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Name: Death at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles
Brand: Dale Perelman
SKU: 9781467150187
Price: 21.99 USD
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Death at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles

The Hollywood Scandal Almanac

Jerry Roberts

$14.99

Historic Mysteries of Western Colorado

David P. Bailey

$21.99

California Highway Patrol

Rick Mattos

$23.99

Los Angeles Police Department

Thomas G. Hays

$24.99

Pirates & Rogues of Monterey Bay

Todd Cook

$23.99

Hidden History of Sonoma County

Oregon State Penitentiary

Diane L. Goeres-Gardner

$24.99

The San Jose Police Department

John Carr Jr.

$24.99

Napa Valley Lawmen and Outlaws

Todd L. Shulman

$21.99

The Boy Nevada Killed

Janice Oberding

$21.99

Jailhouse Stories from Early Pacific County

Murder & Mayhem in Tucson

Patrick Whitehurst

$21.99

Murder & Mayhem in Prescott

San Francisco Police Department

Oakland Police Department

Phillip McArdle

$24.99

Oceanside Police Department

Matthew J. Lyons

$24.99

Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley

Kate Ruland-Thorne

$21.99

Prisons of Cañon City

Victoria Newman

$24.99

Napa Valley Case Files

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department

Gary L. Hoving

$24.99

San Diego Police Department

San Diego Murder & Mayhem

Redondo Beach Police Department

Torrance Police Department

Murder & Mayhem in the Crescenta Valley

San Diego Harbor Police

Michael P. Rich

$24.99

Dale Perelman

Death at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles

9781467150187

$21.99

Built during Los Angeles’s rapid growth in the Roaring Twenties, the Beaux Arts–style Cecil Hotel was briefly a glimmering downtown landmark until it became one of the most infamous sites of violence and murder in the country. Nicknamed “The Suicide,” the Cecil was the eerie location of more than a dozen people taking their own lives going back to the 1940s and ’50s. Rumors still swirl that Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, frequented the hotel in the days before her gruesome murder. Serial killer Richard “Night Stalker” Ramirez lived at the Cecil for long stays in the 1980s. Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger murdered three sex workers while a guest at the Cecil in 1991. Author Dale Perelman charts the brutal and mysterious history of Los Angeles’s most notorious hotel.

Gregory L. Wellman

Alcatraz Island

9780738525280

$7.99

As one of America's most notorious prisons, Alcatraz has been a significant part of California's history for over 155 years.

The small, lonely rock, known in sea charts by its Spanish name Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of Pelicans, lay essentially dormant until the 1850s, when the military converted the island into a fortress to protect the booming San Francisco region. Alcatraz served as a pivotal military position until the early 20th century and in 1934 was converted into a federal penitentiary to house some of America's most incorrigible prisoners. The penitentiary closed in 1963, and Alcatraz joined the National Park Service system in 1972. Since then, it has remained a popular attraction as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Experience the complex and dark history of San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island in 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Jerry Roberts

The Hollywood Scandal Almanac

9781609497026

$14.99

The real-life scandals of Hollywood's personalities rival any drama they bring to life on the silver screen. The Hollywood Scandal Almanac provides daily doses of high and low crimes, fraud and deceit, culled from Tinseltown's checkered past. The exploits of silent-era stars Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle are recounted, along with the midcentury misdeeds of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and the modern excesses of Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan. This calendar of Hollywood transgressions has a sensational true tale for every day of the year. Join author Jerry Roberts on a tongue-in-cheek trip down a stormy memory lane filled with sneaky affairs, box-office bombs and careers cut short--sometimes by murder. It's a collection that proves the drama doesn't end when the credits roll.

David P. Bailey

Historic Mysteries of Western Colorado

9781467141376

$21.99

From Mesoamerican mysteries to local legends, history waits to be unearthed on Colorado’s western slope.

