Throughout America cocktail parties sparkled defiantly through the dreaded first minutes of January 20, 1920. With morning would come the official start of Prohibition. It was easy, however, to keep the party going in Long Beach, California. Though Long Beach had been "dry" throughout most of its history, illegal liquor distribution throughout the city was already perfected by the time the 18th Amendment, banning the sale of most alcoholic beverages, became law. Already in place were underground booze operations, secretive speakeasies and bootlegging, the perfect staging ground for crime, corruption AND murder. READ ABOUT: Oil - The one discovery that made Long Beach different from the rest of 1920's and 30's America and would change the life of the city in many unforeseen ways. Good vs. Evil - Murders, gun battles, lawlessness ...the city was a battleground between the influences of good and evil. Involved in the battle was the Ku Klux Klan, Communists, rum runners, bootleggers, gangsters, and corrupt politicians. MEET: Hollywood celebrities William Desmond Taylor, Fatty Arbuckle and other well-known figures who ended up dead, or their careers ruined, because of rampant corruption and illicit booze. Gangsters such as Al Capone's henchman Ralph Sheldon, who gunned down Long Beach policeman William Waggoner, and got away with it. Bootleggers like Thomas Johnstone, murdered by his wife when he refused to give up his nefarious profession. Oil swindlers, many influenced by C.C. Julian and his Ponzi scheme that bilked thousands out of their life savings. Murderers such as Bluebeard Watson, who killed most of his 15 wives until one of them became suspicious. These are just a few of the individuals and matters discussed in this eye opening account of Long Beach and Southern California during the 1920's and 30's.

Claudine Burnett, author of popular Murderous Intent and Strange Sea Tales Along the Southern California Coast, has at last revised and updated the long out of print Haunted Long Beach. New stories and updates have come her way since the original Haunted Long Beach was published in 1996. Now readers can rediscover the "ghostly" side of one of America's finest cities----haunted houses, phantom airplanes, cemetery apparitions, and ghosts of the Queen Mary come alive in these true stories of eerie happenings in Long Beach, California. Gathered from historical files and personal experiences, Ms. Burnett has researched these stories extensively to try to find historical evidence as to their cause. All in all, these ghostly tales are sure to entertain both visitors and residents alike.

Claudine Burnett has now written another book sure to be savored by those interested in Southern California history. Concentrating on a span of years covering the 1880's to 1920, Ms. Burnett has uncovered fascinating true stories of death and murder. Read about: - The bandit Sylvestro Morales who robbed and murdered his way through the Southland in 1889 and his capture at the Rancho Los Alamitos. - Violence and death amoung the Basque and Mexican sheepherders and sugar beet workers of Southern California. - Long Beach City Trustees hung in effigy and how their attempt to get rid of a local saloon in 1896 brought about the death of the city. - How the murder of a Long Beach policeman in 1912 led to additional tragedy and sorrow but also brought about the adoption of modern criminal investigation. - The kidnapping and torture of a Long Beah youth in 1916 by notorious, insane murderer Harry Thaw, whose killing of famed archtiect Stanford White made headlines around the world. Learn the origin of: - The towns of Long Beach and Los Alamitos - The Pacific Electric "Red Car" and jitney transport systems. - The Long Beach Municipal Band and Long Beach Police Department. Meet: - Lew-is the Light who believed he had a special delivery service to God. - "Whistling" Davis who refused to bury his dead daughter. - Cantankerous "Old Man" Ranous, killed and buried in a pile of manure. - W.L. Jennings, killed by a cat. - The spirits of murder victims who refused to rest. - Pete Labourdette, a notorious Los Alamitos saloon keeper, and the murders he worked to cover up. These are but a few examples from a book you won't want to put down until the very end.