There was no scandal like the girl who said a cable car accident turned her into a nymphomaniac. She was awarded $50,000 for it. How about the judge who loved playing three-card-monte on the public's money. When he was broke and needed money he opened court. He summoned a deputy and told him to bring in a drunk with money. After fining the drunk, he pocketed the $20 fine and went back to playing three-card monte. This book is filled with outlandish and sometimes humorous tales of the scam games of the west and the scandals that occurred along with them.

It wasn't the men that settled the West. It was the women The Old West was a forbidding territory. Deciding to pack up all your earthly belongings and head into the unknown was not an easy decision to make. It was a harder decision to make for the women than it was for the men. But once they were committed to it, most of the credit for settling the west must go to the women. It was the women who dug in and tended the sick, planted fruits and vegetables, cooked and cleaned and fed the gold miners and put down the necessary roots to settle the west. It was the women who insisted, "I'm not...

Treasure hunters recover the $1.9 million gold shipment that sank while enroute to New York. The recovery included 5200 newly minted Double Eagle coins. An original account by James Marshall on his discovery of gold at Coloma that set off the California gold rush. There are many other stories covering California rich history.

The land grants made in California were private rancho grants. The California missions held much of the best land in trust for the Indians. When the missions were secularized in 1833, many Indians chose to leave the missions when the land was divided. While Indians were allotted some land, most of the land was acquired by non-Indians. Between 1835 and 1845, nearly seven hundred land grants were made to claimants. These grants were often made to close friend or supporters of the Mexican governors of Alta California. Many claimants lost their grants when they could not prove legal ownership...

The Big Four, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker, ruled California government for 30 years. The southern Pacific Railroad was the single largest corporation in California and controlled 85 percent of the state's railroad tracks. Huntington handed out bribes to legislators, local police and government officials with impunity. At political conventions, agents of the railroad freely circulated the convention floor and dominated the smoke-filled rooms, arranging the nomination of pro-railroad candidates.

California sent more volunteers, about 17,000 men, to fight in the American Civil War, more than any other state in the Union. Volunteers fought in 31 engagements, most in the Shenandoah Valley. Others served with distinction in New York and Pennsylvania regiments. Author Alton Pryor has captured many of the elements involving California and the American Civil War in his new book, "California and the American Civil War." Most of the men in Southern California during the Civil War were Confederate sympathizers. Because of their number they exercised a great deal of political influence in the...

Women from all walks of life helped make California what it is today. There were the Sisters of Mercy who waded into the smallpox infested hospitals to care for the needy of all races and financial means. Donaldina Cameron rescued more than 3,000 Asian slave girls who had been sold into prostitution, often by their parents. We've included Lucille Ball, Clara Bow and Isadora Duncan in our list of entertainment celebrities.

The Oklahoma Land Rush was a madhouse scene that brought both smiles and heartache to its participants. There is also the wonderful story about Cherokee Indian Lewis Ross who drilled for water but failed. He wasn't disappointed though, as he struck oil instead. Then there's the wild and woolly No-Man's land in the Oklahoma Panhandle where outlaws could hide without fear of the law. There was no law. No history of Oklahoma would be complete without a run-down on its favorite son, the ever-humorous Will Rogers.

Western writer Alton Pryor has brought forth a collection of important moments in history. These vignettes present a virtual digest of historical happenings that are fun to read and educational as well. In the words of the author, "My books are short, to the point and are excellent reading material for persons with a busy lifestyle." Readers will learn about the poignant story of the Seven Little Indians. When a tribe stole a band of horses, Indian fighters killed the Indians that stole them. In doing so, they found seven little Indian babies on their hands. Their problem was what would they...