Revelations include discovering new evidence in the infamous Alferd Packer case and old Spanish colonial relics near Kannah Creek. Investigators follow the trail of lost Spanish explorers searching for the Seven Cities of Gold and pursue archaeological signs of a prehistoric civilization north of Collbran. Expeditions search for the legend of the Utes’ Cave of the Ancients and the fabled location of Aztlán, the Aztecs’ original homeland.

A crew of historians, archaeologists and scientists, the Western Investigations Team uses ground-penetrating radar, electron microscopy, innovative metallurgic research and newly discovered documents to reexamine fascinating historical questions and contribute new chapters to history.

Rick Mattos

California Highway Patrol

9780738556208

$23.99

The California Highway Patrol has its roots in the early 1920s motorcycle traffic cops employed by counties and cities. The CHP became a separate state entity in 1929 and has grown from the early traffic enforcement role to that of one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States. Their responsibilities range from patrolling the freeways and county roads of California to providing security for the state capital and other state buildings to protecting the governor and visiting dignitaries from around the world. The CHP has marshaled its forces to restore and maintain peace in times of war, civil unrest, or natural disasters.

Thomas G. Hays

Los Angeles Police Department

9780738530253

$24.99

No police force in history has gained as much fame and notoriety as the Los Angeles Police Department. The acronym LAPD is practically synonymous with the idea of professional law enforcement. The men in blue who patrol Hollywood and the sprawling metropolis of L.A. have been investigated by screenwriters more times than vice versa. With more than 9,300 sworn officers today, the LAPD endures seemingly endless controversies and media circuses. But then there's the other side of L.A.'s protective shield—the story of the force's evolution alongside the spectacular growth of its unique melting-pot city. This book's rare and often never-before-published photographs focus on that side: the excitement, danger, tragedy, and comedy of everyday beat cops and workaday detectives—with concessions to their limelight representations, including Jack Webb's Dragnet and Adam-12.

Todd Cook

Pirates & Rogues of Monterey Bay

9781467143639

$23.99

The age of pirates spanned nearly two hundred years and was considered a plague on the high seas. Even the far reaches of what was then Alta California weren’t safe, and a surprising number of unexpected visitors sailed into Monterey Bay. Argentinian Hippolyte Bouchard, spurred by revolutionary fervor, attacked Monterey, the then Spanish capital of Alta California, using pirating tactics that left their mark centuries later, and privateers like Sir Francis Drake prowled the Pacific, leaving possible traces of their journey on the beaches of California. The foggy coastline of Monterey even inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write his famous Treasure Island. Join author Todd Cook as he explores the Monterey Peninsula’s eclectic pirating history.

John C. Schubert

Hidden History of Sonoma County

9781467138277

$21.99

The enterprising spirit that led to Sonoma County's storied agricultural heritage defined its earliest denizens. Sail the seas with Captain Bodega y Quadra, whose name graces the coast and beyond, and wave farewell to the last train out of the redwoods. Discover the fate of Charles Henley, spirited from the county jail in 1876 by masked vigilantes. Learn about the rise and fall of Sonoma's tobacco growers and the historic opening of the Jenner Bridge as the automobile rose in popularity. John Schubert and Valerie Munthe reveal Sonoma County's enthralling history.

Bridget Oates

Sam's Castle

9780738574868

$24.99

With romance, elegant parties, and dashing, uniformed gentlemen, this charming castle story is almost what one might expect. But add in dramatic police raids and rumors of bodies buried in the garden, and it becomes the very unique tale of Sam's Castle. Built in 1908 as a haven for the earthquake-rattled Henry Harrison McCloskey (grandfather of former congressman Pete McCloskey), the castle served as a home, speakeasy, rum-runner signaling station, abortion clinic, and U.S. Coast Guard lookout during World War II. Despite its turbulent history, however, this castle story has a happy ending. In the care of the Sam Mazza Foundation, the magnificent estate will remain a treasured Pacifica landmark for all to enjoy.

