California Memoir

Alexandra Morton has been called "the Jane Goodall of Canada" because of her passionate thirty-year fight to save British Columbia's wild salmon. Her account of that fight is both inspiring in its own right and a roadmap of resistance.

Chronicling his embodiment of the American Dream, Total Recall covers Schwarzenegger's high-stakes journey to the United States, from creating the international bodybuilding industry out of the sands of Venice Beach to breathing life into cinema's most iconic characters and becoming one of the leading political figures of our time. Proud of his accomplishments and honest about his regrets, Schwarzenegger spares nothing in sharing his amazing story.

“Go slow,” his political elders advised him, but Gavin Newsom has never known such a speed. For Newsom, the California Dream is what lured his father’s family from County Cork, Ireland, six generations ago. His great-great-grandfather, a cop, walked a beat in San Francisco, where almost 150 years later, Newsom would be elected as mayor, running on the values instilled in him by his family history: that California’s open arms must continue to extend to each new generation.

United States of True Crime is an anthology series with books devoted to the most disturbing cases in each of the 50 states. This audiobook focuses on 20 of the most chilling crimes in California history. True crime junkies may recognize some of the highly publicized cases but I’ve made sure to include lesser-known, equally unsettling crimes.

In 2012, 25-year-old Jackie Moyer—the daughter of a forbidden marriage between a white American father and a Punjabi American mother—was a new organic farmer with 10 acres of land in Gold Hill, California. With a fractured relationship to her heritage, Moyer saw an opportunity for repair when she decided to grow an heirloom wheat variety called Sonora. Sonora wasn’t just an heirloom wheat strain; it was her own cultural heirloom. Jackie uncovers how the history of this hardy wheat mirrors her family's multigenerational story of resilience.

As described in Readers’ Favorite Review by Vincent Dublado… “James H. Morgan magnificently captures the nostalgia of the 1960s. There is power in the recollection of ordinary people chronicling their experience in specific times in history because it gives a powerful illustration of how ordinary citizens lived and witnessed history… The beauty of The Reject Bench is that Morgan skillfully blends both the mundane and colorful episodes in his life and how they are shaped by the events of the times. How he views the looming war in Vietnam captures the sentiments of a considerable ...

One day during his ninth-grade speech class, Kelly Daniels's outlaw, soul-surfer father appears at school unannounced and pulls the boy from class. Speeding down the freeway, Daniels's father admits that he has been involved in a crime, but he does not remember how it happened. He'd been up for days on cocaine and booze, he explains, and the next thing he knew he woke up in jail with a bad feeling.

A touching literary discovery, 402 Avalon follows a boy's journey during the 1950s through one of San Francisco's most mysterious houses that was built during the 1880s. This curious true story about a neglected boy, his uncommon family, the gushing growth of San Francisco and the infamous house is part intrigue, part innocence and part discovery. 402 Avalon is a stunning portrait of a child wanting guidance, living in the haunted three-story wooden structure that was dangerous.

Gary Reid Galbreath was born and raised in California and knew from a young age that he wanted to devote himself to the pursuit of justice. From donning his first seersucker suit at four to his career in law enforcement, he was determined to seek out the truth and level the playing field. Little did he know that seeking the truth and finding justice as a California State Lottery Investigator would get him labeled as a whistleblower. Fired and shunned by the very people he thought would support him in his quest for fairness, Reid shares his story of vindication and clearing his name.

The Super Bowl champion wide receiver for the New England Patriots shares his inspiring story of an underdog kid who was always doubted to becoming one of the most reliable and inspiring players in the NFL. Relentless is the story of Julian Edelman's rise, and the continuing dominance of the Patriot dynasty, filled with memories of growing up with a father who was as demanding as any NFL coach, his near-constant fight to keep his intensity and competitiveness in check in high school and college, and his celebrated nine seasons with the Patriots.

Had Upton Sinclair not written a single book after The Jungle, he would still be famous. But Sinclair was a mere 25 years old when he wrote The Jungle, and over the next 65 years, he wrote nearly 80 more books and won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He was also a filmmaker, labor activist, women’s rights advocate, and health pioneer on a grand scale. This new biography of Sinclair underscores his place in the American story as a social, political, and cultural force, a man who more than any other disrupted and documented his era in the name of social justice.

Twelve-year-old Marion Parker was kidnapped from her Los Angeles school by an unknown assailant on December 15, 1927. Her body was found days later, delivered to her father by the killer, who fled with the ransom money. When William Hickman was hunted down and charged with the killing, he admitted to all of it, in terrifying detail, but that was only the start. His insanity plea was the first of its kind in the history of California, and the nature of the crime led to a media frenzy unlike any the country had seen up to that point.

Embracing My Inner Lunatic covers the years following my Playgirl Centerfold and strip dancing adventures. Careening through my thirties, which are even wilder than my 20s, I fall in and out of love and try to understand myself and my inability to live a conventional life. Managing gyms grounded me yet provided constant temptation and many pleasurable encounters leading me away from the life I was seeking. Sex, exercise, and drugs fueled my life. Including many photos and a short erotic story.

Young, beautiful, popular, intelligent: You can have all these things going for you and still find yourself in situations you cannot get out of. In Gone Too Soon, author Don Lasseter explores three cases of young lives cut short.

An intimate portrait of a tortured player, this biography culls interviews, letters, and the personal account of baseball legend Willie Mays Aikens. Touted from a young age as the next Reggie Jackson, Aikens' promising career quickly turned disastrous when he fell into drug abuse and was ultimately sentenced to the longest prison sentence ever given to a professional athlete in a drug case.

For over a decade, I’ve been captivated by the idea of this book, which goes beyond profiling well-known locals in Orange County. It focuses on individuals who contribute significantly to the region’s culture and beyond, showcasing a diverse range of stories. Orange County isn’t just a location; it’s a hub of creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation—from surf culture to tech giants.

"The employee is regarded by the employer merely in the light of his value as an operative. His productive capacity alone is taken into account." (Stanford) Leland Stanford: The Life and Legacy of the Railroad Executive Who Became California’s Governor and the West’s Most Famous Robber Baron chronicles the remarkable life of Stanford.

"Golden State Killers" delves deep into the haunting chronicles of seven notorious serial killers who emerged from the sun-kissed expanses of California. While the Golden State is often celebrated for its shimmering beaches and Hollywood glamour, lurking in its underbelly is a darker tale that needs telling.

Many of the women who went west for the gold rush shared the same eagerness for adventure as the men (in contrast to the conventional image of the long-suffering martyr accompanying her husband). Levy intersperses her text with excerpts from diaries and journals and concludes with brief biographies of 17 women participants.

The Hanging Judge of California probes outrageous decisions by the Federal 9th Circuit Court in overturning death penalty verdicts. California Judge Donald A. McCartin, who sent nine men to death row, speaks out in fury when convicted child killer Rodney Alcala's verdict was overturned after 23 years. The audiobook chronicles Alcala's crimes and trials, as well as the horrific murders committed by eight other killers who were sentenced by McCartin.