Name: True Tales of the Sacramento Delta
Brand: Philip Pezzaglia
SKU: 9781626196056
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock

True Tales of the Sacramento Delta

9781626196056

$21.99

May 13, 1817, marked the first recorded exploration of the Sacramento River. The expedition changed the Delta region forever. A flood of explorers from all over the world poured into the Lower Sacramento River Delta, and soon towns were settled on the banks of the river. As settlement flourished, each new community gave birth to stories of early pioneers, shipwrecks, murder, robbery, vigilante justice, bootleggers and more. Here for the first time in this remarkable collection, local historian and author Philip Pezzaglia reveals the true stories behind some of the tales that have passed through generations, becoming legends of the Delta.

Lost Restaurants of Denver

9781626197152

$21.99

Sample the hearty helpings at the Hungry Dutchman and the dainty morsels at the Denver Dry Goods Tearoom to get a taste of a tradition rich with innovation, hard work, and crazy ideas. Waitresses, chefs, owners, and suppliers bring back the restaurants of yesteryear by sharing success stories and signature recipes. Just don't be surprised by sudden cravings for savory cannolis from Carbones, rich Mija Pie from Baur's, egg rolls at the Lotus Room, or chile rellenos at Casa Mayan.

A Brief History of Fairplay

9781609499556

$21.99

Explore Fairplay from the beginning with local historian Linda Bjorklund as she traces the town's story through Spanish settlers, early American government, Union-Confederate tensions and modern development. Even though Fairplay's remarkable gold and silver boom was reduced to ash overnight in 1873, a strong community overcame history's challenges and preserved its treasures. From the popular annual Burro Days to the Way of Life Museum, Fairplay gives folks a chance to celebrate and relive its rich mining history through festivities and time-capsule buildings such as the general store, drugstore, bank, Summer Brewery and Summer Saloon.

A Brief History of Orange, California

9781609492878

$21.99

Orange, California, a city that started small, but grew big on the promise, sweat and toil of agriculture. Born from the breakup of the old Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, its early days were filled with horse races, gambling, and fiestas. Citrus was the backbone of the economy for more than half a century, though post-war development eventually replaced the orange groves. Historian, and Orange native, Phil Brigandi traces the roots of the city back to its small town origins: the steam whistle of the Peanut Roaster, the citrus packers tissue-wrapping oranges for transport, Miss Orange leading the May Festival parade, and the students of Orange Union High painting the O and celebrating Dutch-Irish Days. In doing so, he captures what makes Orange distinct.

Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier

9781626190160

$21.99

At the turn of the twentieth century, Montana started emerging from its rugged past. Permanent towns and cities, powered by mining, tourism, and trade, replaced ramshackle outposts. Yet Montana's frontier endured, both in remote pockets and in the wider cultural imagination. The frontier thus played a continuing role in Montanans' lives, often in fascinating ways. Author John Clayton has written extensively on these shifts in Montana history, chronicling the breadth of the frontier's legacy with this diverse collection of stories. Explore the remnants of Montana's frontier through stories of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, the Beartooth Highway, and the lost mining camp of Swift Current--and through legendary characters such as Charlie Russell, Haydie Yates, and "Liver-eating" Johnston.

Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier

The Denver Beat Scene: The Mile-High Legacy of Kerouac, Cassady & Ginsberg

9781626197794

$21.99

The Beat Generation descended on Denver with the same feverish intensity that rattled the caf's and art galleries of New York and San Francisco. Home to Neal Cassady and favorite stomping ground for both Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, the Mile-High City still pulses with the energy that made it a nerve center for cultural change and a sanctuary for the spoken word community. Author and Beat historian Zack Kopp pairs a narrative history of the movement with a stop-by-stop guide to its Denver landmarks and hot spots.