Jim Brown

Folsom Prison

9780738559216

$24.99

Folsom Prison is California's second-oldest prison, dating back to 1880. In the decades following the Gold Rush, it housed some of the state's most notorious prisoners in stone, dungeon-like cells behind solid-metal doors; was the first prison with electric power; and for many years provided labor for various state projects, including construction, fabrication, and printing of license plates. Thrust into the public consciousness in the 1960s by high-profile performances from country music's Johnny Cash, the prison remains a notorious and legendary institution. The variety of offenders housed at Folsom are incarcerated for a large gamut of criminal behavior, and the California Department of Corrections has been dedicated to rehabilitation efforts throughout the facility's long history.

Diane L. Goeres-Gardner

Oregon State Penitentiary

9781467132213

$24.99

As the only maximum-security prison in the state, the Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) has housed some of the most violent criminals on the West Coast, including brutal serial killers Charley Panzram in 1915 and Jerry Brudos in 1969. Sixty men have been executed inside OSP. The prison was originally built in Portland in 1851 but moved to Salem 15 years later, after Oregon became a state. From that time forward, the Oregon State Penitentiary grew from 23 prisoners in 1866 to 1,912 by 1992. The penitentiary suffered several serious fires and riots. On March 9, 1968, the most expensive riot ever experienced in the United States flared inside the walls, causing over $2.5 million in damages. Numerous escapes plagued the prison until 1970, when security measures were tightened. The most famous escape involved Harry Tracy and David Merrill in 1902.

John Carr Jr.

The San Jose Police Department

9781467131247

$24.99

Originally known as San Jose de Guadalupe, San Jose was ruled by Mexico until 1848, when, after the Mexican-American War, California joined the United States of America. In 1849, the newly elected government appointed a chief of police, and the San Jose Police Department was born. Its mission has been to respond to the distinctive needs of the community from the early agricultural age to today's high technology age. The San Jose Police Department has been a leader in law enforcement technology and training and is considered a model for modern police departments. Today, with a thousand sworn officers and 200 support personnel, the San Jose Police Department serves over a million citizens in the city and polices an area of over 180 square miles. The wonderful photographs compiled over the department's history illustrate the efforts of the hundreds of men and women who built the San Jose Police Department into one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Todd L. Shulman

Napa Valley Lawmen and Outlaws

9781467142366

$21.99

Law enforcement in Napa County traces its roots back to the days of Spanish rule and was formalized when California became a state in 1850. Since then, those who wear the badge have pursued the lawless in search of justice. Chuck Hansen, who started as a patrol officer, pioneered the use of forensic science at the Napa Police Department, collecting DNA evidence in 1974 that would become key in solving a murder decades later. And the killer known as "Willy the Woodcutter" was caught thanks to the expertise of Hal Snook of the Napa County Sheriff's Department. Napa police sergeant Todd Shulman brings to life the stories of those who played a part in solving some of wine country's most infamous crimes.

Janice Oberding

The Boy Nevada Killed

9781467137683

$21.99

At seventeen, Floyd Burton Loveless became the youngest person ever executed by the state of Nevada. What led him to that end was just as tragic. Following a series of family catastrophes, Loveless was a petty thief by age twelve and a confessed rapist at fifteen. Sentenced to seven years at an Indiana state boys' reformatory, he escaped after a month in custody. The ruthless teen robbed his way to Carlin, Nevada, where he shot and killed a constable who spotted the stolen car he was driving and confronted him. After a protracted legal battle, Loveless died in the gas chamber on September 29, 1944. Author Janice Oberding recounts the sordid details that sparked national controversy over the constitutionality of juvenile capital punishment.

Sydney Stevens

Jailhouse Stories from Early Pacific County

9781467135290

$24.99

Hangings, lynchings and jail breaks are long forgotten in Pacific County, where tourists flock to quaint attractions every season. But back in the early days, when the first jailhouse was built, this was a rough, rustic setting. Popular cannery worker Lum You was hanged here in 1902—the only legal execution in county history. Industrious smugglers and creative entrepreneurs outwitted state-sanctioned prohibition measures, though some still did time in the jailhouse. Historian Sydney Stevens presents a collection of tales culled from a forgotten prison record book. Opium fiends, thieves, military deserters and even wayward girls jailed for incorrigible acts are brought out of the shadows of a wilderness long gone.

