Description

Products You May Like

• SHOWDOWN!: LIONHEARTED LAWMEN OF OLD CALIFORNIA

  $15.95 $9.57 0 review(s)

  
  

  ?Showdown!: Lionhearted Lawmen of Old California? is a engaging collection of six biographies of early California lawmen: Sheriff John Bogard of Tehama County, Detective Emil Harris of Los Angeles, Deputy Sheriff Hiram Rapelje of central California, William J. Howard of Mariposa County, Sheriff David Douglas of Nevada County, and Lafayette Choisser of Mariposa County. Punctuated by gunshots and posse hoofbeats, these true tales illustrate, in both words and illustrations, the perilous lives of Old California?s brave lawmen, and vividly describe a time now gone forever. The courageous men profiled in this book were all colorful personalities. Hiram Rapelje rose to the heights, and depths, of his profession, while Emil Harris was a widely known detective throughout the state. William J. Howard was a member of Harry Love?s California Rangers that tracked down Joaquin Murrieta. Sheriffs Bogard and Douglas were both killed in the line of duty in dramatic showdowns.

• CALIFORNIA DESPERADOS

  $15.95 $9.57 0 review(s)

  
  

  "I shot him in the left temple; the gun dropped from his hands; he quivered one instant, and Andy McGinnis climbed the Golden Stairs...." This was Chris Evans speaking. Evans, the killer, train robber and fugitive, was describing the famous shootout at Young's cabin when he and his partner John Sontag ambushed and killed two members of a posse that was pursuing them. In California Desperadoes, Evans and seven other early outlaws tell their own raw stories-tales of holdups, shootouts and desperate flights from the law. Witness the cruel confessions of the ruthless gang of California bandits who murdered a whole family-men, women, and children-in the opening days of the Gold Rush. Stand on the gallows with the notorious Jim Stuart as he is hanged by San Francisco vigilantes determined to retake their city from hordes of Australian convicts, robbers and killers. The ill-starred adventures of Tom Bell, Tiburcio Vasquez and Charles Dorsey will hold you spellbound as the outlaws themselves take you along the dangerous trails they rode. And stage robbers Jim Smith and Dick Fellows will shock you with their own tales of the harrowing and sometimes hilarious antics of the California highwaymen of another day. These are true stories told by true desperadoes and illustrated with many rare photographs. Here are first-person accounts you will not soon forget!

• Choose Your Weapon

  $16.95 $10.17 0 review(s)

  
  

  Choose Your Weapon: The Duel in California, 1847–1861 describes in graphic detail the major figures, causes, and means by which the Golden State’s 75 “affairs of honor” of that timeframe were fought. The number of shootouts between these “gentleman” was greater than that of any other state during those years. Because so many duels were fought over politics, the book reveals much about the major politicians and newspaper editors of that era. In addition, there is a great deal of irony. For example, in 1850 Assemblyman George Penn Johnston crafted a bill that provided severe penalties for anyone convicted of dueling. Still, it remained impossible to empanel a jury that would convict a duelist. Eight years later this same legislator sent a challenge to a member of the State Senate, and, in the shootout that followed, killed him. Though found not guilty, he was the first duelist to be tried under the very statute he had written. New evidence also reveals there was far more paradox than previously imagined regarding the infamous duel between U.S. Senator David C. Broderick and State Supreme Court Justice David Terry. One of the most grueling duels ever to take place on the frontier was the 1853 faceoff between U.S. SenatorWilliam Gwin and Congressman Joseph W. McCorckle. Fought in the hills above bucolic San Mateo with 54 caliber Mississippi Yagers at forty paces, by dint of several miracles neither was killed. In summary, Choose Your Weapon provides readers with an invaluable historical primer on California’s Golden Era, as well as the tumultuous temperament of its pioneer politicians and newspaper editors. Audience: California history readers. About the Author: Christopher Burchfield has been researching and writing about the Gold Rush Era of California for more than thirty years. Over this period he and his wife, Genendal, have traveled up and down the state, scouring its libraries and history centers, from Barstow to Yreka, often camping out under some very inclement weather conditions. He has had over 100 articles published in various magazines. $16.95 ($21.95 Canada) • Trade Paperback • 6" x 9" • 260 pages ISBN 978-1-61035-277-2

• SKI TALES: THE HISTORY OF CHINA PEAK AND SIERRA SUMMIT

  $10.95 $6.57 0 review(s)

  
  

  The True Story of Sierra Summit in Words and Pictures. Written by an old timer who has been schussing the nooks and the crannies, the steeps and the deeps, for 50 years, Ski Tales: The History of China Peak and Sierra Summit reveals the unique, dramatic, and often humorous history of Sierra Summit, from its beginning as China Peak to the present day. Illustrated with dozens of vintage and new photos of colorful personalities and breathtaking snowscapes, Ski Tales will take you on a nostalgic journey through decades of perfect snow, sunny days, fun and friendship.

• An Artist and a Writer Travel Highway 1 Central

  $26.95 0 review(s)

  
  

  The sequel to the authors’ acclaimed book An Artist and a Writer Travel Highway 1 North, An Artist and a Writer Travel Highway 1 Central takes the reader on a unique literary and artistic journey through the natural and man-made beauty of California’s central coast.

• Behind San Quentin's Walls: The History of California’s Legendary Prison and Its

  $18.95 $11.37 0 review(s)

  
  

  San Quentin is one of the most famous prisons in American history, featured in countless movies and novels, yet few know its colorful early history. In Behind San Quentin’s Walls, noted Old West historian William B. Secrest reveals the beginning of San Quentin, from its unlikely start as a real estate scheme to its essential role in taming the lawless California of the Gold Rush era. Featuring numerous citations from contemporary accounts, plus period photos, illustrations, newspaper clippings, and maps, Behind San Quentin’s Walls chronicles the political calculations that created San Quentin; the outsize egos of the men who built it; the mismanagement and frequent escapes that marred San Quentin’s early years; and the notorious ruffians and cutthroats who were housed there. Filled with exciting true stories of gunfights, brawls, prison riots, daring escapes, and intrepid manhunts, Behind San Quentin’s Walls is a rip-roaring Wild West tale of how men and women with immense talent for both good and evil tamed a new state and each other.