The Denver Beat Scene: The Mile-High Legacy of Kerouac, Cassady & Ginsberg

Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest

9781626193710

$21.99

To live in the foothills on the periphery of the Sierra National Forest is to live with the certainty of summer wildfires. Each year, from April forward, Californians watch the sky and sniff the air for telltale signs of smoke. While fire remains a constant threat, the strategy for combating it has evolved with the understanding of its beneficial role in the forest environment. Marcia Penner Freedman traces the history of firefighting and fire management from the forest's early years through the policy shifts that began in the 1960s and the measures used today.

Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest

Natural History of Trail Ridge Road, A

9781626199354

$21.99

Constructed from 1929 to 1932 and opened to tourists and drivers the following year, Trail Ridge Road earned immediate inclusion among the scenic wonders of the world. The new path through the park followed the ancient trail across Tombstone Ridge and offered visitors breathtaking views and a privileged glimpse at unique ecosystems. Today, Trail Ridge Road endures as a truly otherworldly place. It is the country's highest continuous paved road, peaking at over twelve thousand feet and running forty-eight miles. Join author Amy Law on a tour across the Continental Divide and through the history of Colorado's most famous byway.

Forgotten Tales of Idaho

9781626197084

$17.99

Idaho was the forty-third state admitted to the Union, but it just might lead the nation in strange stories and offbeat legends. Author and Idaho resident Andy Weeks fills this collection of tales with stories ranging from compelling and heartfelt to outlandish and bizarre. Discover the boxcar that carried the alleged body of John Wilkes Booth through Idaho. Uncover the identity of Lady Bluebeard, the unassuming Twin Falls housewife who allegedly murdered four husbands. Find out how cars ended up at the bottom of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Learn the grisly story of Gobo Fango, a black Mormon sheepherder whose late 1800s bloody dispute with a cattleman on the open range proved fatal. These tales and many others bring to light Idaho's unruly past in fascinating detail.

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."

The Springs of Steamboat: Healing Waters, Mysterious Caves and Sparkling Soda

9781609498801

$23.99

Steamboat Springs is world renowned for the ski mountain that overshadows the town, but it was the multitude of springs that drew Ute Indians and then the first white settlers to this valley. John Crawford, Steamboat's founder, envisioned a town where people traveled from around the world to take part in the healing properties of the waters. The various springs were believed to cure everything from rheumatism, gout and dyspepsia to virulent blood disorders and skin diseases. While some springs have disappeared and others were sacrificed in the name of progress, many--including Old Town Hot Springs and Strawberry Park Hot Springs--still beckon visitors to bask in their sparkling waters.

The Springs of Steamboat: Healing Waters, Mysterious Caves and Sparkling Soda

Silver Lake Chronicles

9781609499587

$21.99

Situated between Los Feliz and Echo Park a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, Silver Lake thrives as a perennially avant-garde and enchanting enclave. From mansion builders and movie stars to bohemians, visionaries and just plain folk, discover Silver Lake's illustrious past and a fantastic cast of characters sure to enrich contemporary experience and inform the past. Colorful anecdotes about early movie magnates William Selig and Mack Sennett and silent-screen idols Mabel Normand, Antonio Moreno and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle flesh out these famous figures' lives in new and surprising ways. Other lesser-known but richly deserving stories about the area's pioneer families are shared perhaps for the first time. Authors Michael Locke and Vincent Brook present a rich tapestry of this unique urban oasis whose appeal seems only to grow.

Seal Beach:

9781626194892

$23.99

The wooden pier, tree-lined Main Street and ocean views, coupled with a prosperous and happy community, led Forbes "magazine to name Seal Beach one of the five friendliest towns in America. Getting there, however, was a bumpy adventure. Starting in the 1860s as Anaheim Landing, the first seaport in what would become Orange County, it soon became a summer retreat for squatters and illegal saloons. Despite the efforts of real estate developers to turn the town into an amusement resort and an early center for aviation and motion pictures, Seal Beach became neighboring Long Beach's tavern, brothel and gambling destination. But order and prosperity eventually prevailed to create today's quiet residential city. Join author Larry Strawther as he tracks Seal Beach's evolution from raucous port to cherished community."