Jane Eppinga

Unsolved Arizona

9781626198265

$21.99

Are inscriptions on lead crosses found on the banks of the Santa Cruz River remnants of Freemasons or a hoax? How did famous evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson arrive in Douglas weeks after she went missing in Los Angeles and was presumed dead? Did the Lost Dutchman's treasure spell the end for Adolph Ruth, whose skull was found nearly a mile away from his body in the Superstition Mountains? Author Jane Eppinga details thirteen stories of disappearances, murders and unsolved cases from the annals of Arizona history.

Patrick Whitehurst

Murder & Mayhem in Tucson

9781467146289

$21.99

Tucson is a vibrant, growing city, but beneath the sunny surface lies a dark history. Eva Dugan was convicted of murder and hanged here, the first woman to be executed in the state of Arizona. Gangsters like Joe Bonanno and bank robber John Dillinger were drawn to this corner of the Southwest, and it was home to killers like Robert John Bardo and Charles Schmid, a serial killer nicknamed the "Pied Piper of Tucson." In 1892, William Elliott, stabbed by a notorious criminal, became the first Tucson police officer to lay down his life in pursuit of justice, but he wouldn't be the last. Join author Patrick Whitehurst as he delves into the chilling history of Tucson.

Drew Desmond

Murder & Mayhem in Prescott

9781467144322

$21.99

Despite its early law enforcement presence, Prescott’s place in the violent history of Yavapai County is written in blood. .

The jealousy, greed and pure meanness of some of its citizens produced shocking trails of destruction and death. The Keystone Saloon couldn’t keep a proprietor—a series of owners was found dead with gunshot wounds. A driver-for-hire was brutally assaulted and his car stolen in Prescott’s first homicidal carjacking. Two nurses conspired to poison a rich patient in their care. From the shootout that began Virgil Earp’s career to knifings and dynamite attacks, Prescott history blogger Drew Desmond and Whiskey Row historian and author Bradley G. Courtney tell rarely heard stories that once rocked the town.

William Burg

Wicked Sacramento

9781467140591

$24.99

In the early 1900s, Sacramento became a battleground in a statewide struggle. On one side were Progressive political reformers and suffragettes. Opposing them were bars, dance halls, brothels and powerful business interests. Caught in the middle was the city’s West End, a place where Grant “Skewball” Cross hosted jazz dances that often attracted police attention and Charmion performed her infamous trapeze striptease act before becoming a movie star. It was home to the “Queen of the Sacramento Tenderloin,” Cherry de Saint Maurice, who met her untimely end at the peak of her success, and Ancil Hoffman, who ingeniously got around the city’s dancing laws by renting riverboats for his soirées. Historian William Burg shares the long-hidden stories of criminals and crusaders from Sacramento’s past.

John Garvey

San Francisco Police Department

9780738528984

$24.99

The officers of the San Francisco Police Department would be the first to tell you that police work in this city is nothing like Dirty Harry, The Streets of San Francisco, or Nash Bridges. It's a gritty reality, occasionally infused with glamour, but always characterized by the innovation and unusual proceedings found as a matter of course in this unique city. The department was established in 1849, when the population surge from the Gold Rush created a desperate need for law enforcement. An initial 35-member force was formed to protect over 20,000 residents. Since then, the SFPD has presided over notorious events, including the case of the Zodiac Killer, Zebra Murders, the Patty Hearst Hibernia Bank robbery, the 1975 assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford, and the Golden Dragon Restaurant and 101 California Street Massacres. While the SFPD story includes a gruesome and sometimes scandalous past, its dedicated officers continue to provide a positive and invaluable service to the diverse metropolitan community of San Francisco.

