Weird California: You Travel Guide to California's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets [Paperback]

Greg Bishop (Author), Joe Oesterle (Author), Mike Marinacci (Author), Mark Moran (Foreword), Mark Sceurman (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009 | Series: Weird

Praise for Weird California:

 

“This book is filled with surprises…even if you never leave your house, this book is a trip.â€�  

—Sacramento News and Review

 

“It’s a handsome thing: nearly 300 colorful pages…â€�   —San Francisco Bay Guardian

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402766831
• ISBN-13: 978-1402766831
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully Wild Ride Through Some of California's Bizarre Treasures, December 19, 2009

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Weird California: You Travel Guide to California's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (Paperback)

This richly illustrated collection of the funny, bizarre, strange, and weird aspects and sites in California is an absolute delight of a book - just the perfect gift for those who share your joy of the craziness that makes life in this state so enjoyable. Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran have combed the roads and back ways of the state and have come across both tourist attractions and assorted oddities that make for a fast and hugely entertaining book. Beginning with an informative journey into California history, such as the curse of Griffith Park (a lot of curious but true facts all sculpted into a story by the fine writers!), the myth of 'La Llorna' that references the Hispanic richness of life here, and other legends, the book then takes the reader on a series of visits of the unnatural wonders, the 'unexplained phenomena', the strange beasts that inhabit both the land and the waters, landmarks that though odd are real - such as the Watts Towers, Litto's Hubcap Ranch, the Forestiere Underground Gardens, villages and houses created out of bottles, the sites of the Charles Manson murdering clan, the famous other-worldly Winchester Mystery House and the tombstones and burial grounds of the famous folk of the state (such as James Dean), and countless other fascinating concepts and places.

It would be easy to use this book as a guide to fashion a trip through the state of California, not only for visitors but also of those of us who live here and are not fully aware of the myriad extraordinary things that make this such an interesting place to live! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 09

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't get enough of if, October 27, 2010

By 

Erick S. Cornejo "edragons69" (san francisco ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Weird California: You Travel Guide to California's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (Paperback)

What a book, tons of stories, excellent content, that will entertain all ages, I bought it for my little brother, I wanted him to get interested in reading, on how fun and exciting, even thrilling, how many times is way better than a movie. This book has definitely done that and more, He can't wait to read a new story everyday! Seems to be the most exciting thing to do for him everyday. I highly recommend this book. when my mother it saw it and herd the stories from the book, she wanted to read it too, and now she waits for my little brother to read them to her, Its just a great book. I just can't emphasize how good this book is, I herd before some comments about how to know if a book will be good read, and they said that if you grab a book and just open and read a random page that page in itself should be able to captivate you and interest you in some way, so you will know its for you! and believe any page you open here will do that for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, fun but lacking basics, January 8, 2011

By 

Arlene "Arlene" (the OC, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Weird California: You Travel Guide to California's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (Paperback)

My son recieved this for Christmas and while it is an interesting book with fun to look at pictures and facts, it lacks on organization and details. I would have liked to have seen more of a "guide" organized by area (for example northern, central and southern Ca) and definetely more specific directions as to how to get to those interesting places, instead you get "in San Diego..."