Lost Ski Areas of Tahoe and Donner

9781467140584

$21.99

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Lake Tahoe and the Donner Summit region became California’s first developed winter sports areas. Plentiful snowfall and newly built highways opened up the summer playground for visitors year-round, and skiing flourished. The Sierra Ski Club formed in 1925, attracting members eager to experience everything the mountains had to offer. People flocked to the slopes, visiting places like Clair Tappaan Lodge in Soda Springs, boasting one of the summit’s earliest ski tows, and the Yuba Gap Lodge, a pioneer in night skiing. Join Ingrid P. Wicken, award-winning author and ski historian, as she recounts the fascinating beginnings of this celebrated ski hub.

Cover image for Lost Ski Areas of Tahoe and Donner, isbn: 9781467140584

Haunted Carson City

9781609497644

$21.99

The Kit Carson Trail in Carson City, Nevada, is haunted by history. The footsteps of Abe Curry, the first superintendent of the Nevada City Mint, still echo in the halls of the building. Mark Twain's niece, Jennie Clemens, died of a fever when she was nine; her spirit peeks from the upstairs window of the family home and is said to visit the Lone Mountain Cemetery. In the 1800s, V&T Railroad baron Duane Bliss built his home on a burial ground. Today, the house occasionally chimes with laughter and music as spirits gather in the parlor in evening finery. Take a walk through Carson City's haunted history with author Janet Jones and meet the spirits that linger in the city's historic district.

Brief History of Erie, Colorado, A

9781467118118

$21.99

From 1866 until 1979, Erie was one of the largest coal-producing towns in the nation. Numerous settlers contributed to building Old Town and making it one of the liveliest communities in northern Colorado. The Columbine Mine massacre in 1927 incited major changes to coal mining practices, inspiring unionization efforts nationally. The improved rights and working conditions that miners struggled to win benefit employees across America today. Emeritus Professor James B. Stull illuminates Erie's earliest pioneers, houses, schools and churches and the town's enduring evolution.

Baseball in Long Beach

9781609499969

$23.99

More than two hundred Major League Baseball players have hailed from Long Beach and its suburbs. This hotbed of horsehide heroics includes Hall of Famers Bob Lemon, Duke Snider and Tony Gwynn, as well as longtime stars Ron Fairly, Bob Bailey, Bobby Grich, Chase Utley and Jered Weaver. Negro League and Pacific Coast League clubs enjoyed Long Beach connections. Many players whose cleats tore up legendary Rec Park and Blair Field are enshrined in the city's baseball/softball hall of fame. The winning tradition continues as Long Beach State's "Dirtbags" sent more players to the bigs in 2010 and 2011 than any other college. Join baseball historian Bob Keisser as he recounts Long Beach's greatest baseball stars, teams and stories.

Beach Mexican

9781609496616

$21.99

Alex Moreno Areyan's odyssey of growing up Latino in white upper-middle-class Redondo Beach in the 1950s presents a story of assimilation different from that experienced by Mexican Americans in larger barrios. His annual white lie" to classmates was that his father got a job up north and the family was moving. They moved, all right--in a 1941 Plymouth with the harvest. In Marysville, Meridian and Mendota, they lived in tents and cars, under trucks and in corrugated tin hovels while picking cotton, tomatoes, peaches, walnuts and plums. The kid once threatened with permanent expulsion from Redondo Union High for speaking Spanish on campus eventually received a plaque from the City of Redondo Beach for writing the Mexican American history of the city. "Beach Mexican" proves the journey wasn't easy."

Baseball in Hawai'i

9781626193130

$21.99

Alexander Cartwright, who invented the game of baseball in New York in the 1840s, soon took his bag of tricks to Hawai'i--where adoption of the pastime predates most other American locales. Pineapple plantation teams played rival sugar refinery clubs with Chinese, Korean and Japanese teams. Barnstorming big-leaguers landed during the winter, and Pearl Harbor brought the biggest names in the sport to paradise: Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, John McGraw and many more. Barry Bonds and Tony Gwynn played for the Hawai'i Islanders before heading up to the Show." Homegrown talents are on display here along with the legends, as author Jim Vitti shows that Hawai'i's baseball history is as rich and diverse as anywhere on the mainland.."