Dr. Peter B. Mires

Wicked Virginia City

9781467144308

$21.99

Perched on the side of a mountain in the Nevada desert, Virginia City existed for one reason only: to make money. The mining frenzy of the mid-nineteenth century uncovered veins of precious metals that would be expressed in billions today, attracting the enterprising madam Cad Thompson, the charismatic highwayman Nickanora and a plethora of swindlers. Miners, flush with their wages, supported a healthy economy of gambling, drinking and prostitution and even launched a few political careers. Sam Clemens, who became Mark Twain while reporting for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, called it "the livest town that America had ever produced.'? Join author Peter B. Mires as he explores the seamy side of this quintessential mining boomtown.

Carol Turner

Notorious Telluride:

9781609490867

$21.99

While today's Telluride might bring to mind a hot tourist spot and upscale ski resort, the earliest days of the town and surrounding San Miguel County were marked by an abundance of gamblers, con men and murderers. From Bob Meldrum, a deputized killer who prowled the streets during times of labor unrest, to the author's own ancestor, Charlie Turner, a brash young man killed in a shooting in Ophir, Carol Turner's Notorious Telluride offers a glimpse at some of the sordid, shocking and sad pioneer tales of the area.

Phillip McArdle

Oakland Police Department

9780738547268

$24.99

The California legislature granted a charter to the new community of Oakland in 1862, and a year later, the town council appointed three peace officers. When it was a dusty Western town, Oakland's major business was raising cattle to feed San Franciscans and the gold miners north of Sacramento. Year by year, as Oakland grew in size and population, the police department grew with it. The Oakland Police Department pioneered the use of call boxes, police cars, and other technical innovations. It has served the city well through good times and bad, wars, fires, and earthquakes. A large, diverse organization serving a complex multicultural city, the Oakland Police Department today accepts the challenges of policing in the 21st century.

Matthew J. Lyons

Oceanside Police Department

9780738531120

$24.99

The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps's nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city's formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty. The photographs in this remarkable collection
inventory the department's past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson's brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the
Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside's top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Kate Ruland-Thorne

Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley

9781467136297

$21.99

Colorado's Grand Valley has an extensive geological and human history going back millennia. Franciscan priests worked in tandem with the native Ute people to plot passage through the territory, opening the valley to unprecedented settlement. The region became the playground of enterprising visionaries, murderous outlaws, hooligans and harlots alike. From the gruesome Meeker massacre and its tragic consequences for the Ute nation to the mysterious murder of Sam McMullin and a showdown with the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, uncover the engrossing stories of an unyielding land. Author Kate Ruland-Thorne recounts many of the defining and damning moments throughout Grand Valley history.

Victoria Newman

Prisons of Cañon City

9780738548456

$24.99

Cañon City sits in a geological bowl surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Historically, it has been known as the prison capital of the world, with eight-- soon to be nine--state prisons in the area and four federal facilities located 11 miles away in Florence. The first prison in Cañon City was built in 1868, before Colorado became a state, and was opened in 1871. Originally known as the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary, it is currently called the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility and holds approximately 800 male inmates. Cañon City has grown up around the prisons, and the area's colorful history is defined by daring prison breaks, infamous inmates, such as the Colorado cannibal Alferd Packard, and by the stories of the inmates and employees who have been part of the prison system.

Raymond A. Guadagni

Napa Valley Case Files

9781467151849

$21.99

Well known for its picturesque setting, Napa Valley is also home to crimes perpetrated in the name of greed, love and rage.

Shocking incidents have rocked the small communities nestled among the vineyards, like that of greedy young Billy Duvall, who killed his parents as they slept, and Bob Edwards, who suffocated his beloved wife in a misguided attempt to keep a promise. Two victims of domestic violence came to very different ends--one murdered and the other offered a second chance at life after a jail sentence.

Join author and retired Napa Superior Court judge Raymond A. Guadagni as he offers his unique perspective on these notorious court cases and the criminal justice system.

