A freewheeling catalog of misfits, eccentrics, creeps, criminals, and failed dreamers, this compendium profiles 45 bizarre personalities who exemplify the Golden State’s well-deserved reputation for nonconformity. In the pages, Gold Rush pioneers are revealed as murderous madmen; Hollywood celebrities are shown to be drug-addled sex maniacs; early hippies are just 1950s weirdos; and even seemingly ordinary Californians have a talent for freakish, crazy, and criminal behavior. From frontier lunatic Grizzly Adams, whose head was one massive wound after multiple bear attacks, to I Love Lucy star William Frawley, a racist, misogynist, foul-mouthed drunk, and legendarily awful film director Ed Wood, California Fruits, Flakes, and Nuts is a side-splitting look at the people who made California the strangest place on earth.
From R. Barri Flowers, award-winning criminologist and the bestselling author of Murderess on the Loose, Murder of the Doctor’s Wife, Murder at the Pencil Factory, and The Sex Slave Murders, comes the gripping historical true crime short, Murdered by the King of Western Swing: The Beating Death of Ella Mae Cooley in 1961. On Monday, April 3, 1961, thirty-eight-year-old former vocalist Ella Mae Cooley was beaten to death in her home in Willow Springs, an unincorporated area located in Kern County, California. The cruelty of the crime was shocking to local residents in the normally idyllic community. A greater shock was that the murder was committed by the victim’s fifty-year-old husband, Donnell Clyde Cooley, a well-known big band leader, musician, actor, host of a television variety show, and businessman. Ella Mae and Donnell Clyde, who generally went by the name Spade Cooley, were both struggling with accusations of unfaithfulness in their marriage that had produced two children. They were in the midst of a divorce when tragedy struck. Cooley snapped in deciding to end the marriage prematurely by murdering his wife The horrific assault was witnessed by the couple’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Melody, who would testify against her father at his trial. In spite of her untimely presence at the crime scene, Cooley sought to attribute Ella Mae’s death to an accident. This fell flat, as did a short-lived attempt to plead insanity in the death of his wife. Spade Cooley would be convicted of murder and sent to prison for his heinous act of criminality, forever casting a shadow over a successful career in Western swing music and television. See how this tragic story of celebrity, suspicion, and homicidal rage unfolds in the historical crime of passion. Included is a complete bonus historical short tale, The Gold Special Train Robbery: Deadly Crimes of the D’Autremont Brothers, as well as excerpts from the author’s bestselling true crime book, Serial Killer Couples; the riveting historical true crime short, Murder of the Banker's Daughter: The Killing of Marion Parker; and the gripping historical true crime tale, Mass Murder in the Sky: The Bombing of Flight 629.
From R. Barri Flowers, award-winning criminologist and the bestselling author of Murder at the Pencil Factory, Murder Chronicles, Murder During the Chicago World’s Fair, Serial Killer Couples, and The Sex Slave Murders, comes the gripping historical true crime anthology, Jealous Rage: Stunning True Tales of Intimates, Passion, and Murder (Volume 1). Each chapter will chronicle a riveting, real life, age-old murder case involving jealousy, betrayal, and homicidal fury between spouses, lovers, and others caught in the fatal crossfire, and justice being served or not. Chapter 1: Murder of the U.S. Attorney: Congressman Sickles’ Crime of Passion in 1859 Chapter 2: Murder of the Doctor’s Wife: The 1867 Crimes of Bridget Durgan Chapter 3: Murder of the French Lover: The Killing of Madame Lassimonne in 1892 Chapter 4: Murderess on the Loose: The 1922 Hammer Wrath of Clara Phillips Chapter 5: Killer of Her Husband’s Secretary: The 1935 Love Triangle Ire of Etta Reisman Chapter 6: Murdered by the King of Western Swing: The Beating Death of Ella Mae Cooley in 1961 Chapter 7: Murder of the Horse Trainer’s Rival: The 1978 Bitter Breakup of Buddy Jacobson and the Model Chapter 8: Murder of a Star Quarterback in 2009: The Tragic Tale of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi Bonus material includes two complete and captivating historical true crime shorts, The Amityville Massacre: The DeFeo Family's Nightmare, and Missing or Murdered: The Disappearance of Agnes Tufverson; as well as excerpts from the author’s bestselling books The Sex Slave Murders: The True Story of Serial Killers Gerald & Charlene Gallego; The Dreadful Acts of Jack the Ripper and Other True Tales of Serial Murder and Prostitutes; Murder During the Chicago World's Fair: The Killing of Little Emma Werner; and Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers, and Victims of the Twentieth Century.
The world's most comprehensive, well documented, and well illustrated book on this subject. With extensive subject and geographical index. 526 photographs and illustrations - mostly color. Free of charge in digital PDF format.
The world's most comprehensive, well documented, and well illustrated book on this subject. With extensive subject and geographic index. 245 photographs and illustrations - mostly color. Free of charge in digital format on Google Books
The world's most comprehensive, well documented, and well illustrated book on this subject. With extensive subject and geographic index. 205 photographs and illustrations - many color. Free of charge in digital PDF format.