Montana's Waldron Creek Fire:

9781467119269

$21.99

On August 25, 1931, five men died fighting the devastating Waldron Creek Fire west of Choteau, Montana. Lacking training and preparation, Herbert Novotny, Frank Williamson, Hjalmer G. Gunnarson, Ted Bierchen and Charles Allen dashed into the flames and never stood a chance. The Teton County coroner added insult to injury, noting that each had "no one to blame but himself." Three men were buried in unmarked graves. Records show that the body of the fifth was returned to his family, but no burial site is known. Only one has a headstone. National Smokejumper Association chief historian Dr. Charles Palmer shines a light on this important story, finally honoring the heroic sacrifice that led to critical changes in wildland firefighting.

Fort Collins

9781626197251

$21.99

While today's Fort Collins is a popular destination for foodies and weekend adventurers, it was once a lonely military outpost poised on the nation's frontier. Cattle rustlers and trigger-happy cowboys walked an uneasy line between saloon doors and the hangman's noose. By 1895, Fort Collins had lost some of its gritty edge, and it became a dry town full of churches, sheep ranches and sugar beet farms. The city was again transformed over the past century into a community that embraced a thriving beer culture and green living. Local historian Barbara Fleming traces the story of the Choice City from its early pioneer days through its modern renaissance.

The Aviation History of Greater Riverside

9781609496302

$21.99

Ever since aircraft changed the scope of the First World War, flight became both a passion and business in Riverside. Early barnstormers needed places to park, refuel and service their aircraft, so airports started popping up. Alessandro Field became March Field in 1918. By World War II, seventy-five thousand troops were deployed at March. Today's March Joint Air Reserve Base has been a vital wartime training and relay installation and a sentinel of peacetime. In 1925, Roman Warren, known as the Cowboy Aviator," established Riverside Airport, which later became Flabob Airport. Take to the air with authors Marge and Tony Bitetti as they trace Greater Riverside's history of flight--from Banning, Corona and Riverside Municipal Airports to Perris Airport, Skylark Field and others."

The Aviation History of Greater Riverside

Forgotten Heroes & Villains of Sand Creek

9781596299436

$21.99

On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led a bloody and terrible raid on an encampment of Arapahos and Cheyennes who had come to the area believing they were on a path to peace. Before it was over, between 130 and 180 Native Americans had been massacred. This attack, known as the Sand Creek Massacre, is one of the most well-known and notorious events in Colorado's history. In Forgotten Heroes and Villains of Sand Creek, author Carol Turner turns an eye to the central characters, their histories and how they came to be part of this bloody episode. This fascinating look at such a pivotal event, its instigators and its martyrs includes the stories of John Chivington, an ambitious preacher with a streak of cruelty; Captain Silas Soule, a man who is still honored today by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes for his efforts in saving their ancestors; Ned Wynkoop, one of Soule's compatriots who had a change of heart regarding the tribes; Chief One Eye, a persuasive and charismatic medicine man; and many, many more.

Forgotten Heroes & Villains of Sand Creek

Sacramento Beer

9781467138475

$21.99

Historically speaking, Sacramento benefited from a gold rush, an agricultural boom and, more recently, a brewing renaissance. The region's craft beer scene exploded from six to more than sixty breweries in about a decade, and the roots of that culture stretch back more than a century. Before Prohibition, thousands of acres of local hops supplied brewers across the country. Local farms are once again taking advantage of the temperate climate. In 1958, the University of California-Davis started America's foremost brewing science program, producing some of California's top brewers. Rubicon's 1989 award-winning IPA was just the beginning for the current, innovative resurgence. Author Justin Chechourka explores the complexities and nuance of this fermenting heritage.