Bradley Holden

Seattle Prohibition

9781467140201

$21.99

Prohibition consumed Seattle, igniting a war that lasted nearly twenty years and played out in the streets, waterways and even town hall. Roy Olmstead, formerly a Seattle police officer, became the King of the Seattle Bootleggers, and Johnny Schnarr, running liquor down from Canada, revolutionized the speedboat industry. Frank Gatt, a south Seattle restaurateur, started the state’s biggest moonshining operation. Skirting around the law, the Coast Guard and the zealous assistant director of the Seattle Prohibition Bureau, William Whitney, was no simple feat, but many rose to the challenge. Author Brad Holden tells the spectacular story of Seattle in the time of Prohibition.

Gary L. Hoving

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department

9780738575452

$24.99

Since 1850, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department has proudly served the community as the chief law enforcement agency. The office of sheriff was originally created by the California Constitution to meet the public safety needs of each county. From horseback to gigabit, the sheriff and his deputies have responded to the needs of the citizens by providing the highest quality of protection. While the manner in which service is delivered has changed significantly since 1850, the quality of protection has remained high throughout history and is chronicled in this unique portrayal.

Steve Willard

San Diego Police Department

9780738529981

$24.99

The San Diego Police Department dates to 1889, when out-of-control crime forced the end of the highly ineffective city marshal's office. With violence on every corner and Tombstone's venerable Wyatt Earp running the marshals' gambling interests, change was desperately needed. But the first days of the SDPD weren't easy. Within two years of its formation, the city's economy tanked, 36,000 of the town's 40,000 citizens left, and the department's newly appointed chief refused to take the job. Still, San Diego
eventually developed into one of the nation's largest cities and most popular tourist destination—a multifaceted metropolis perched between the extremes of Los Angeles and Mexico, the Pacific Ocean and the desert. Today more than 2,000 highly trained sworn SDPD officers, 700 support staff, and more than 1,000 volunteers form one of the world's most innovative and internationally recognized police forces.

Steve Willard

San Diego Police

9780738595481

$24.99

A Pacific Coast metropolis famous for beautiful beaches and perfect weather and an American municipality since 1850, San Diego is America's eighth-largest city. Known as America's Finest City, it contains a wealth of history—evolutionary as well as revolutionary—in its crime files. Among those are the founder of the California wine industry, Judge Roy Bean, a black officer before the Emancipation Proclamation, a 19th-century Native American police chief, and women who had the power to arrest before they had the right to vote. Major incidents include massive floods, civil unrest, wildfires, and some of the largest police gun battles in history. San Diego also witnessed mass murder, America's first major school shooting, the worst aviation disaster in American history, and the deadliest streets, per capita, to police. How the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) handled it all became textbook for many other police agencies.

Steve Willard

San Diego Murder & Mayhem

9781467138550

$21.99

Early twentieth-century San Diego was growing fast, and the officers sworn to protect the city encountered more than their fair share of wily lawbreakers. From a shootout with a lone gunman in Mission Hills to gunfights with a gang of bank robbers that involved enthusiastic bystanders hoping to assist, detectives and patrolmen alike tried to maintain the peace. They encountered unexpected bodies, confronted car thieves and pursued criminals through neighboring states and into Mexico. Join author Steve Willard as he unearths stories directly from the case files of the early San Diego Police Department.

Dr. Aaron Parrett

Literary Butte

9781626198364

$21.99

Known worldwide as the Richest Hill on Earth, Butte, Montana, lured immigrants from every part of the world to sweat in the copper mines that powered America in its Gilded Age. Dozens of writers celebrated this wide-open town with impassioned novels of the rugged souls who braved the western frontier at the edge of the Continental Divide. They wrote of the opulence of success and the agony of broken dreams. They catalogued the clash between labor and capital as Butte boomed from a crude village of mules and men to prestige as Montana's biggest city with towering buildings of brick and iron. In Literary Butte, award-winning author Aaron Parrett surveys the wealth of literature that has come from the town that calls itself Butte, America.

