ABOUT THE BOOK

Across America, cocktail parties sparkled in defiant celebration during the final minutes of January 19, 1920. By morning, Prohibition would officially begin. But in Long Beach, California, keeping the party going was no problem at all.

Though Long Beach had operated as a “dry” town for most of its past, its underground network of bootlegging, illegal liquor distribution, and hidden speakeasies was already fine-tuned before the 18th Amendment ever took effect. What followed was the ultimate breeding ground for crime, corruption—and cold-blooded murder.

INSIDE, YOU WILL DISCOVER:

• Black Gold & Black Markets: How the discovery of oil set Long Beach apart from the rest of Jazz Age America, transforming the city in wild, unforeseen ways.

• A Battle for the City’s Soul: A fierce war between good and evil, where lawmen clashed with rum-runners, gangsters, corrupt politicians, Communists, and the Ku Klux Klan.

MEET THE INFAMOUS FIGURES:

• Hollywood Icons: Stars like William Desmond Taylor and Fatty Arbuckle, whose lives and careers were destroyed by illicit booze and rampant corruption.

• Ruthless Gangsters: Al Capone henchman Ralph Sheldon, who gunned down Long Beach Police Officer William Waggoner—and walked away free.

• Desperate Bootleggers: Men like Thomas Johnstone, slain by his own wife when he refused to abandon his criminal life.

• Master Swindlers: Con artists inspired by C.C. Julian, whose notorious Ponzi schemes drained thousands of their life savings.

• Cold-Blooded Killers: “Bluebeard” Watson, the serial murderer who claimed the lives of nearly a dozen wives before a suspicious bride brought his spree to an end.

Uncover the shocking, eye-opening truth about Long Beach and Southern California during the roaring 1920s and ’30s.

Here are links to a review by Eric Bradley and a review by Tim Grobaty.