Notorious San Francisco

San Francisco, a city founded in part by criminals, was once one of the most dangerous cities in America. Its Barbary coast was called "a unique criminal district that was the scene of more viciousness and depravity, but it possessed more glamour, than any other area on the American continent." "San Francisco Notorious" brings back the glamorous depravity and noir atmosphere that made it the premier location for murder thrillers like "The Maltese Falcon," "Vertigo," and "Zodiac." This book contains more than 20 compelling tales of serial killers, deadly women, con-men, masters of escape, and unsolved mysteries. San Franciscan criminals were as colorful as the city they inhabited. Take William Thoreson, a murderous millionaire who hid the nation's largest private armory in his Pacific Heights mansion. Then there's Isabella Martin, the murderous "Queen of Grudges" who tried to poison an entire town, or Ethan McNabb and Lloyd Sampsell, the "Yacht Bandits," who used a luxurious sloop as a getaway vehicle for their dozens of bank robberies. Most of these unusual cases are largely unknown and have never appeared in book form. Included are cases that are still mysteries today, including the mysterious tale of the Zodiac Killer, complete with a new analysis and a startling new theory on the murder.

In this unorthodox guide to the City by the Bay, an intrepid columnist gives his twisted take on the city--from the bank that was robbed by Patty Hearst to the Chinatown restaurant with the rudest waiters in the city. 2-color throughout.

A treasury of quotes from San Franciscans and about San Francisco, from the gold rush to the tech boom. San Francisco is forty-nine square miles surrounded by reality. —Paul Kantner, Jefferson Airplane San Francisco surged from hamlet to boomtown overnight—the most meteoric “instant city” in history. From the Gold Rush to the Tech Rush, it’s been the site of daring innovations, counterculture upheavals, and social rebellions that shaped generations. And over the decades, residents have offered unique perspectives through journals, letters, and newspapers, their words bringing another time to life. Discover San Francisco through the eyes of miners and “ladies of the night.” Relive the experiences of robber barons and beatniks who flourished in a tiny corner of the world with fewer than one million souls. With commentary, historical background, and extraordinary images, historians Terry Hamburg and Richard Hansen guide you through these colorful quotes, showing the city as it once was and what it aspired to be.

In late 1920, a major crime wave sweeps the nation as Prohibition takes effect. The ban on the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages causes the criminal underworld to resort to illegal smuggling, better known as bootlegging. Law enforcement wages an immense war against these so-called bootleg gangsters and their criminal activities. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the shocking crimes of Edmund “Spud” Murphy and his notorious Howard Street Gang create havoc for area law enforcement and its local citizens, resulting in an epic battle between good and evil. Tragic events unfold as area law enforcement officers attempt to arrest the members of the gang.

Read about one of the most overlooked serial killers The Zodiac Killer may have been San Francisco's most notorious serial killer, but another equally cruel killer was also stalking the streets at the same time, and, just like the Zodiac Killer, has never been arrested for his crimes. The difference is, while the Zodiac Killer's murder spree was heavily publicized, this other killer, nicknamed The Doodler, went unreported by the media and is nearly unknown today. How did this ruthless killer become almost forgotten? Because he didn't target helpless women or children--he targeted gays--and in the 70s many people believed they had it coming; if they would just stop being gay, then all would be well. In this gripping short book, you will go on the trail for one of the most brutal killers who ever lived. Read about why his victims were disregarded by a homophobic press, and how he was positively identified by three escaped victims...only to walk away free without being arrested.

Rich. Famous. Glamorous. Dead ... and Immortal! From old Hollywood silent film stars to rock stars to athletes, past presidents, and famous generals, celebrated individuals sometimes become celebrity ghosts, and they haunt their homes, workplaces, and even burial places. In turn, those places become famous, even notorious, thanks to the ghost that is haunting it! Celebrity Ghosts and Notorious Hauntings looks at many famous ghosts—dead celebrities that haunt old Hollywood locales, famous generals that appear to witnesses at great battlefields, and noted politicians that roam the hallways of courthouses, statehouses, and even the White House! Plus, this fascinating frightfest examines the famous haunted locations themselves, such as the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the Hotel del Coronado, Gettysburg, the Stanley Hotel (which inspired Stephen King’s The Shining) and so many others that claim the supernatural as part of their heritage and history. This riveting look at the unexplained also investigates movie lore, including the unsettling incidents on the Amityville Horror set; “The Dark Knight” curse that includes on-set accidents from the horrible death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, to the mass shooting at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises; the deaths and curse surrounding The Matrix; the Infamous Stage 28 at Universal Studios; and Paramount Studios’ long history of hauntings and strange goings-on. Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, and Hank Williams. Presidents John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, and Harry Truman. Henry VIII, beheaded Sir Walter Raleigh, and Prince Edward V. Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Marilyn Monroe, and “Superman” actor George Reeves. Houdini, Redd Foxx, Liberace, and serial-killer Ted Bundy. They all lurk in this riveting book. Haunted graveyards (of course), haunted historical landmarks and battlefields, plus haunted libraries, courthouses, ships, submarines, lighthouses, hotels, roadways, byways, bridges, prisons, and hospitals are all gathered together in this comprehensive look at the ghastly afterlife of the renowned. From famous faces to famous places, if it involves fame and celebrity, fortune and notoriety, legend and lore, Celebrity Ghosts and Notorious Hauntings covers it.

Each day we saw the outside world in all its splendour, and each day that view served as a reminder that we had wasted and ruined our lives. Jim Quillen, AZ586 - a runaway, problem child and petty thief - was jailed several times before his twentieth birthday. In August 1942, after escaping from San Quentin, he was arrested on the run and sentenced to forty-five years in prison, and later transferred to Alcatraz. This is the true story of life inside America's most notorious prison - from terrifying times in solitary confinement to daily encounters with 'the Birdman', and what really happened during the desperate and deadly 1946 escape attempt.