Ghosts of Fort Collins

9781609495190

$21.99

From reports of a figure in the old firehouse bell tower to whispered rumors of apparitions seen in basements and tunnels underneath the city, Fort Collins is filled with disturbing and unnatural occurrences. In Old Town, pictures fly off walls, ghostly noises ring out through passageways and specters pass through brick walls. Tour guide Lori Juszak and her team take readers on a trip through the Choice City's most chilling hauntings and legends. Meet the guest at the Antler's Hotel who never checks out and dance along to the unexplained music in the Museum of Art. Watch out for the ghost at the Armadillo Garage and beware the spirits of the underground morgue!

Forgotten Tales of Colorado

9781609498863

$14.99

Wild characters, diverse cultures, spooky myths and slippery sales schemes color Colorado's past. In a place where shameless showdowns and dusty shootouts over money, drink and women were once standard procedure, storytelling around campfires became an integral part of a rich heritage. From the jackalope and vampires to Indian curses and snake oil salesmen, the Centennial State has it all. Weirder still are the strange but true stories like that of the first body buried in La Junta's Fairview Cemetery, a man who landed there for refusing alcohol to a kid, and that of the hotel in Telluride that once offered a promotion that included funeral costs with your stay. While history may have neglected these silly, seedy and salacious stories, author Stephanie Waters has rediscovered Colorado's best forgotten tales.

Central Coast Aviators in World War II

9781467139526

$21.99

During World War II, thousands of volunteer combat aviators trained at places like Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Hancock Field in Santa Maria. Some air cadets and WASPs--young women pilots--lost their lives in training accidents. The graduates would go on to fight in both the Pacific and European theaters. They faced flak bursts and collisions that resulted in horrifying explosions and were sent on strafing runs that made them targets in a lethal shooting gallery. Downed airmen encountered both unexpected kindness and cruel deprivation as prisoners of war. Through interviews and official records, Jim Gregory tells the stories of heroic Central Coast veterans who fought a war that stretched from New Guinea to North Africa.

Miracle Mile in Los Angeles:

9781609495930

$21.99

The world-famous Miracle Mile in Los Angeles was shaped into a great commercial and cultural district by the city's tremendous urban expansion in the early twentieth century. Its origins along Wilshire Boulevard are directly related to the twin LA booms in auto travel and real estate ventures. Once the home of such famous stores as the May Company, Silverwood's, Coulter's and Desmond's, as well as Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture, Miracle Mile has boasted the La Brea Tar Pits and Farmer's Market, Gilmore Field and CBS Television City, as well as Pan Pacific Park and Museum Row. Join author Ruth Wallach, head of the University of Southern California's Architecture and Fine Arts Library, for this tour through the most emblematic neighborhood of twentieth-century Los Angeles development.

Midtown Sacramento:

9781626196735

$21.99

Though once scheduled for demolition, Midtown Sacramento battled back to become the city's geographic and cultural center--a beacon for offbeat artists, progressive thinkers and independent spirits. This eclectic neighborhood made history through social progress and artistic innovation. Through the hippie counterculture of the 1960s, the irreverent power of punk rock in the 1970s and '80s and the social and political consciousness of Generation X in the 1990s and beyond, Midtown always led the way. Now Sacramento historian and Midtown resident William Burg tells the story of the diverse generations of Sacramentans who shaped this trailblazing neighborhood.

Frontier History Along Idaho's Clearwater River

9781626197091

$21.99

The Clearwater River runs deep through northern Idaho's history. The Nez Perce tribe made its home along the river. Lewis and Clark's journey west took them through the Clearwater. In fact, the Nez Perce made the expedition's voyage from the Clearwater River to the Pacific Ocean possible by teaching them how to make dugout canoes from ponderosa pine logs. Fur traders like John Jacob Astor and William Ashley financed the first American commercial activity on the river, bringing trappers to the area and paving the way for the Oregon Trail. Later came the first gold rush, the Nez Perce war, statehood, homesteaders and the beginning of the logging industry. Join author John Bradbury as he recounts a time when native tribes, explorers, trappers, preachers, miners and lumberjacks made a life along the Clearwater, establishing the area for future generations.

