David Kulczyk Boeken

Introducing the victims and perpetrators responsible for California's most notorious shootouts, lynchings, and assassinations, this account shows how homemade justice is never black-and-white. In relating these histories, this discussion also analyzes how and why Hollywood storylines almost always follow the same skewed and unrealistic arc in which the bad guys abuse the good guys, the good guy take the high road until the bad guy has gone too far, and the good guy picks off the bad guys, one by one, in an increasingly dramatic fashion.

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.

Exploring California's macabre history, the book presents a collection of shocking tales involving notorious murders, tragic accidents, and bizarre fatalities. From the harrowing story of tourists lost at Yosemite to the gritty demise of a rock star in Hollywood, each account offers a unique glimpse into the state's darker moments. The narrative blends humor with horror, providing an enthralling look at both famous and obscure figures whose lives ended in extraordinary ways, making for a captivating and unconventional exploration of California's past.

California's Deadliest Women presents fascinating and grimly comic profiles of 28 female murderers. Some killed for money, some for revenge, and some for no reason at all--but all share a cold contempt for human life.