California Myths and Legends

Part of our new and growing Myths and Mysteries series, Myths and Mysteries of California explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in California's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in California history.

---

California Myths and Legends explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in California's history. From the head of Zorro to the shadow god of California, this book makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the state’s most fascinating and compelling stories.
• Will California fall into the Pacific? Many believe that when the next big earthquake hits, the whole state may just drop off into the ocean. Most experts dispute this—but are they right?
• Did William Randolph Hearst get away with murder? Was Roaring Twenties producer Thomas Ince murdered while attending his own birthday celebration aboard Hearst’s palatial party boat, the Oneida?
• California’s very own Pearl Harbor. In World War II, antiaircraft gunners in Los Angeles had a legendary shootout, but to this day no one knows whom they were fighting. Some think the intruder that attracted their attention—and as many as 1,400 high-explosive shells—was an alien spacecraft.