Frontier History Along Idaho's Clearwater River

Wicked Jurupa Valley:

9781609495206

$21.99

The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders a horrible 1928 national news story that inspired the 2008 movie The Changeling from director Clint Eastwood are only the most infamous despicable deeds that have bloodstained the rural countryside between Riverside City and the San Bernardino County line. Jurupa Valley has been a region of dark doings and scandalous misdeeds for generations. The city of Jurupa Valley was formed in 2011 from the area's smaller communities, including Wineville (renamed Mira Loma to escape the shame), Pedley and Rubidoux. Buried in its landscape are salacious sagas of unchecked bootlegging, payday orgies and gruesome murders. Author Kim Jarrell Johnson digs deep to disinter the unsavory stories that have traditionally marked her home city as a resting place of enduring infamy.

Ghosts of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak

9781609494674

$21.99

Eerie tales have been part of the city's history from the beginning: Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain are the subjects of several spooky Native American legends, and Anasazi spirits are still seen at the ancient cliff dwellings outside town. In the Old North End neighborhood, the howls of hellhounds ring through the night, and visitors at the Cheyenne Canon Inn have spotted the spirit of Alex Riddle on the grounds for over a century. Henry Harkin has haunted Dead Mans' Canyon since his gruesome murder in 1863, and Poor Bessie Bouton is said to linger on Cutler Mountain, hovering where her body was discovered more than a century ago. Ghost hunter and tour guide Stephanie Waters explores the stories behind Little London's" oldest and scariest tales."

Ghosts of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak

The Missoula Mercantile: The Store that Ran an Empire

9781609494094

$21.99

From its log cabin beginnings at a dusty crossroads in Montana Territory, the Missoula Mercantile grew to become the largest department store between Minneapolis and Seattle. Under the guidance of A.B. Hammond and C.H. McLeod and their policy of community involvement and customer satisfaction, the Merc became a household word in Montana, synonymous with square dealing. Join historian Minie Smith as she traces the story of a western institution, remembering everything from the Missoula Mercantile's hardware department, with its creaky wooden floors and drawers of nuts and bolts, to its ladies' apparel department, which offered a taste of the big city with silks, satins and velveteens. From horseshoes to hosieries, the Merc had what customers needed and knew what they wanted.

The Missoula Mercantile: The Store that Ran an Empire

Wicked Crescenta Valley

9781626193062

$21.99

From illegal gambling and prostitution to claims of alien abduction, Crescenta Valley has seen it all. Once home to thriving moonshine operations and shocking Nazi rallies, the valley's past is riddled with scandalous tales that many would prefer to forget. Yet not all of Crescenta Valley's tawdry history could remain forgotten or hidden in its day. The infamous C.C. Julian oil scandal made national headlines. Even today, recent information reveals a local internment camp for Japanese and Germans that opened the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Join Gary Keyes and Mike Lawler, authors of Murder & Mayhem in the Crescenta Valley," as they reveal the seamy underbelly that belies the valley's beautifully pleasant exterior."

Wicked Denver

9781609491536

$21.99

The Mile-High City was never above fatal bar brawls, poison plots or any of the other transgressions history would like to ignore. From the moment it sprang from the frontier, Denver was a hotbed of violent money disputes, acts of criminal insanity and every manner of wickedness associated with street and saloon life. Men posed as women while committing crimes, and murderous madams left trails of scarred girls and ruined lives. Some sordid tales are common Mile-High lore, like the case of the Denver Strangler, while others, like the Capitol Hill Slugger, who plagued the well-to-do neighborhood at the turn of the century, have disappeared from note...until now. Follow Sheila O'Hare and Alphild Dick through the tantalizing and wicked tales that undeniably sculpted the city.