Michael L. Stark

Redondo Beach Police Department

9780738581644

$24.99

The Redondo Beach Police Department dates to May 9, 1892, when Marshall S. Rogers was appointed as the city's first marshal. One of the first city ordinances prohibited the discharge of firearms within city limits and provided the option for hiring of a deputy if needed. He was needed, of course, as the city would grow into a major West Coast resort by the 1920s. The department adapted through the changes brought on by the Depression, World War II, and the postwar boom, serving and protecting citizens and fighting crime both unique to beach-city life as well as changing times while enforcing all laws for residents and tourists alike across the dawns of two centuries. In the 21st century, more than 250 sworn officers, support personnel, and volunteers serve one of Southern California's most respected and innovative departments.

Teresa Nordheim

Wicked Seattle

9781467142205

$21.99

Early Seattle enticed settlers with an abundance of natural resources, potential wealth, stunning beauty and versatile climate. It offered gainful employment for fishermen, loggers and miners, but those who rushed west quickly discovered that all that glitters is not gold. The rapidly expanding city lacked one precious resource: women. Bored men yearned for entertainment, while prostitution, gambling and illegal alcohol grew in popularity. Over the years, politicians, police officers and crime bosses accepted graft to keep vice profiting and the city growing, including bootlegger Roy Olmstead and a brothel owner known as Madame Damnable. Teresa Nordheim, author of Murder & Mayhem in Seattle, introduces the wicked side of the Emerald City's history.

Parker Anderson

Wicked Prescott

9781467119528

$21.99

Swindlers, confidence men and outlaws—the mountain shadows and Ponderosa pines surrounding Prescott conceal their grim histories and crooked ways. The small hamlet turned mining town became Arizona's first capital in 1864, and with wealth and power came every type of vice and crime. One block west of the famed Whiskey Row, the roaring red-light district attracted ladies of easy virtue, who often became victims of crimes of passion and coldblooded murder. Legendary crook Fleming Jim Parker escaped from Yavapai County Jail on the back of the sheriff's stolen horse. Cattle rustlers terrorized nearby ranches, while tavern brawls and liquor-fueled shootouts dominated newspaper headlines. More than ten legal hangings brought criminals to justice. Local author Parker Anderson recounts these and more wicked misdeeds from Prescott's wild early days.

Sena Loyd

Nevada State Prison

9780738585451

$24.99

A bloody palm print, footprints of monster men, the nation's first legal lethal gas chamber—all of this and more are at the heart of the Nevada State Prison story. Founded in 1862, before Nevada was battle born, the prison is the oldest continuously operated penal facility in the state. Over its 150-year history, the prison has been home to some of Nevada's most notorious criminals as well as some of the state's stranger events. Fossilized footprints of a giant race of man were found buried deep within the prison quarry. The prints gave rise to the infamous Homo Nevadensis, a supposed lost branch of the human evolutionary tree. On the more macabre side, the prison hosted the nation's first state-sanctioned execution by lethal gas. While dutifully and vigilantly serving its penal function, the Nevada State Prison has periodically garnered international attention and amassed a history worthy of study.

Debbie A. Brockett

Wicked Western Slope

9781609495701

$21.99

Early promoters of Colorado's Western Slope would have had settlers believe the area was one of proper behavior and upstanding morality. But this was not the case. Hot tempers led to quick trigger fingers and Main Street shootouts. Drinking, gambling and thieving were popular pursuits, and law breaking of all kinds thrived in this wild land. From Charles Graham, whose jealous rampage in Grand Junction is still talked about today, and the mysterious Friday the thirteenth murder of Jeanette Morris to Abe C. Ong, the mischievous pioneer bootlegger of De Beque, and Riverside's Mrs. Barnes and her foul crime, History Sleuth D.A. Brockett reveals some of the most outrageous and remarkable crimes in Western Slope history.

