it, another sure sign of the Compleat San Franciscan is his addiction to the San Francisco Examiner's Columnist Herb Caen.

Newsman Caen (rhymes with rain) is probably the most loyally read local columnist in the U.S., and his formula—like San Francisco—is unique. "My job," says he, "is to make the legends come true.' While...