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The king and queen of Malibu : the true story of the battle for paradise / David K. Randall.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2016]Copyright date: ©2016Edition: First editionDescription: 255 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780393240993
  • 0393240991
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Introduction: The beach -- A great beast awakening -- Oh, the happy vaquero! -- The prophet of Preston -- The boomiest boom -- What shall we do with the millionaires? -- Happy days in Southern California -- Filling the mountains with men -- California shall be ours as long as the stars remain -- The fire -- One last adventure -- Arch Rock -- To force her gates open -- Open roads -- The definition of freedom -- Between the mountains and the sea -- The public good -- The mansion on the hill -- Epilogue: Tracks in the sand.
Scope and content: "A page-turning narrative history of how one family transformed Malibu into a global symbol of fame and fortune. Over a half-century, Malibu went from an untamed ranch in the middle of nowhere to a paradise seeded with movie stars. Behind its transformation is the love story of Frederick and May Rindge. He was a Harvard-trained confidant of presidents; she grew up on a hardscrabble Midwestern farm; and yet their unlikely bond would shape history. The Rindges settled in Los Angeles, quickly amassing a fortune and ushering the frontier city into its modern form. After Frederick's sudden death, May spent her life clashing with some of the most powerful men in the country to preserve Malibu as she saw fit. Her struggle culminated in a landmark Supreme Court decision that created the iconic Pacific Coast Highway. The story of Malibu spans from the embers of the Civil War to the glamour of early Hollywood, starring millionaires, movie stars, and rough-and-tumble settlers at a time when the frontier seemed truly limitless"--Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 979.493 R188 Available 33111008407013
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

New York Times best-selling author David K. Randall spins a remarkable tale of the American West and the desire of one couple to preserve paradise.

Frederick and May Rindge, the unlikely couple whose love story propelled Malibu's transformation from an untamed ranch in the middle of nowhere to a paradise seeded with movie stars, are at the heart of this story of American grit and determinism. He was a Harvard-trained confidant of presidents; she was a poor Midwestern farmer's daughter raised to be suspicious of the seasons. Yet the bond between them would shape history.

The newly married couple reached Los Angeles in 1887 when it was still a frontier, and within a few years Frederick, the only heir to an immense Boston fortune, became one of the wealthiest men in the state. After his sudden death in 1905, May spent the next thirty years fighting off some of the most powerful men in the country--as well as fissures within her own family--to preserve Malibu as her private kingdom. Her struggle, one of the longest over land in California history, would culminate in a landmark Supreme Court decision and lead to the creation of the Pacific Coast Highway.

The King and Queen of Malibu traces the path of one family as the country around them swept off the last vestiges of the Civil War and moved into what we would recognize as the modern age. The story of Malibu ranges from the halls of Harvard to the Old West in New Mexico to the beginnings of San Francisco's counter culture amid the Gilded Age, and culminates in the glamour of early Hollywood--all during the brief sliver of history in which the advent of railroads and the automobile traversed a beckoning American frontier and anything seemed possible.

"A page-turning narrative history of how one family transformed Malibu into a global symbol of fame and fortune. Over a half-century, Malibu went from an untamed ranch in the middle of nowhere to a paradise seeded with movie stars. Behind its transformation is the love story of Frederick and May Rindge. He was a Harvard-trained confidant of presidents; she grew up on a hardscrabble Midwestern farm; and yet their unlikely bond would shape history. The Rindges settled in Los Angeles, quickly amassing a fortune and ushering the frontier city into its modern form. After Frederick's sudden death, May spent her life clashing with some of the most powerful men in the country to preserve Malibu as she saw fit. Her struggle culminated in a landmark Supreme Court decision that created the iconic Pacific Coast Highway. The story of Malibu spans from the embers of the Civil War to the glamour of early Hollywood, starring millionaires, movie stars, and rough-and-tumble settlers at a time when the frontier seemed truly limitless"--Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction: The beach -- A great beast awakening -- Oh, the happy vaquero! -- The prophet of Preston -- The boomiest boom -- What shall we do with the millionaires? -- Happy days in Southern California -- Filling the mountains with men -- California shall be ours as long as the stars remain -- The fire -- One last adventure -- Arch Rock -- To force her gates open -- Open roads -- The definition of freedom -- Between the mountains and the sea -- The public good -- The mansion on the hill -- Epilogue: Tracks in the sand.

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