“Hooray for Hollywood,” the 1937 anthem by Johnny Mercer for the film Hollywood Hotel, says it all cinematically as dozens of star wannabes head for Hollywood in a full production...
Making sense of Monroe is problematic. Her so-called autobiography cannot be relied upon, not least because she was insecure, introspective and unable to even make sense of herself There has...
The Sweater Girl, Queen of the Silver Screen, Lanita, Nightclub Queen—Lana Turner was known by many nicknames after her rise to fame, most of which she detested. Her private life,...
Hollywood, California, Through Time is a visual discovery of the most dreamed about city in the world. Hollywood is a physical place, with over a century of cinema, where you...
The Crescenta Valley is a typical suburb of the metropolis of Los Angeles, containing residential neighborhoods nestled in chaparral-covered hills. But hidden in these typical neighborhoods are remnants of an...
The Crescenta Valley is an upper middle-class suburb of Los Angeles. It enjoys a low crime rate and high property values. But like any community, it has a distasteful side...
Over one hundred years ago, volunteer firemen sold a book, titled Santa Monica Fire Department, Souvenir Book of Santa Monica, 1902, door to door. Legend has it that the newly-established...
Murder is shocking. The savagery of Elizabeth Short’s (also known as the Black Dahlia) slaying was beyond anything Los Angeles, indeed the U.S., had experienced. Short would not be the...
Somewhere between the allure of the Hollywood sign and Pacific Ocean, there it is. You may have seen it in your favorite movie, walked by it a thousand times, or...
In Weird Crescenta Valley, we learn about the odd events, people, and places of the valley, along with natural and supernatural oddities. For instance, a new-age religion was briefly located...
Somewhere between the Hollywood sign and the Pacific Ocean, underneath the palm trees and above the crowded highways, there they are. You may have seen one in your favorite movie,...
The Salton Sea, California’s largest inland body of water, was a spectacular oasis in the desert which attracted droves of boating, fishing, and beach enthusiasts for fun in the sun....
California is known as the "Golden State." However, it has been said that "all that glitters is not gold." Within the pages of this book are true stories including the...
Three miles outside California’s jurisdiction amid the second half of the roaring twenties, a handful of bootleggers, gamblers, Mafiosi, and political fixers sank their earnings into a boisterous new venture....
This book is a photographic essay on the history of Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, highlighting continuity and changes from the late nineteenth century into the twenty-first through the prism...
Southern California can be called a sunny place for shady people. Its criminal history is as rich and varied as anywhere. Old West outlaws, serial killers, gangsters and thieves have...
Grapes have been grown in the Temecula Valley since the mission days in the 1830s, but the development of the region as a renowned wine-producing area occurred centuries later. Temecula...
Plenty of tales of heroism have been shared about the Second World War, but few illustrate the anxiety and injustices endured on U.S. soil. Dick is a fatherless boy and...
Some of the richest gold strikes in California history were found in the areas of Randsburg and Johannesburg, located in the Mojave Desert section of Kern County. The desert is...
Los Angeles is home to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood; it's an "industry" town through and through. But the movie business isn't its only industry. The City of Angels...
With the exception of the churchyard behind Mission Dolores and the National Cemetery in the Presidio, all of San Francisco’s gorgeous Victorian-era cemeteries were evicted from the city in the...
A gripping exploration of California's infamous true crime stories, from unsolved murders to daring prison escapes, revealing a dark history of deception, violence, and tragedy. From California’s mountain peaks to...