Jim Tortolano

Garden Grove

9781626198272

$21.99

Soon after Alonzo Gerry Cook arrived in the Santa Ana Valley in 1874, he established a small crossroads village among the barren plains of coastal Southern California. With little more than a church, school and post office, he planted the seeds of a community that reinvented itself through times of decline and development, disaster and triumph. When the railroad arrived in 1905, the population doubled. The town flourished as an agricultural hub thanks to the bounties of oranges, walnuts, chili peppers and the crop that earned the city's nickname—the strawberry. Despite damage from the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, the postwar years witnessed booming development, and today, Garden Grove exists as a celebrated part of Orange County. Longtime resident and author Jim Tortolano tells the complete story of a resilient community and its memories, people, places and events that have stood the test of time.

John R. Prins

Torrance Police Department

9780738547947

$24.99

The Torrance Police Department dates to May 23, 1921, when city trustees appointed Ben Olsen as city marshal and, shortly thereafter, hired Byron Anderson as night watchman. The efforts of these men were devoted to dealing with thieves, keeping the peace, and declaring war on speedsters. From such humble beginnings, the Torrance Police Department has grown into the fourth largest municipal law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County. Its position as the anchoring police force of the South Bay section of the county and its reputation as an innovator in crime fighting have been firmly established over time. Today, with a total of 242 sworn and 100 support personnel, the highly regarded Torrance Police Department serves more than 142,000 inhabitants in 21 square miles.

Todd L. Shulman

Napa County Police

9780738547527

$24.99

The story of organized law enforcement in Napa County begins with the very first meeting of the board of supervisors in 1850 and the appointment of a county sheriff and marshals for each township. The
foundations for progress and prosperity in place, Napa County grew from a remote agricultural outpost to the preeminent wine-growing region in the United States and a booming tourist destination—and policing
has kept pace. Today, in addition to the Napa Sheriff's Department, the county is protected by the California Highway Patrol and three police departments: Napa, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Specialized police agencies have also grown out of unique needs, including the Napa State Hospital Police, Railroad Police, and Community College Police.

Gary Keyes

Murder & Mayhem in the Crescenta Valley

9781609499976

$21.99

The pleasant neighborhoods of the Crescenta Valley offer no hint of the many violent and heinous crimes that have occurred between the San Gabriel and Verdugo Mountains. But ties to such macabre episodes as the Onion Field murder and the search for the Hillside Strangler left lasting scars here. Infamous criminals such as mafia boss Joe Iron Man Ardizzone, red-light bandit Caryl Chessman and accused yacht bomber Beulah Overell have left a black eye on La Cresecenta's history--not to mention the Rattlesnake Murder, Female Bluebeard and Santa Claus Killer. Join historians Gary Keyes and Mike Lawler as they expose the crimes and criminals that have inflicted murder and mayhem in Glendale, La Crescenta, Montrose and La Canada Flintridge.

Susan Johnson

Wicked Flagstaff

9781467156394

$24.99

A rowdy red-light district, secret tunnels, and scathing newspaper editorials.

Once home to sheep herders and ranchers, the railroad brought a new breed of pioneer to Flagstaff. Entrepreneurs and outlaws alike flocked to the growing town, some finding success and others finding their end at Greenwood Cemetery. When saloons and bawdy houses rebelled against new blue laws, quick-thinking mayor Thomas E. Pollock found a compromise that appeased most locals. Incorrigible characters like Commodore Perry Owens and Ben Doney could be found in town at the Parlor Saloon, while Dutch May Prescott kept the red-light district in the black.

Author Susan Johnson uncovers the weird and wicked side of Flagstaff.

Michael P. Rich

San Diego Harbor Police

9781467132428

$24.99

The San Diego Harbor Police Department has proudly provided more than 50 years of law enforcement. From its humble beginnings as a small security force formed after World War II to protect San Diego imports to the modern and sophisticated police force it is today, the San Diego Harbor Police Department serves as a shining example of the exciting and important role law enforcement plays in the development of a busy 21st-century city. Through a stunning collection of never-before-seen photographs, this book tells the story of the officers who have served and protected one of America's most historic and vital harbors. History lovers, police aficionados, and San Diego locals and visitors will be fascinated by the photographs within, which document the department's history from 1934 through its 1962 transition into the San Diego Unified Port District of today.