Performer Interviews, Q & A, and performance excerpts
with Marsh and MarshStream founder Stephanie Weisman

Paul Drexler

Thursday, July 23 at 7:30pm PDT

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 possessed more glamour than any other area…on the American continent.”

Publisher: RJ Parker Publishing (June 1, 2019)
Paperback: 237 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1987902556
ISBN-13: 978-1987902556
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews:
4.1 out of 5 stars
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This book contains over 20 compelling tales of serial killers, deadly women, conmen, masters of escape, and unsolved mysteries.

William Thoreson, a murderous millionaire, who hid the nation’s largest private armory in his Pacific Heights mansion,

Isabella Martin, the murderous “queen of grudges” who tried to poison an entire town.

Ethan McNabb and Lloyd Sampsell, the “Yacht Bandits,” who used a luxurious sloop as a getaway vehicle for their 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, such as the Zodiac killer, with a new analysis and an unusual new possibility.

Paul Drexler is the author of Notorious San Francisco: True Tales of Crime, Passion and Murder. He worked for years with the late Kevin Mullen, retired Deputy Chief of the San Francisco Police Department. Paul designed and co-produced SFPD Homicide, the interactive award-winning true crime video game that has been used to teach police procedures. His column, “Notorious Crooks,” appeared regularly in the Sunday San Francisco Examiner. He has taught crime history at San Francisco State, and appeared on the Discovery ID Network show Deadly Women as an expert on San Francisco murderesses, and on Spike TV as an expert on the Zodiac Killer. Paul also directs Crooks Tours of San Francisco, which offers walking crime tours of Chinatown and the Barbary Coast. In July 2017 Paul received the Oscar Lewis Award from the San Francisco History Association for his writing on San Francisco. https://www.crookstour.com/

Stephanie Weisman founded and has been the Artistic/Executive Director of The Marsh since its inception in 1989. Under her leadership, The Marsh has grown from a one-night-a-week performance series to producing 600-700 shows annually on its four stages. In addition to its developing work performance series, The Marsh’s programs include: artist-in-residencies, after-school and summer workshops for youth both onsite and in 5 SFUSD, and performance development classes, workshops and Performance Initiatives. In 1996 Stephanie spearheaded the drive to successfully buy their 12,000 sq ft facility on Valencia Street in San Francisco. This increased The Marsh’s programs four-fold as well as provided for a stable Bay Area arts organization. In 2010, The Marsh added a second venue in Berkeley. In 2020, Stephanie initiated MarshStream. She is currently at work developing her opera, Aphrodisia, with dancer, Wei Wang.