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$16.95 $10.17 |
Subtitle: "Memoirs of a Chippie of the California Highway Patrol". Bringing to light an entertaining array of anecdotes, this collection of police stories recalls some of the strangest, funniest, and most poignant accounts from the freeways, highways, and country roads throughout California. From the family who pulled over for a picnic on the median strip of a busy freeway to the angelic-looking 5-year-old girl who defused a tense traffic stop by sweetly confessing, ?my daddy has a beer under the seat,? this is an uncompromising view of the everyday pursuits, enforcement stops, arrests, accidents, and weird encounters that patrolmen must endure. Also featured is a panoply of unlikely drunk-driving suspects, including Santa Claus, a Boy Scout troop leader, a newlywed couple, and an airline pilot on his way to fly a plane; the traffic stop of an elderly driver whose license had expired 35 years earlier?and who explained he was on his way to the DMV; and many more hilarious, odd, and tragic stories of life and death on the open road. Encouraging a renewed respect for the men and women in uniform who risk their lives to protect the public, this compilation also contains advice on highway safety and how to behave when pulled over by a patrol officer.
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$18.95 $11.37 |
Subtitle: "More Famous Crimes of Early Fresno County." With a foreword by William Secrest, Sr. Presenting 16 famous cases from Fresno, California, set mainly in the first part of the 20th century, author Scott Morrison -- a long-time detective in the Fresno sheriff's office - brings to life fascinating cases of murder and mayhem from Fresno?s past. The book introduces memorable figures such as Fresno?s ?Old Broom Man? and ?Black Widow,? and one chapter focuses specifically on all the men from Fresno County who have ever been executed by the State of California?s justice apparatus. ?Murder in the Garden, Volume 2? offer commentary that compares these sensational past cases to current high-profile criminal cases. A consideration of the changing face of crime, this history reveals a modern upswing in child abuse, multiple murders, and kidnapping cases and highlights the extended nature of the current legal process as compared to the open-and-shut character of the early 1900s.
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$19.95 $11.97 |
The first Fresno Fair opened in 1883 with five days of horse racing, a live stock exhibit, and a few small produce stalls. Modest as it was, it was a huge success; only five years later, a grandstand was added to the fairgrounds. Agriculture, industrial, and commerce exhibit halls followed in the early 1900s. A wooden race track was built in 1920. Claude C. "Pop" Laval's camera lens missed little of the excitement of the early fairs. Many of his magnificent photographs are available in print for the first time in this book. Each is literally a snapshot in time, revealing the historical richness of our Valley's great community event. Proceeds from the sale of each book benefit the restoration project of the Claude C. "Pop" Laval Photographic Collection. Your purchase of a piece of "Pop's" treasure will help ensure that future generations can enjoy seeing the Valley as "Pop" saw it, through the "Windows on the Past."
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$25.00 $15.00 |
In this collection of firsthand accounts by those who knew Cesar Chavez best, a portrait of an uncommonly complex man, both driven and focused, yet humble, empathic and exceedingly principled, emerges. The reader gains an understanding of the yoke Chavez chose to place upon his own shoulders, as well as the ideals he employed to accomplish for the migrant farmworkers what many predicted would be impossible. The more than 45 contributors range from the famous--Edward James Olmos, Henry Cisneros, Martin Sheen, Coretta Scott King, Jerry Brown and others--to members of the Chavez family, to UFW staff, to the farmworkers themselves. Illustrated by the compelling black and white photographs of George Elfie Ballis, who began photographing the farmworker movement in the 1950s.
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$26.95 $16.17 |
More than 200 vintage color postcards bring to life Fresno County's storied past. These vibrant images date from as early as 1875, and are paired with brief passages that deftly position each card within its historical context. Famous long-vanished Fresno edifices are revived again, including the El Rancho motel, the Carnegie Library, and the Pine Lake Lodge. Beautiful, educational, and inspiring, this exceptional compilation is a treasure trove for the regional history buff.
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The story of the San Joaquin California's heartland river its people, its places, its past. In the maiden embrace of Thousand Island Lake, Garnet Lake and Shadow Lake sparkling gems of the John Muir Trail country the collected droplets of what will become the San Joaquin River gather. At these first resting spots, the waters stand clear and cold, but this pristine distinction is not to last. Wending its way down towering mountains, through deep canyons and between undulating foothills, the river passes some of the most beautiful country in America, yet by the time it reaches the San Joaquin Delta, nearly 400 miles and 10,000 vertical feet later, it has become little more than a public sewer, a fouled, controlled drain for agricultural and municipal wastewater. While nearly all of America's major rivers have been compromised, few have been so misused as the San Joaquin. In its comparatively brief history it has been dammed, diverted and depleted beyond comprehension. Some see the San Joaquin as a river betrayed. This book is not an academic history; rather, it is the story of a real river its people, its places and its past based on the lives and letters of those who have known it firsthand. More than anything, this book seeks to identify the forces and figures who have shaped, altered and corrupted the course of a once mighty river. So come, step back in time and travel along; there's one of the old river steamers now. Hop onboard and journey up the river. You can reflect on the river's rich and colorful past and visit its backwaters and byways. You'll also have a chance to stop and examine those places where the water barons and power brokers left their mark, as well as the spots where government intervention went awry. And perhaps during the journey you'll gain a bit of insight about the hard choices to be faced if the wise use of this essential resource is to prevail.