The Book of Joel is a poetic biography of Joel Fallon, a well-loved San Francisco Bay Area poet who spent the last years of his life in Benicia California, helping to establish a legacy and tradition of poetry there. His story is revealed through his poems, beginning with his childhood in San Francisco. Later poems offer glimpses of him as a young merchant seaman, as a soldier, as a man finding his true love, and finally as a respected elder reflecting on his experience and the flow of life around him. This collection captures Joel's keen sense of observation, sense of humor, strong opinions, and lust for life as he embraces the fullness of his world and crafts his poetic legacy.