Cover: Ride of Passage
How former Silicon Valley engineer and Metro writer Andrew Pham's return to Vietnam became a journey of the heart and the source of a brilliant new book, 'Catfish and Mandala.'

News: Silicon Shake-Up
A decade after the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, structural engineers say the valley has enduring safety problems, namely that its tilt-up buildings are set to come tumbling down.

Metropolis News Extras

• Saratoga: AT&T wants KSAR, KCAT cases to be heard in federal court.
  
• Cupertino: Measure E bond on ballot in November.
  
• Sunnyvale: Dead fields at two schools result from bad prep work.

Public Eye: Mineta won't return to Congress, ex-aide says. Councilwoman cusses. Reeps urge Dando to run for Assembly.

Viva Death in Vegas: 'The Contino Sessions' injects electronica with a jolt of rock.

Dizzying Schubert: The San Jose Symphony whirls through dramatic reading of Schubert's 'Great.'

Aural Fixation: Gwen and company of No Doubt order a willing crowd about at the Edge.

Brawl's Well That Ends Well: 'Fight Club' sends up America's macho culture.

Stamping 'The Limey': Steven Soderbergh's formula mystery targets Los Angeles decadence.

Anime Blues It: Even a surreal plot turn can't save Japanese anime 'Perfect Blue.'

Kiss and Tell: Teen girls wrestle with lesbian urges in 'Show Me Love.'

'Meat' the Truth: The start-up work ethic is killing us.

Art Smarts: Steve Martin tosses a bouquet of bons mots in 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile.'

Immortal Zin: Bye-bye, simple merlot and overpriced, save-it-for-later cabs. Christina Waters writes about the glorious ascension of the big and brassy zinfandel.

A La Carte: Riga European Bakery brings a taste of the Old World to a new housing complex.